FRANK HERBERT’S DUNE (2000)

David Lynch’s version of Dune had one massive problem: its length. The business of movies has changed so much and when Lynch’s film was released, the idea of a series of films made as a continuing narrative was rare. Sure the Godfather flicks and Stars Wars were exceptions, but the idea of a The Hobbit/ Harry Potter/ Dune (2021)/ MCU mega series didn’t seem to exist, so Lynch’s was more like the plot synopsis on the back of a novel rather than a full adaption of the story.

In 2000, we got a TV version of Herbert’s story, divided into three episodes, each of about 90 minutes each. As it was a TV show, it was expected to be episodic with soap opera elements, the story divided with crescendos at the appropriate times to are the viewer keen for the next episode.

To explain this story in full. I shall just ‘borrow’ the plot synopsis from the review of David Lynch’s Dune (1986) reviewed elsewhere in this site:

‘In the far, far, far future, mankind has banned all ‘thinking machines’ (i.e. computers), and mankind has become reliant on two other forms of technology: machines of war and ESP. Mankind has formed its government into something of a feudal system, called the Imperium, and constant push and pulls of territory are always happening, either through diplomacy or all out war.

One planet of particular interest is Arrakis, a desert planet that has a drug called ‘melange’ on it, which prolongs life (something all kings have wanted throughout time) and when excessively taken, can mutate the body and mind, a side-effect being that individuals are able to fold space for rapid space travel.

Behind the scenes of all of humanity’s politics are the Bene Gesserit, a religious order controlling everything, and this is where our story begins…

Yep, this was just the background one requires to understand what comes next… blimey!

Our film tells of the family of House Atriedes, led by Duke Leto (William Hurt), his partner (described as a concubine) Lady Jessica (Saskia Reeves) and their son, Paul (Alec Newman) who have been instructed by the Emperor (Giancarlo Giannini) to travel to the planet of Arrakis to take over the production of the spice, melange, known to extend life and give amazing powers to those who take it.

What Leto does not know is that the Emperor is intending to start a war on Arrakis between House Atriedes and the villainous House Harkonnen, presided over by the in this version, less than horrifying Baron Harkonnen (Ian McNeice) so that he can have him killed as an act of war.

What NO ONE knows is though, is that Paul has powers of his own, hidden deep within him, and his visions of a life on Arrakis become more intense as war looms…’

Obviously, the story remains the same but there is far more explanation due to the total 270 minutes each runtime compared to the Lynch film’s 137 minutes. It gave an opportunity to enter the world of the Weirding Way, a martial art that Lynch replaced with the Weirding Modules in the weapons for expediency of the battles in the short run time. This does show more and even references some of the other books in small scripts ways so it feels more like the beginning of an epic universe which it did become with its further mini serieses. It is a far more palatable story from the narrative point of view, but… and there’s a few big buts.

… and these aren’t the big buts I love, I cannot lie.

First the special effects are exactly what one would expect from a TV show from 25 years ago (as of the date of this reviews writing). I imagine a production with SO many actors within it that was on television would have not dedicated too much of the budget there, and it shows. I’m sure somewhere there is a PlayStation 2 laughing at the quality of the effects. Now considering many if my favourite films are ones with decidedly sub-par effects, it seems to me that the Lynch film was given far more for its budget, double actually, and obviously the 2020s version have had even more thrown at them, which makes the effects look… well, like a TV show, but worse, an early 2000s TV show. Credit where credit is due though, the UV reflective contact lenses on the Fremen look alright.

This leads me to the design. Looking like a combination of Star Wars Episode 1, which makes sense due to the timing of its release and the fashion for sci-fi design at the time, and of the ‘landing party’ scenes in any episode of Star Trek post The Next Generation, nothing looks real, and instead the entire film looks like ‘TV’. The outfits are a combination of medieval heraldry and post 90s comic book costume design and just look terrible. Of particular, Baron Harkonnen’s dress is borderline hilarious, not helped by McNeice’s panto performance.

Thankfully, McNeice’s performance is the only bad one, but it makes any scene with him in it to make the Baron look more like a vaudeville villain instead of a proper threat like the performances from Kenneth McMillian or Stellan Skarsgård in other Dune productions. This cartoonish threat does diminish a lot of the rest of the film and it’s a shame that so much of the show’s delivery of script is sullied by it. Thankfully, the TV show Doc Martin exists so McNeice can make a living outside of holiday times.

I did really want to like this because I do really like the source material, but I just don’t think it is worth revisiting anymore other than as a curio and as seeing how TV would approach something as dense as this. Sadly, the newer films are a far better option as far as design, cast and storytelling, and Lynch’s is better just for its creativity.

Extras:

On this collection we have two ‘makings of’: one is the Filmmaker’s Vision and looks at the making of part one, whereas The Production Story is the making of part 2, so I guess part 3 was not worthy! There is also a trailer for the film.

Film:4/10

Extras: 5/10

Rewatchability: 2/10

This Bluray was purchased from an eBay seller.