Frank Herbert's Dune

Epic Television Revisited

This Sci-Fi Channel miniseries does a much better job of faithfully telling the epic novel's story than did David Lynch's ponderous movie, but both versions really should be seen to get the best idea of what the heck Frank Herbert was writing about back in the mid 1960's.

But even if you aren't going to watch the Lynch version, give the original miniseries DVD (however worthwhile it is) a pass and catch this new, 3 disc Director's Cut instead. It's not only longer (as is the wont of director's cuts), but it has finally been released in anamorphic widescreen (as opposed to merely letterboxed, as was the original release) and with audio and video quality that really do the story justice.

Then there are the extras...

William Hurt is the star name that was undoubtedly necessary in order to get funding for the project, and he's okay as Duke Leto Atreides, but 'twould've been better to have gotten a young name star to play his son, Paul, so at least they'd have a star who actually makes it through more than the first third of the story.

Instead, Paul (the real starring role) is played by Alec Newman, who doesn't bring a lot of presence to his role of the Man Who Would Be Messiah - though to be fair he does a more than adequate, workman's job. Most of the acting in this miniseries is fine and the lack of name stars actually works out better than those all-star "facefests" in which the viewer ends up sitting there playing "guess which star's coming on next," as happened with such tales as "The Greatest Story Ever Told."

The story revolves around the planet Arrakis, sole source of the spice melange that's the key to space travel and therefore is the glue that holds the galaxy together. The spice must flow, and just about everyone will do whatever it takes not only to ensure the continued flow of the spice, but to ensure that they control that flow and wield the power that results from such.

The Atreides, a fine family that's very popular with the masses, are sent to Arrakis to take over from the brutal Harkonnens with whom they've been feuding since we don't know when. Naturally, the Harkonnens aren't about to take their replacement lightly and use it as an opportunity to settle the feud once and for all, while maintaining their control over Arrakis and the spice.

Or so they think.

That's about as superficial an overview to a 295 minute miniseries as you can get. There are plots within plots and plans within plans (as lovers of the book will want to see); there's intragalactic political intrigue, sex, violence, religion, whew! You name it, Dune has it.

The production values are outstanding considering that this is basically a TV budget - and thank God for digital technology or they could never have pulled it off. The sets and costumes are lush and colorful, and the special effects are for the most part very good indeed.

As mentioned, the DVD is presented in anamorphic widescreen this time, which is how it should be, and the picture quality is excellent. Audio has also been enhanced with the addition of Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS surround, and it's also very good indeed.

If you're lucky enough to have a widescreen TV, you'll be very glad to experience this new edition rather than the original DVD release, since you no longer have to zoom the picture to fill your widescreen television and can now experience its high resolution visuals the way they were intended. Bravo!

And the new sound choices make a big difference over the original release's Dolby Surround (Pro Logic). On our reference system the original release's signal went only to the main front speakers, which is always a drag; we had to switch into Pro Logic mode to get the voices and sound effects to come from the center speaker where they belonged. But the new release defaults to digital surround sound and even though there could be more surround, when they do use the rear channels they really fill the room nicely.

Then there are the new extras, which are spread over all three discs and include an audio commentary from writer/director John Harrison backed up by team members Ernest Farino, Harry Miller, Greg Nicotero, and Tim McHugh. You also get a slew of featurettes covering just about any aspect of the production you could imagine and which even gives some pretty vague (but intriguing) preproduction looks at the upcoming "Children of Dune" miniseries sequel - and we can't wait to see it!

The bottom line? If you only see one version of Dune, make it this one!

Frank Herbert's Dune, from Artisan Home Video
295 min, anamorphic widescreen (1.77:1), 16x9 TV compatible, Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS surround,
Starring William Hurt, Alec Newman
Written and Directed by John Harrison.

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