Dune

Director: John Harrison John Harrison

Overview

The Sci-Fi Channel's first miniseries production adapts Frank Herbert's esteemed futuristic novel Dune into a six-hour epic. When House Atreides lead by the noble Duke Leto Atreides (Academy award-winner William Hurt) gains control of the universe's most powerful commodity -- Spice -- rival House Harkonnen begins plotting their revenge. As a result, Duke Atreides' mistress (Saskia Reeves), a magical Bene Gesserit witch, and their son Paul (Alec Newman) must flee into the dangerous, worm-infested dunes where they find help from an ancient civilization that engages in guerilla warfare. As the political agenda of the reigning emperor unfolds, Paul is enlightened about his powers in the world and those of the mysterious Navigators of Spacing Guild. The series is written and directed by John Harrison who had considerable help from an award-winning production team including three-time Academy award-winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (The Last Emperor, Apocalypse Now).

Product Details

Release Date:	04/27/2010
UPC:	0025192046865
Original Release:	2000
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Universal Studios
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Digital Theater Systems]
Time:	2:00:00
Sales rank:	996

Special Features

Deleted Scenes; Designing Dune; Dune FX; Dune Models & Miniatures; Dune Wardrobe Design; D-Box Motion Enabled

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

William Hurt	Actor
Julie Cox	Actor
Laura Burton	Actor
Giancarlo Giannini	Actor
Matt Keeslar	Feyd
Laszlo I. Kisch	Actor
Barbara Kodetova	Actor
Ian McNeice	Actor
P.H. Moriarty	Actor
Alec Newman	Actor
Uwe Ochsenknecht	Actor
Saskia Reeves	Jessica
Klara Issova	Servant Girl

Technical Credits

John Harrison	Director
Richard P. Rubinstein	Executive Producer
Vittorio Storaro	Cinematographer

Editorial Reviews

Frank Herbert's 1974 novel Dune holds a special place in the modern science-fiction canon. Boasting throngs of fans and a sizeable critical following, its setting -- the planet Arrakis, after the year 10,000 -- is the genre's well-tread equivalent of William Faulkner's fictional Yoknapatawpha County. Sixteen years after David Lynch first brought Frank Herbert's sci-fi epic to the big screen in 1984 -- to decidedly mixed results -- the Sci-Fi Channel has adapted the classic novel as a 4 1/2 hour miniseries. The result is a richly satisfying vision of the distant future. Writer/director John Harrison's (Tales From the Darkside: The Movie) adaptation is detailed enough to satisfy avid fans of Herbert's work, and accessible enough to entrance the uninitiated. Dune follows the fate of the noble house of Duke Leto Atreides (William Hurt) who is charged to rule the desolate, sandswept desert planet Arrakis, the universes only source of Melange, a powerful spice that enhances mental performance and makes instantaneous interstellar travel possible. The Duke leaves his home world with son Paul (Alec Newman), but soon after taking control of the forbidding Arrakis, he is betrayed and Arrakis is conquered by its previous ruler, the ruthless Baron Harkonnen (Ian McNeice). Paul is left for dead in the desert, where he falls in with the Fremen, the indigenous people of Arrakis, and begins the fight to retake the planet. Despite its basic cable pedigree, the film does not skimp on production values. Dune has the look and feel of a theatrical release, and even evokes Lawrence of Arabia. Oscar-winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now) renders the galaxy in a gorgeous array of color. The cast, especially newcomer Newman and the always-reliable Hurt, is roundly solid. But the real star of Dune is the well-executed story -- a marvelous, engrossing tale that is finally given a chance to stretch out on-screen and breathe.

Barnes & Noble - Matthew Johnson