Children of Dune [DVD] [2003] [Region 1] [NTSC] [US Import]

The toughest thing about 'Frank Herbert's Dune', presented on the SciFi Channel in 2000, was that all Dune fans knew, just KNEW, there'd be comparisons made between it and David Lynch's theatrical release. Although the strong casting, new-found special effects and costumes made Lynch's version a film to be reckoned with, it still felt unbalanced and lost amidst the deeply textured background world that Frank Herbert created.

The 2000 miniseries gave us more of the actually pages of Dune translated to the screen, but it's acting, costumes and special effects were lacking.

So, to my surprise, what should appear but a new miniseries with reprising roles and some new cast members for Frank Herbert's Children of Dune on the SciFi Channel. Goodbye comparisons. We entered new screenplay territory since no theatrical version of any other Herbert novels has ever made it out to the public.

A wonderful presentation, Frank Herbert's Children of Dune combines the Dune Messiah and Children of Dune novels into this new miniseries and does so with one graceful motion. Well, almost graceful.

I don't know WHY the SciFi Channel feels the need to keep a "big name" in these films. William Hurt didn't aid the first miniseries with his 'Hurtful' acting. Likewise, I felt Mrs. Sarandon did nothing to aid in the release of this film/mini. Her character was cardboardish and dull. No action involving her at all. Nothing that seemed to help move the storyline along.

Uncharacteristically (and thankfully) Alec Newman reprises his role as Paul (and the new Preacher) and does so with powerfully strong acting (the exact opposite of what I saw from him in the original miniseries). Julie Cox was wonderful as Irulan, Jessica Krige excellently portrayed an aging Lady Jessica, and James McAvoy WAS Leto II. Jessica Brooks balanced the role of Ghanima perfectly by playing Leto's twin sister. And Daniela Amavia was P-E-R-F-E-C-T as the possessed and tortured Alia (preborn sister of Paul). She's also quite an atractive lady.

The costumes (thankfully) were also 'toned-down' a bit, so the large head-dresses and triangular suit attachments are gone. The budget for the special effects were increased (to great advantage). Loved the worms, the thopters, Alia's temple. Wonderful cinematography utilizing blue screens.

And the BIG shocker: the musical score! Brian Tyler! You the man! A true triumph as far as scores go, the music presented in this miniseries is sure to make the soul soar, or plummet into the Great Erg as appropriately presented by Mr. Tyler's score.

This miniseries is the new 5 star TV production for the SciFi Channel, and rightfully so. A presentation worth owning...on DVD.

If I were to choose the best film adaptation of Dune, this miniseries would win, hands down. Not because it's true to the book, not because of special effects, but it would win because entire series is endearing and the performances of the cast are memorable. This production took characters that were hard to relate to because of their super-human abilities and turned them into people we could care about. What sets this treatment of Dune apart from all others is the dynamic performances of the cast.

Alec Newman, Julie Cox, Barbara Kodetova, P.H. Moriarty, Zuzana Geislerova, and Ian MacNeice reprise their roles as Paul, Irulan, Chani, Gurney, Rev. Mother Mohiam, and the Baron. Even the Newcomers to the cast are: James McAvoy as Leto II, Jessica Brooks as Ghanima, Daniela Amavia as Alia,

Alec Newman *owns* the role of Paul in CoD. While his performance seemed shakey at times in Dune, he embodies the majesty of Muad'Dib and convincingly portrays the part of a tormented monarch in this sequel.

Julie Cox steals the show away everytime she appears. Some complained that the script took (major) liberties concerning Irulan--mainly by giving her more appearances and lines than the book ever afforded her, and making her more likable--but I say anything that gives Julie Cox a chance to appear on screen to flex her acting muscles is a good decision. She plays a very convincing imperial princess with her body language (she has probably the best posture I've ever seen, but she absolutely shines portraying a fiery personality trapped by her station in life.

As with Alec Newman, Barbara Kodetova reprises her role with much more maturity than in the first series. In CoD, Alec and Barbara both come back with stronger performances and better chemistry.

Speaking of chemistry, however, there was so much of it between the actors playing the twins it was unbelievable to me that they weren't dating in real life. James McAvoy, in particular, brings so much spirit and warmth to his role that he brought much-needed levity to the role of Leto by adding humor and warmth to his performance. Jessica Brooks brings thoughtful, pensive Ghanima to life respectably well. It should be noted that the twins are portrayed as teenagers in the miniseries, which I consider a wise decision to make them more relatable and easier to watch for first-time viewers.

Though I had loved Saskia Reeves' Jessica, Alice Krige takes a turn in Lady Jessica's shoes very well. She fleshes out the part of the Atreides matriarch and delivers a very reserved performance, which is befitting the cautious Jessica in the book. Edward Atterton (who played Arthur in TNT's 'The Mists of Avalon' and has appeared on shows like 'Firefly' and 'Alias') plays a wonderfully convincingly warrior-mentat. Daniela Amavia's gut-wrenching, explosive performance as Alia was highly entertaining to watch, and her last scene brought so much more emotion to the events than the book afforded it. Daniela, Alice, and James came together so well in Alia's last scene that many people who saw it were teary-eyed after watching it--it had me in tears. The book, however, didn't come anywhere near that level of emotional impact.

I thought Susan Sarandon's performance was tolerable--nothing great--but I think it is unfair to blame her. She was horribly miscast. In a show where almost everybody had an accent of some sort, Susan's thoroughly American accent was completely out of place. Add that on top of the fact that her performance wasn't as strong as some of the others, and no wonder she's being singled out as the weak link. She's just not at home playing a science-fiction villain.

As far as costumes, special effects, and props go, I enjoyed each of them immensely. The costumes are still a bit quirky, but they are much more subdued and realistic than what they were in CoD's predecessor. Where as the costumes in Dune were downright 'kooky,' the clothes in CoD could be considered 'fasion.' The special effects were very well done for a television feature. 'The Voice' was much cooler in CoD, with soft growls and whispers overlapping over each other on top of the warped speaking to provide a richer, more majestic 'Voice' better capturing what it was in the book. The glow-in-the-dark blue eyes are traded in for more subdued blue eyes that are brilliant without looking radioactive. Everything comes together and molds comfortably with the set design, which boasts soft, warm colors and lighting that make the places look like they exist in a perpetual sunset. Indeed, the overall look is a very pretty one.

The real star of the show, however, was the score. Brian Tyler offers compositions so energetic, elegant, and lovely to hear that he gives Arrakis the heart it sometimes lacked in the book. As with Tolkien and his Lord of the Rings, the plot and the characters sometimes were a little dry when it came to good ol' fashioned emotion. This production would not have been what it was without its music. Brian Tyler does for CoD what James Horner did for Titanic and what Howard Shore did for the Lord of the Rings. Towards the end of the first installment of CoD, a montage of events play out to a song Tyler created called 'Inama Nushif,' and my husband heard the television and wandered from his room to come watch what I was watching because he said the music was, in his words, "so cool."

What this adaptation does with its casts' tour de force performances and Brian Tyler's soaring score is make Children of Dune and its characters relatable, memorable, and human, and that is why it was such a resounding success.

I have been a longtime fan of Frank Herbert's opus, and have read the "Dune" novels many times. I consider myself somewhat of a purist, and did not warm up to the theatrical release of "Dune" (David Lynch) back in the 80's. I thought at one point that the saga of Dune simply was too big for both the big and the small screens.

I was pleasantly surprised after I watched and very much enjoyed the Sci Fi channel's 2000 miniseries, "Frank Herbert's Dune." At the time, I reconciled myself with the idea that this was the closest that Hollywood would come to portraying Herbert's epic. Thus, I looked forward to the airing "Children of Dune" with some enthusiasm but with low expectations.

I must admit that when I read details about the upcoming TV event, I had many misgivings: the changes in casting from the first miniseries, the fact that the script was a synthesis of the "Dune Messiah" and "Children of Dune" books, that the Atreides twins were to be teenagers instead of 9-year-olds, etc. Imagine my surprise when I found that the Sci Fi channel had done it again, and that I liked "Children of Dune" even better than their "Dune" miniseries.

If you are a die-hard Frank Herbert fan, I am not going to try to convince you that this is a worthy interpretation of "Dune." I will ask that you watch it with an open mind. However, if you are familiar with the stories and are a fan of science fiction, here are a few reasons why you should be a little forgiving and let yourself enjoy "Children of Dune":

- an excellent soundtrack, superior to that of both the Lynch movie and the original Sci Fi channel miniseries

- a bigger budget and improvements in special effects and in sets

- Alec Newman's reprised role as Muad'Dib (and as The Preacher) was powerful, both at Chani's death and at the climactic ending of the miniseries

- an improvement in the casting of Duncan Idaho, Stilgar, and to an extent the Lady Jessica (though unfortunately the new actress has been typecast in my head as the Borg Queen)

- a continued and interesting expansion of the Atreides adversaries' characters (House Corrino) in particular of Princesses Wensicia and Irulan (who in the books I never even cared about) though I wasn't too taken by Farad'n

- a brilliant teenage Leto Atreides II, who borrows bits of dialogue from "God Emperor of Dune" and makes me hope they make the next Herbert novel into a miniseries as well

- a script and a director who does not try to emulate Frank Herbert yet presents an interpretation of the saga which is respectful of it and which tries to stay true to the spirit of the novels

To conclude, it is well to note that the Dune storyline is in its purest form a Greek tragedy (according to Herbert, the Atreides ancestors are Agamemnon and the House of Atreus.) Both images and music carry the feel of great and noble deeds accomplished at the price of great pain and sorrow. This for me is the final reason that "Children of Dune" is worth watching: that you come to have a better understanding and to care deeply about both the characters and the Desert Planet. The miniseries was hardly over when I had to go looking for the DVD release date. I can only look forward to any special features that come with the DVD.