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Amazon.co.uk Review
Children of Dune is the sequel to the Sci-Fi Channel's Frank Herbert's Dune (2000), and surpasses that earlier mini-series in every way. The screenplay is again by John Harrison, who has combined Herbert's novels Dune Messiah and Children of Dune into three 84-minute TV movies, and continues the labyrinthine space opera with little concession to the uninitiated. Indeed, this a very rare attempt to put the complexity of printed SF on screen, and if the result is sometimes rather hermetic it is perhaps inevitable when realising Herbert's Byzantine, pseudo-Shakespearean tragedy. The same tableaux-like qualities infuse the new Star Wars films and the similarities between Herbert's and Lucas' worlds have never been more obvious than here.
Performances range from excellent--Julie Cox, Alice Krige, Alex Newman (much better here than in the first series) and James McAvoy--to a surprisingly wooden Susan Sarandon. The set-pieces are exceptional, with many individual images sufficiently memorable to stand comparison with the work of Ridley Scott. Production-wise this is surely the most beautiful mini-series ever made, with gorgeous lighting by cinematographer Arthur Reinhart, breathtaking set design from Ondrej Nekvasil and a ravishing score from Brian Tyler. By TV standards the CGI is first-rate and, though rarely looking real, establishes a credible science fictional universe. Even when rather baffling, the production achieves moments of dramatic grandeur and a sense of wonder not experienced in TV SF since Babylon 5.
On the DVD: Children of Dune on DVD has one feature-length episode on each disc. The picture is presented at 1.77:1 anamorphically enhanced for widescreen TVs. Shot in high definition, its clarity and detail is superb with virtually no blemishes to the image at all. Colour has a painterly beauty that is remarkable. However, some shots look inaccurately framed, with what was presumably a 4:3 image being a little too closely cropped for widescreen presentation. It's a minor flaw and really only noticeable in some close-ups. Sound is a richly luxuriant Dolby Digital 5.1, which gives no ground to any modern blockbuster movie. Perfunctory extras are confined to the first disc and consist of an interesting but short look at the special effects (13 minutes), a storyboard comparison for one key scene and a photo gallery. --Gary S Dalkin
DVD Description
A battle raged for twelve years whilst desert dweller Paul Maud’dib Atreides’s, Freman Jiha travelled the universe destroying the remaining old Imperial armies. Maud’dib’s rule saw planets colonized one by one, though amid the anarchy, the House of Atreides emerged as a superpower of Dune’s planet Arrakis. However, the rule of the government is not wholly universal, there are numerous corrupt adversaries, the greatest being the fallen Baron Harkonnen who strives to regain control of his old empire, Dune, with its mystifying life force and all it symbolizes, to the galactic order. Harkonnen aside, a treacherous threat is about to emerge from within the House of Atreides as the number of clandestine enemies increases. Maud’dib believes that his sole chance of safeguarding his family sovereignty is his newborn twins born of his concubine, Chiani. Soon his son, Leto will be heir to Dune, a most unimaginable power. The son will be responsible for demystifying his father’s legacy, destroying the old regime in order to reinstate peace in the Empire. The definitive war has yet to be waged and will see the Children of Atriedes – the Children of Dune – trapped amid a future so volatile, yet of their family’s very own creation.
Stunning effects, incredible battles, high court intrigue with both theological and ecological theories, Frank Herbert’s visual, award-winning opus reinvents the mythology of fantasy fiction. This fantastical saga challenges the intellectual puzzle of the future of humanity as we know it, raises the bar and unveils breath-taking sci-fi cinematography.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Staggering,
This review is from: Frank Herbert's Children of Dune [DVD] (DVD)
Children Of Dune surpasses even the first Sci-Fi Channel Dune Mini-Series in terms of special effects, acting and sheer quality of drama. Alice Krige (aka Borg Queen) is amazing as lady Jessica and the general acting is first class. The imagery and special effects of this mini series are truely staggering for TV and the haunting soundtrack is most probably the best I have ever heard; and easily rivals the best of most big-budget films. It sets the mood of the drama perfectly. The mini-series adapts the 2nd amd 3rd Dune series novels faithfully so I would recommend you see the first mini series or at least have read the books. I cannot over emphasise the slick ingenuity gone in the production of this epic mini series. This is what epic sci-fi should be and every self respecting sci-fi fan (or anyone else for that matter) should see this masterpiece. Surely this should win am emmy or two...
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fantastic Peice of Classic Sci Fi!!,
By David Dares (Edgware, London) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Children Of Dune [2003] [DVD] (DVD)
An absolutely brilliant series, much better than the original TV series and dare i say it the original film! Having read all the books and recently watched the previous film and series i believe this to be the best so far. With great performances, especially the prescient twins Leto and Ghanima played by James McAvoy and Jessica Brooks, although i must say i enjoyed the whole cast and thought they all did a fantastic job. This coupled with the amazing effects and music, which although not the best the world hs ever seen does the job very nicely, especially when you think about the budget the series had in the first place.
As with all adaptations of books to screen not everything can be transfered although i must admit i was pleasantly surprised and felt that they had got most of the aspects included, especially the important ones, giving the story the details it needed accurately from the books. Overall i thoroughly enjoyed this and would heartily recommended it to anyone who enjoys Sci Fi, has read Dune, or even any Asimov or other Sci Fi writer for that matter, as you will definitely be entertained!!
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cinematic in scope,
By
This review is from: Frank Herbert's Children of Dune [DVD] (DVD)
The first Dune mini-series, whilst enjoyable, well adapted and accessible, suffered from the dreadful special effects. Granted they were well done for what was a tiny budget but nonetheless they distracted from the series. In this second adaptation this flaw has been removed and what emerges is a wonderful piece of television.The story follows on from Herbert's stunning 'Dune' and the series has cleverly wrapped the two subsequent novels; 'Dune Messiah' and 'The Children of Dune' into one series. We left Dune with Paul Atreides having overthrown the Emperor of the Known Universe and becoming Emperor himself. Here we have sped forward a number of years, Paul rules the Empire and a jihad of the Fremen (the native inhabitants of Dune, repressed by the former regime) has spread his name across the cosmos. The story follows the repercussions of the jihad as well as the events surrounding the birth of his two children. There are some great performances here, Alex Newman may not be the best Paul Atreides, but he works well enough, Alice Kirge as his mother plays well, as does the actors who play Irulan, Chani, Leto and his sister. Some dodgy performances from Gurney Haleck and Stilgar but all in all a good cast. The change of some of the actors from the first series is a little confusing but in general has worked to the benefit of the series. Wonderful sets, a beautiful score, and effects while not of cinema calibre are a cut above the usual television variety make for a good series. Watching this, I can't help but feel that if this had been released in the cinema, on a Hollywood budget, it would have done very well indeed and more than made up for Lynch's high concept, but hard to follow film adaptation. Oh well - if wishes were horses. I can't give this five stars mainly because despite all its good qualities, the sometimes bad acting and bad effects do affect your viewing. That said, this is in no way the fault of the production or script, but simply budget and acting problems.
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