Dune Movie vs Dune Mini Series Comparison

[Monster]

Dune versus Dune

A Scion of House Herbert Compares the Screen Versions

of Science Fiction's Greatest Tale

by Byron Merritt



I enjoyed talking with my grandfather on many occasions prior to his
death and, not surprisingly, our conversations often strayed into the
realm of his greatest creation - Dune - and its marketing to the
general public. There were many times when Grandpa laughed about
this, because he saw Dune as something unique and far removed from the
marketable world. Later he began to realize Dune wasn't just unique
but was a parable of human life that would endure thanks to the very
things the book preached against. The making of the 1984 movie
(directed by David Lynch) seemed the epitome of one of Dune's no-no
messages [that of creating a cult following of one man or his vision -
Editor]. So if you chuckle a few times while reading this, rest
assured that Frank Herbert would probably be laughing right along with
you.


Humble Beginnings?


"They'll probably want to retitle it How to Repair Your Ornithopter."
That was Grandpa's first impression when Chilton Books - previously
only a publisher of how-to books - decided to market Dune in 1963.
Being a relatively new author at this point in his life, Frank Herbert
simply wanted to get his work published and out to readers. Hell, he
probably would have let them title it Dude, Where's My Sandworm? if it
got the book into the hands of the literary world. Thank God that
didn't happen. Dune became popular and so did Grandpa thanks to what
was actually in the book (Is that a Maker on the cover, or are you
just happy to see me?).

There are many Dune fans that would undoubtedly like to know what
Frank Herbert would think of the new miniseries (broadcast in late
2000 by the Sci Fi Channel) versus the Lynch movie. I can't tell you
for certain - but I can give a few insights into what I know of this
complex human being that was my grandfather, and how he might have
perceived the two films.

"You don't create a world of dirt and wind without getting a little
sand in your eyes." That's what he told me one day when I asked
Grandpa how Dune could possibly get translated onto the movie screen.
Much of what he told me can be read in a book entitled (ironically
enough) Eye, which is a collection of short stories by Frank Herbert.
You can bet that I cracked a smile when I saw that title, then opened
it up and read his introduction. Perhaps he was trying to tell me it's
the overly-analytical 'eye' that can destroy a work of literary art
when it gets moved to film. In Eye he mentions what he did and didn't
like about the making of the Lynch movie (he enjoyed the Italian
Renaissance feel but didn't care for the brutal slimming down of
characters and plot).

From these comments we can obviously surmise that Grandpa wanted more
for the fans; more characters, more focus on water, more development
of plots and more bronco riding of a worm with Paul yippin' and yee-
hawin'! Well . . . maybe not that much more.

There is the 3-4 hour Allen Smithee version floating around in the VHS
and Laserdisk worlds [Note: "Allen Smithee" is the pseudonym used by a
director who wishes to disassociate himself from a particular film -
Editor]. But if you're looking for more coherency than the shorter
original theatrical release, I don't think looking there will give you
much satisfaction. For the sake of simplicity, I'll stick to
comparisons of the original 1984 release and the 2000 miniseries.

So without further ado, let's jump into the films and wade through the
erg together. I hope you brought your stillsuit!


Starting Points (Edge: 2000 miniseries)


"The beginning is a difficult time," Princess Irulan tells us at the
start of the 1984 film. We jump over to Kaitan (the Imperial Capitol)
and see the dazzling throne room with pug dogs and Guild
representatives decked out in black slickers standing next to a
Navigator's enclosure. Is this how the book started? It looks nice,
but it kinda threw me off my worm. In the miniseries, we jump straight
to Caladan and the encounter with Paul and Reverend Mother Mohiam. So
John Harrison gets accolades for sticking more closely to the novel.
Way to go, John!



Costumes (Edge: 1984 film)


Bob Ringwood did a stellar job on the '84 production. His elegantly
designed costumes enhanced the beauty of the entire film. We begin to
see this when Mohiam (Sian Phillips) is asked to leave the throne room
once the Guild representatives arrive, and she flows off the screen in
her black aba robe. Throughout the 2000 miniseries, however, I had
problems with the costumes. I think Theodor Pistek tried too hard to
come up with "something different". The repulsive headdresses nearly
made me vomit. When I saw Reverend Mother Mohiam (Zuzana Geislerova)
in the miniseries, I laughed out loud at the white mutant butterfly
poised on her head.


Acting (Edge: 1984 Film)


For the most part, the acting in the 1984 film shone far and above the
miniseries. For the most part. If I could single out one character I
hated in the Lynch film, it would have to be the Beast Rabban (Paul
Smith). Yeah, let's push an oompa loompa out of the way and rip out
some cow tongue to chew on so I can show everyone how tough I am! And
did he have any lines in the movie? Maybe four. So perhaps placing
this idiot savant in charge of Arrakis after the fall of House
Atreides wasn't such a good choice, Uncle Vladimir.

No commentary on the Dune films would be complete without mentioning
the main character, Paul Atreides (Kyle MacLachlan in the movie, Alec
Newman in the miniseries). After watching both films, I began to
realize something: I had trouble believing Kyle in the '84 version.
This is a 15-year-old kid? He seemed like an adult from the get-go,
which made his transformation into adulthood (and godhood) less
satisfying. Alec did a fine job. I know some of you will pitch a
coriolis fit about this, but Paul acting snotty and throwing tantrums
at the beginning of the story sat well with me. He's 15 for crying out
loud! Do you have teenagers in your home? Do they act like Kyle or
Alec?

Undoubtedly, Lady Jessica is my favorite character (Francesca Annis in
the film, Saskia Reeves in the miniseries). But thanks to the depth of
character that can be developed in a longer movie, Saskia Reeves
played very close to Miss Annis' level. Other notables in both
versions were Duncan Idaho (Richard Jordan in the movie, James Watson
in the miniseries), Emperor Shaddam IV (Jose Ferrer in the movie,
Giancarlo Giannini in the miniseries), Shadout Mapes (Linda Hunt in
the movie, Jaroslava Siktancova in the miniseries), and Stilgar
(Everett McGill in the movie, Uwe Ochsenknecht in the miniseries). But
when placing relative unknowns in the miniseries against the likes of
Jurgen Prochnow, Freddie Jones, Patrick Stewart, Dean Stockwell, and
Max Von Sydow, one can see why I gave the higher mark to the '84
film.


The Sets: Internal and External (It's a tie)


The '84 film had some impressive sets, no doubt about it. But were
they really that much better than those in the miniseries? I didn't
think so - for a couple of reasons: Kaitan is clean and beautiful in
the miniseries, while all we get to see in the '84 film is an interior
shot of the throne room. It was a damn fine throne room, but so was
the office of the Emperor in the miniseries. Castle Caladan was
definitely better in the '84 version, mainly because it looked like a
castle and not the latticework of metal tubes we saw in the
miniseries. Giedi Prime flopped in the '84 film because it looked
filthy with sickly green interiors and felt very un-Landsraad-like.
Giedi Prime in the miniseries seemed evil but tidy. Dune itself is
tough to judge. The '84 film was shot in an actual desert (big plus!),
while the miniseries' desert scenes were filmed on a sound-stage - an
obvious sound-stage with horribly fake backdrops. I had to force
myself to continue watching whenever this atrocious set came onscreen,
and whimpered at the money-saving goals it represented for such a good
TV production. However, we see much more of the city Arrakeen, added
sietch scenes, and the lush palace garden.


Special Effects (Another Tie)


For an '84 film, the effects weren't bad. Looking at the film even
now, it's surprising how well Kit West Mechanical (the FX company) did
their work with CGI still in its infancy. The worms were believable,
the Atreides' body shields intriguing, and the waking dream sequence
of Paul handled well. My biggest beefs with the effects in the movie
were the "flying iron" 'thopter, some terrible post production blue
dye added to the actors' eyeballs, and a few grainy shots involving
the worms (e.g., Paul conquering the worm for the first time and the
Baron flying into one's mouth at the end). The miniseries handled its
special effects (by Ernesto Farino) well also, for the most part. The
shields were believable when Paul and Gurney are sparring, the guild
heighliners were excellent, the Navigator was interesting with its
incredibly deep, blue eyes (but it seemed too bat-like), the 'thopter
looked - and sounded - real, and the worms were the best. Magnificent!
A large portion of the budget went into these sandworm shots and it
shows. Special effect gripes for the miniseries: the absurd CGI mouse
that looked like a cross between a fuzzy doll and a cardboard cutout.
My daughter could create a more believable mouse with papier-mâché.


Script (Edge: 2000 Miniseries)


"You want to touch my weirding module, Muad'dib?" How many scenes are
there with these damn things in the Lynch movie? Too many, that's how
many. All of this time could have been much better spent on actual
pages within the Dune novel. Although Harrison had to change some
things for the miniseries (most notably the expansion of Princess
Irulan's role and Jessica throwing up to show her pregnancy), his
adaptation was far superior. I'm going to jump in my ornithopter and
fly across the Great Pan to show you how much more of the book was
included in the 2000 miniseries versus what was left out in the 1984
film, so bear with me:

The ecological significance of water on Dune (e.g., the water seller
soo-soo sooking! out front of the Arrakeen Palace, the explanation of
water's value during the dinner table scene, face-masks on stillsuits,
Paul crying and giving water to the dead, dew collectors, Stilgar's
spitting episode, and Jessica talking with the Shadout Mapes about
water when viewing the palace garden); Fenring, Otheym, and Jamis are
given roles; Stilgar and Duke Leto actually meet; Turok is seen with
Duncan as Duncan forms an alliance with the Fremen for House Atreides;
the gradual development of Paul from teenager into manhood; nudity in
the sietches is acceptable during relaxation of stillsuits; the Fremen
orgy after Jessica takes in the Water of Life; the death of Dr. Kynes
is shown, as is the function of spice blows and how they occur; the
Crysknife is addressed as the sacred weapon of the Fremen ("May your
blade chip and shatter."); Cave of Ridges and Sietch Tabr are actually
named; the religious zeal of the Fremens is much more believable and
focused on as they imprint upon Paul as their savior (Mahdi!); the
necessary brutality of the Fremen children (one throws a knife into
the back of a Harkonnen which ends up saving Otheym); the internal
power struggles of House Harkonnen as Feyd makes an attempt on the
Baron's life; Gurney's belief that Jessica is the Atreides traitor and
attempts to kill her; Paul drinks the Water of Life and goes into his
coma. Chani figures out the cause of his coma and brings him out of it
(straight from the book); Paul remains dedicated to Chani but the
marriage to Irulan is seen as a must to preserve the empire; and it
doesn't rain at the end!


Where do we go from here?


How would Frank Herbert rate the two? Who knows. I feel he would've
been pleased with the miniseries because it addressed many of his
complaints from the '84 movie.


I don't think it's possible to get a book as complex as Dune 100%
percent accurate on film. I don't think it's possible for most novels.
Take Blade Runner, a truly fantastic SF movie. But if you read "Do
Androids Dream of Electric Sheep", upon which the movie is based, you
have to wonder about the script writing process.



So where do we go from here? Will they ever get it exactly right? Will
Irulan get to touch Paul's thumper? Will there be more Dune movies?
Yes. The Sci Fi Channel is producing a sequel miniseries (tentatively
titled Children of Dune), also directed by John Harrison, which
combines the novels Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. Shooting
recently began in Prague and many actors from the first series are
reprising their roles. Susan Sarandon will headline the cast by
playing Wensicia, a ruthless princess eager to restore her deposed
family to the throne.

Dune fans have asked me, "Which version do you prefer?" It's a tough
question to answer. I liked the 2000 miniseries very much, but it
didn't feel like Dune, which is what the '84 film did phenomenally -
through its costumes, sets and exceptional acting. Neither film is
perfect, but I think they've both given Grandpa something to smile
about as he rides a Maker in whatever universe awaited him after
ours.


Copyright 2002 Byron Merritt



Byron Merritt lives in Pacific Grove, California and works as a full-
time emergency room nurse and part-time writer. He's taken first and
third places in local writing competitions and has posted numerous
science fiction stories on the internet at various webzines. He
attributes much of his writing ability to genetics - his grandfather
is none other than Frank Herbert. Byron is currently working on
multiple science fiction and fantasy short stories, novels and
novelettes.

Source: http://www.scifidimensions.com/May02/dunevsdune.htm