Reviewing Movies

Just finished watching John Harrison’s mini-series 2000 version of Dune. Even allowing for the advances made in film making since David Lynch’s attempt in 1984 this is a far superior version of Frank Herbert’s classic Science Fiction novel of 1965. Matt Keeslar, who appears to have matured considerably and muscled up even more since his salad days in Run of the Country, is no longer cute but makes a handsome Feyd though he does not have the sinister leer that Sting lavished with such relish in the earlier version. Even with nearly 5 hours running time this story still seems heavily compacted. As with most movie adaptations many storylines and plot extras are dropped and in the interest of maintaining a broader audience rating Baron Vladimir Harkonnen’s more perverted proclivities are not displayed on screen, though we do meet one of his deceased sexual partners when Feyd is summoned to account for the assassination device concealed on its body.

It is unfortunate that the lead characters Duke Leto and Paul Atreides are so upstaged by the performances of so many minor characters. Both actors seem to lack the charisma their parts would seem to demand. My other quibble is with the confusing, difficult to navigate menu system provided on the DVD’s. These caveats aside the depiction of Arrakis, a desert planet where the value of water is superseeded only by “spice”, truly evokes a setting beset by sand storms with winds of 800 miles per hour and giant worms that are attracted to anything that moves on the open desert. The Fremen with their glowing blue eyes, their culture, and their societal values are faithfully evoked. This is a truly primal society where the survival of the community trumps all other considerations. As with a series such as Lord of the Rings, there are so many characters and plot twists that anyone not familiar with the story from reading the books would be hard-pressed to keep up with the action. This is a movie meant for Frank Herbert afficionados and for them this has many delights. I can’t wait to get my hands on Children of Dune.