Les Enfants de Dune

Long live the Golden Age -- we need more movies based upon the classics.

COD is good, better than Soderberg's Solaris (I know, I've got a chip on my shoulder).

I did not enjoy the sequel novels as much as the original Dune novel, and so I had no real hopes for this SciFi Channel Production.

It was head and shoulders better than the original mini-series for the following reasons:

1) Better casting -- in particular James McAvoy, who brought power, emotion, and sensitivity to his role. An almost Shakespearean hero. 2) Stunningly beautiful score -- thanks to Brian Tyler.

I'm not going to beat up on the story, original or screenplay, I have no real complaints, it was well paced and well told.

The film seemed very sumptuous, although I agree that, at times, COD had a very 'filmed on the set' feel to it, particularly the deep desert scenes, the true character of Arrakis still has yet to be realized on screen, and computer effects still have a long way to go (on any film) to lose the sterile feel.

Because of the better casting and score, I found it very easy to suspend disbelief, allow myself to be drawn in, and become emotionally interested, something which science fiction films seem to have trouble doing (Gattaca is an exception).

On that note alone I would give COD a very high rating and call it the best science fiction film I have seen in a couple of years.

A blizzard and 32 inches of snow is the perfect setting to watch a mini-series that has been taped for later viewing. As a long-time Dune book series fan and an owner of the DVD of the Lynch movie and the first Sc-Fi miniseries, I eagerly awaited Children of Dune.

The good: Excellent musical score (hopefully available on amazon.com); better acting in general, especially Alice Krige as Lady Jessica and the young actor who played Leto, son of Paul; better special effects (incredible sandworms!); and just the fact that Sci-Fi took time and money to prodice this miniseries (though I will never forgive the cancellation of Farscape).

The bad: Susan Sarandon, for an alleged fan of the Dune series, was just terrible, all hammy and goofy like some character out of a 60s sitcom; the actress who played Alia, Paul Atreides sister, was OK but seemed to lack the fire that I always envisioned as Paul's sister went mad; and the story, which was a mixture of the second and third books in the series, was so incredibly dense -- even for a Dune veteran like me -- that I wondered if anyone else could watch the mini-series and even figure out what was going on.

Generally speaking, this was a better production than the first miniseries, but the story was harder to tell. I hope that Sci-Fi carries on and does a third mini-series. I rated Children of Dune an 8.

Now this is more like it! While the Sci-Fi version of 'Dune' was much better than the pathetic 1984 David Lynch version, I felt it still suffered from the 'gotta be way out there' syndrome. It was decent, but badly directed and overacted (witness the Guild Reps doing Tai Chi when they talk). Overall it was fair but not really notable.

This version is fantastic however. For me, this is what Sci-Fi should be all about. They took two of Herbert's books (Dune Messiah, Children of Dune) and combined them into a mini-series that actually takes the material seriously and doesn't try to hard to be different. I thought Leto was excellently done, Alia even better, Ghanima a little less than I expected. The effects were good, but I thought the story was actually the driving force for a change.

All in all a great effort. Now let's see if they do 'God-Emporer of Dune'

This four hour miniseries actually covers two books, the shorter sequil to <i>Dune</i>, <i>Dune Messiah</i>, and the next (longer) <i>Children of Dune</i>. I was stunned by how well it was able to capture such complex concepts as were introduced in the books in the visual medium. There were very few times I felt the film hadn't stayed true to the book, most of which were minor. I think anyone who hadn't read the books or at least seen the previous movie would be a little lost, so I recomend this as complimentary to the books; but as such it was a wonderful treat. Actors, make-up, set design were all perfect. I think I liked David Lynch's stillsuits better, these ones don't look like they'd do the job very well, but I suppose it was a trade off with seeing some of the wonderfully figured women =)

The part that would be the end of <i>Dune Messiah</i> had me nearly in tears. Wonderful job. For anyone who's read the books, a must see.

The production value on this installment of the Dune series is more than I could have hoped for. Thank you for getting rid of those awful painted backgrounds. I had been contemplating how a real movie version of the Dune books would look for years. I liked the sets on the DL version but the lack of story was just too confusing for anyone that hadn't read the books and disappointing for those that did. When I heard about the SciFi channel doing the movie 3 years ago I was all jazzed up and ready to be dazzled. And while the story was more consistent with the book and the acting was good, I was rather disappointed with the sets. Now with Children of Dune I think we've seen what should have been done from the get go. The special effects are right on target as are the performances in this one. In the first installment it seemed more like a filmed stage play. This one is more like the full-on, glossy, Hollywood production these stories deserve. That said, I (and some of my friends) still feel that these movies are not going to be very comprehensible to anyone that hasn't read the books but I don't mind that much as I am a selfish and self-serving person at heart. I also have lost faith that anyone will do the Lady Jessica character justice. DL's Jessica was horrible.. beautiful, yes, but what a simpering little weakling she was. Not so in the book… Jessica was more solid, calculating and strong. The miniseries did a little better but she still seemed weak in comparison to the novel. Hopefully Alice Krige will prove to be better. Since she was barely in last night's part, we'll have to wait and see. All in all I am very pleased with what the makers have done with this part of the series. I can't wait until tonight and the next night and especially (hopefully) for ‘God Emperor of Dune' and ‘Chapterhouse'. If they don't do the whole series, I will be sorely disappointed. Bottom line: Keep up the great work!