Dune

Puddle Jumper · May 22, 2006

Has anyone read "Dune?" How does it compare to the 1984 movie and 2000 mini-series? I've not read the book. I really like the 1984 movie (with the exception of the heart plug incident) but I couldn't stand to watch more than a few minutes of the mini-series. Is it a good book? Anyone else like the movie or perhaps the mini-series?

Taurus Rising · May 22, 2006

Like most every other book adapted to movie/tv, Dune is better as a book. It's been so long since I've seen either the movie or mini-series it's hard for me to talk specifics. I saw the '80s movie before I read the book and the mini-series years after. The movie lost me in many places and I the mini-series just had an inadequate feeling to me.

The book an excellent read. I recommend putting it in your "to read" pile as soon as possible!

The sequels did absolutly nothing for me, but others have found them great.

Anya Smith · May 22, 2006

I've read Dune, all six of the original, and then the three new ones by his son and Kevin J. Anderson. I didn't see the mini series, but the first movie was great. It didn't do well in the box office; most people who didn't read the book had a hard time understanging it. The Dune series is one of my favorites.

Shweta · May 22, 2006

I suspect I'm voicing an unpopular opinion here, but... I couldn't stand the book. It's well written, and the premise is great, but I had to force myself to finish it, because I just hated the characters.

All of them.

I found myself wishing they'd engage in mutual annihilation already, for about the last 200 pages.

I'm told that I would probably like the movie better.

Puddle Jumper · May 22, 2006

In just the first few minutes of watching the mini-series I felt the acting skills were severely lacking. I think the '84 film is filled with extremely talented people. I was cringing from the beginning of the mini-series. It bugged me when Paul angrily yelled at his mom because she hadn't warned him about the box which he didn't do in the '84 movie and they had the first few pages at Barnes & Noble of the book and he didn't do that in the book either. Paul also showed more respect to Gurney in the '84 film. I liked the maturity level in Paul better in the film.

Also the mini-series had a strong sci-fi sense to it. I like that even though the story takes place far in the future with far more advanced technology, there was a rustic feeling to the movie.

Also, I don't know if anyone has ever played Zork Nemesis, but I felt a strong correlation between the feel of the Dune movie and that game.

Anya Smith · May 22, 2006

Read the books. One of the things I enjoyed was the mood it set; that ancient culture, the suppressed technology, the otherness that came through as rustic.

Pthom · May 23, 2006

Puddle Jumper said:
Also the mini-series had a strong sci-fi sense to it. I like that even though the story takes place far in the future with far more advanced technology, there was a rustic feeling to the movie.

Yeah, the mini-series had a good setting. I think a major flaw in many science fiction movies is the assumption that in the future, everything will be super modern, high tech, beyond all comprehension to contemporary humans. Maybe that's possible, but it seems to me that completely avoids the possiblity of natural disasters (such as global warming that melts the ice caps, or a comet striking the planet) slowing the progress of science and technology to a crawl while we recover.

Some of my favorite stories are those where the characters are nearly castaways on a remote planet, fending for themselves with only the stuff they brought with them or can find there. I mean, unless you assume faster-than-light travel, it takes a LONG time to just get to the next star, let alone one with inhabitable planets.

Euan H. · May 23, 2006

Puddle Jumper said:
Has anyone read "Dune?" . . . I've not read the book. . . . Is it a good book?

IMO, it's the best SF novel ever written. You should definitely buy a copy. The rest of the series is blah, but Dune itself is a landmark.

Peggy · May 23, 2006

I have to agree with the others who said "read the book". One of the things that I found interesting in the Dune series is that non-verbal communication and internal dialog is very important to the characters. I don't think that really came through in either the movie or the mini-series.

The 1984 movie had some great actors in it, but it didn't really capture the feeling of the book for me.

MarkN · May 23, 2006

The first four books (up through God Emperor of Dune) are incredibly good sci-fi, IMO. I loathed the movie. The whole point of the book was that Paul's prescience allowed him to foresee his actions leading to galactic war, and he was squirming every which way to try and avoid the bloodshed. In the movie, Paul couldn't wait to get a jihad going. It was like watching a movie version of the Gospels in which young Jesus devotes his entire adult ministry to trying to start the Spanish Inquisition and the Catholic/Protestant conflicts.

I never got to watch the mini-series, so I can't say whether or not they were more faithful to the book.

Caveat: I watched the Lord of the Rings movies too, and spent much of my time yelling (silently) at the screen because they got a lot of significant things wrong too.

Diana Hignutt · May 23, 2006

It's amazing to me how long ago it was I read Dune. Dang, about twenty-five years ago. They were among the first modern science fiction I had read (I started out my genre reading with Verne and Wells). The first two books of the series(Dune, and The Dune Messiah) were brilliant, must-read books. Powerful. I bailed on the Children of Dune before the end. It didn't do it for me, I guess. The movie and the mini-series versions of Dune both seemed so flat in comparison to me. Still, Frank Herbert's best book was Soul Catcher, IMO.

LloydBrown · May 23, 2006

I love Dune. Read the books, saw all three movies, played the computer game, the collectible card game, I have the very rare RPG book. Read the first prequel series, but the Herbert/Anderson books were so clumsily developed and poorly written I laughed out loud at some places.

I'm not making that last statement as a huge fan who's offended by continuing fiction. I'm making it as a writer who could teach a novice better plotting than the writers displayed in House Atriedes/Corrino/Harkonnen.

Gillhoughly · May 23, 2006

Puddle Jumper said:
Has anyone read "Dune?" How does it compare to the 1984 movie and 2000 mini-series?

About the same way "West Side Story" compares to "Romeo and Juliet."

About the same way Ralph Bakshi's Hobbit & LOTR compared to Tolkien's written word.

About the same way a Post-it note compares to a full office memo.

About the--oh, h&&& --just read Frank Herbert's book!

:tongue

HConn · May 23, 2006

Read the first book. Skip the rest.

Tirjasdyn · May 23, 2006

I loved the whole series.

Imnsho, The movie captured the visuals of the book but played fast with the story, the mini series captured the story but did what ever they wanted visually.

dpaterso · May 23, 2006

DUNE is a must-read for any Sci-Fi fan.

I doubt I would have been able to understand Lynch's film if I hadn't read the novel first. Many people asked me to explain parts that had bewildered them, which made me realize how flawed the film was.

The Sci-Fi Channel mini-series, eh, pretty in places but missed the target too often, I had a lot of "No, no, no!" moments, and sometimes just didn't recognize the characters.

The book is deeper and far more dramatic than either "artistic vision." It's a kick-a$$ adventure on one of the most memorable alien worlds ever conceived, where honor and chivalry survive against all odds.

-Derek
My Web Page - naked women, bestial sex, and whopping big lies.
Stop reading this and get some writing done instead.

aka eraser · May 23, 2006

I got Diana beat. I think it must be about 35 years ago when I read it. I was very impressed with the original but don't believe I made it through the sequel, nor did I test-drive any others in the series.

Birol · May 23, 2006

CONTAINS SPOILERS

I saw an interview with Frank Herbert around the time the 1984 movie was released. One of his statements stuck in my head. "Most authors wonder what [the people in Hollywood] are doing to their baby. I know because I was directly involved the whole time." Or something like that.

IMO, his direct involvement was a problem. The novel was longer than could be contained in a standard-length movie, yet even when things were cut, nothing was altered. For instance, in the book, Paul has a knife fight shortly after he and his mother are taken in by the Fremen. This knife fight triggers a sequence of events, including his becoming responsible for the children of his opponent's widow. In the movie, the knife fight happens, but many of the events, such as the presentation of the widow and her children to Paul and his decision of how to accept them, that followed from that were cut. Yet, in the movie, there are still these two young boys who are following Paul around.

The result I found was that if you had not read the book, you could not fully understand what was happening in the movie.

My poor brother actually took me to the 1984 movie as a birthday present. He had never read the book. At different points in the movie, he would lean over to me and say things like, "Where did those kids come from?"

MarkN · May 23, 2006

Birol said:
I saw an interview with Frank Herbert around the time the 1984 movie was released. One of his statements stuck in my head. "Most authors wonder what [the people in Hollywood] are doing to their baby. I know because I was directly involved the whole time." Or something like that.

I remember reading that too, and thinking, "Has he even read his own book?!" The movie struck me as being the contradiction of the book. Paul from the book was a decent guy trapped by relentless fate; Paul from the movie was a baby Attila who couldn't wait to launch his hordes. And don't get me started about that weirdo Harkonnen doctor with the bizarre fetish for the Baron's giant diseased zits...

Birol · May 23, 2006

Oh, yes, the doctor and the Baron. In the book -- and it's been awhile since I read it, too -- I remember him as being a really well-written villain. He had his quirks, was driven by ambition, greed, and the need for revenge, and was very good at scheming and plotting, and had also been used along the way by others. In the movie, he's a caricature.

badducky · May 23, 2006

I thought the book was just okay. An interesting take on the political sci-fi thriller. If only the Harkonen world and culture was as deep and rich as the Fremen...

The 1984 movie was forgettable.

The recent miniseries had a very, very attractive European actress. She has a sultry Romanian-esque accent, and spooky blue eyes.

Besides her, I wouldn't sit through that miniseries again.

Whenever I think of Sci-Fi Channel mini-series, I just remember how Ursula K. LeGuin's books got this massive whitewash. Everything got blanded, including the skin of the characters.

Maybe Studio Gibli will do a better Dune, like they're doing a better Earthsea. Until then, I'm going to chug another dayquilita and try to find out what else that Romanian actress has been in.

If I'm going to have fever dreams, I'd love to tell her about the waters of my homeland during them.

Shadow_Ferret · May 23, 2006

It was so long ago that I read "Dune" that I don't even recall what it was about any more. I do know that I really liked the book. Never bothered with the sequels. And although I also don't recall what the movie was like, I do remember being horribly dissappointed in it, that it was nothing even remotely close to the book.

Never bothered with the mini-series.

Go read the book and forget about movie adaptations.

RG570 · May 23, 2006

I liked the book, though it was tedious at times.

I thought David Lynch's version of Dune was a bit weird, especially the ships. They looked poorly thought out. And the ending was stupid; I can't figure out why they made it rain. Rain would have killed the worms, as I understand it, and the worms are what made the planet work.

I really enjoyed the mini series, especially Children of Dune.

Puddle Jumper · May 23, 2006

Peggy said:
I have to agree with the others who said "read the book". One of the things that I found interesting in the Dune series is that non-verbal communication and internal dialog is very important to the characters. I don't think that really came through in either the movie or the mini-series.

The 1984 movie had some great actors in it, but it didn't really capture the feeling of the book for me.

I remember there being quite a bit of hearing the characters thoughts in the movie that came out back in '84.

Which, btw, has anyone seen the extended edition of that movie? What surprised me about the extended edition was that they took out some scenes from the theatrical release. The ones I recall being taken out was 1)the Baron pulling the young man's heart plug and killing him, 2)Jessica, Allia, and the Reverend Mother for the Emperor bleeding while Paul took the water of life, 3) the Baron spitting on Jessica's face.

One thing I could not figure out in the film was Jessica being the Baron's daughter.

ChunkyC · May 23, 2006

I loved all the Dune books written by Frank Herbert himself. Arrakis still has to be the most vividly realized world in science fiction.

The 1984 movie was a letdown for many reasons, but very much because nobody could put that book into a single movie. Imagine cramming the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy into a single 2 hour film. Impossible. Also consider that Paul Atreides at the time of Dune was fifteen years old. In the movie he seemed more like a full grown man.

The miniseries at least had the advantage of being able to take four and a half hours to tell the story. Mind you, I do believe they skipped over stuff that I would like to have seen. But overall, it felt more like the book than the movie. Paul seemed to be more like the proper age. But the SciFi channel blew it when they crammed Dune Messiah and Children of Dune into one miniseries.

Both the movie and the miniseries pale in comparison to the novel. It was published in 1965 when what most people thought of when you mentioned science fiction was dross like Lost in Space. Read the book and lose yourself in one of the seminal works of the genre.

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