Frank Herbert's Dune

The effects are really bad and cheap but it is so faithful to the book they don't matter at all.

The Book Rules. Whenever you are dealing with Book vs. Movie vs TV series, the Book will always win, especially when you are trying to capture a series that will probably be one of the top three favoured series of Fantasy/SciFi literature fandom. Movies and TV Series just can't capture all the threads of plot, the characters that readers know like family and the vivid scenes that have been uniquely painted in each readers imaination. So, how did this series do, for me? My first attempt to watch the series failed, due to a number of first impressions: the visual representation of space and the panorama of Arrakis from the Duke's window felt like the low budget necessities of a TV series from the 50s; WIlliam Hurt's performance of the Duke was wooden and stiff (Can the man actually act?); the Baron was more slug than viper; Alec Newman's Paul was not noble or strong but was petulant and weak; the Reverend Mother of the Bene Gesserite was a cardboard villian from a bad melodrama, and her reverberating voice and her trial of Paul made little sense. In my second attempt to watch, I pushed passed the disappointing first half of the first episode and was finally captured by the remnants of Herbert story: the character of Lady Jessica, the Fremen and the political machinations of the houses; the counterbalance of Chani's devotion and Princess Irulan's intelligence; and, of course, the self discovery of Maud'Dib. I also was captivated by the beautiful marble of the Duke's palace, the steel lines of the Baron's and the Versailles like elegance of the Emperor's. So, my rating for the series begins with a 4 (poor) for the first half of the first episode, which grew to a 7 (good) out of 10 for the last two and a half episodes (with one caveat - the voice over explaination of the future of Princess Irulan given at the end was lazy writing and a cheat resolve.) My advice: read the Books! [Fantasy SciFi Drama]

Im watching this adaptation because of the follow up Childtrn of Dune series. Some of the effects are simply awful, but I hear the quality improves in the next one. 7/10 for the effort. Looking forward to the next miniseries.

This adaptation knocks the deeply flawed Lynch movie out of the park. That's mainly because it sticks to the book's narrative. It's a shame that the production values and effects don't match the script's ambition. Even given that it's now over 20 years old.

Updated after a recent rewatch. I recommend that you read the book. The writer / director makes a commendable attempt to bring a complex universe to the screen & indeed sticks to the themes in the novel. But. There isn't enough time allowed to go into the detail needed to understand motivations, those themes and the history of Dune.

I need to watch both of the Denis Villeneuve films.

Some things they did worse than Lynch and some things they did better, but a solid adaptation has yet to be made. Really would like to see someone get it done well.

You should really focus on the story because the production itself is crap.

As for how the book compares to this I do not know. I tried reading it when I was very young and couldn´t grasp the story so I put it away. After the movie I never felt the urge to pick it up again. It goes deeper than the movie that´s for sure.

Disappointing. Not so much because of the cheap special effects, but because of the below average acting and mostly because of the terrible writing. If you make a movie or a tv series based on a book, you need to tell your own story and not just assume that the audience has read the book anyways. To avoid.