"Children of Dune" (2003) TV mini-series

Director:

Greg Yaitanes

Writers (WGA):

Frank Herbert (books)
John Harrison (teleplay)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

16 March 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Born to rule an empire. Destined to tear it apart.

Plot:

The twins of Paul "Muad'dib" Atreides become embroiled in the political landscape of Arrakis ("Dune") and the rest of the universe.

Plot Keywords:

Dune | Sequel | Steampunk | Messiah | Desert World

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 7 nominations

Cast

Alec Newman	...	Muad'Dib / ... (1 episode, 2003)
Edward Atterton	...	Duncan Idaho (1 episode, 2003)
Ian McNeice	...	Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (1 episode, 2003)
Steven Berkoff	...	Stilgar (1 episode, 2003)
P.H. Moriarty	...	Gurney Halleck (1 episode, 2003)
James McAvoy	...	Leto Atreides II (1 episode, 2003)
Rik Young	...	Javid (1 episode, 2003)
Martin McDougall	...	Scytale (1 episode, 2003)

Also Known As:

Dune - Bedrohung des Imperiums (Germany) (second part title)
Dune - Der Messias (Germany) (first part title)
Dune - Die Kinder des Wüstenplaneten (Germany) (third part title)
Dune - Krieg um den Wüstenplaneten (Germany) (cut version)
Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

Czech Republic:235 min (3 parts) | Germany:182 min (2004) (cut version) | USA:266 min

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Finland:K-15 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Germany:12 | UK:12 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Krizeneckeho namesti, Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

Blixa Film Produktion GmbH & Co. KG

Trivia:

Brian Tyler's music for this mini-series is used regularly in movie trailers, e.g. The Golden Compass (2007), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) or Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Stilgar supposedly slashes Mohiam's throat, but not only does he clearly not touch her at all, his knife is positioned closer to her chest.

Quotes:

Leto: So I have chosen! To make a world where human kind can create its own future from moment to moment... Free of one man's vision... Free from the perversions of the prophet's words. And free of future predetermined.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Troldspejlet: (#33.11)" (2005)

Better acting that first miniseries, but such a dense story!

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.