Besides the final scene, the only one of Irulan's appearances based on an actual excerpt from the novel is her visit to Feyd-Rautha. Additionally, the character gave him a window into House Corrino. Harrison felt the need to expand Irulan's role because she played such an important part in later books, and epigraphs from her later writings opened each chapter of Dune. The miniseries invents an extensive subplot for Princess Irulan, a character who plays little part in the plot of the first novel. Harrison aged the character to adulthood in order to draw upon an adult acting pool for this crucial role. Herbert's novel begins with lead character Paul Atreides being 15 years old and aging to 18 over the course of the story. captured Herbert's prophetic reflection of our own age, where nation-states are competing with the new global economy and its corporate elements." A fan of the novel, he told The New York Times, "I was a science fiction junkie. Hurt was the first to be cast in the 2000 adaptation. The miniseries introduces elements not found in Herbert's novel, but according to the director, these serve to elaborate rather than to edit. Adaptation ĭirector John Harrison has described his adaptation as a "faithful interpretation" in which any changes he made served to suggest what Herbert had explained subtly or not at all. Rubenstein called his two Dune miniseries "science fiction for people who don't ordinarily like science fiction" and suggested that "the Dune saga tends to appeal to women in part because it features powerful female characters". Released in 2000, Frank Herbert's Dune was the first of the Sci-Fi Channel's miniseries, followed by Steven Spielberg's miniseries Taken in 2002, and Frank Herbert's Children of Dune and Battlestar Galactica in 2003. The Dune miniseries was greenlit in November 1999. There are some books that just can't be squeezed into a two-hour movie." Around the same time Rubenstein was first developing the material, the Sci Fi Channel's president, Bonnie Hammer, was spearheading a campaign for the channel to produce "blockbuster miniseries on a regular basis". He told The New York Times in 2003, "I have found there's a wonderful marriage to be had between long, complicated books and the television mini-series.
Rubinstein envisioned the complex material adapted in a miniseries format, as he had done previously with Stephen King's The Stand and The Langoliers. Zuzana Geislerová as Reverend Mother Gaius Helen MohiamĪcquiring the television rights to Frank Herbert's original six Dune novels, executive producer Richard P.Miroslav Táborský as Count Hasimir Fenring.Giancarlo Giannini as Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV.Ian McNeice as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.The miniseries was shot in Univisium (2.00:1) aspect ratio, although it was broadcast in 1.78:1.
The series was also praised by several critics, including Kim Newman.
The miniseries are two of the three highest-rated programs ever to be broadcast on the Sci Fi Channel.įrank Herbert's Dune won two Emmy Awards in 2001 for Outstanding Cinematography and Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a miniseries or movie, and was nominated for a third Emmy for Outstanding Sound Editing. Ī 2003 sequel miniseries titled Frank Herbert's Children of Dune continues the story, adapting the second and third novels in the series (1969's Dune Messiah and its 1976 sequel Children of Dune). It was released on DVD in 2001, with an extended director's cut appearing in 2002. It was first broadcast in the United States on December 3, 2000, on the Sci Fi Channel. The series was produced by New Amsterdam Entertainment, Blixa Film Produktion and Hallmark Entertainment. Moriarty, Ian McNeice, and Giancarlo Giannini. The cast includes Alec Newman as Paul Atreides, William Hurt as Duke Leto, and Saskia Reeves as Lady Jessica, as well as James Watson, P. It was written and directed by John Harrison. Frank Herbert's Dune is a three-part science fiction television miniseries based on the 1965 novel by Frank Herbert.