Frank Herbert's Dune (2000)

There is a substance, a spice, found in only one place in the known universe, on Dune. Arrakis. Desert planet. The spice is the most important substance known to man. It prolongs life and enables interstellar travel. Without it, interplanetary trade would cease and empires would fall. This makes people nervous. Nervous people do desperate things. The Padishah Emperor controls Dune. He's more nervous than most. Those he favours are permitted to mine the spice. Those that oppose him are quickly silenced and left to die. There are a number of political houses that the Emperor can use to keep the spice flowing. Each house has its own agenda. Each house has its own problems. Each house hates the other. There's a prophecy that tells of a time when a man will come - a saviour. That time is now.

Dune is so full of plot that I had to skip ninety percent of it just to type that. I should've used bullet points. It's about politics, religion, love, death, legacies, oppression, socialism, revolution, truth hidden and truth revealed, and so much more. I hate politics, but I love Dune. It makes a dull subject exciting.

In reality, the complexity in the Dune book makes it unsuitable for a film medium, but they try. It lacks the voice-over that the previous filmed version had. Despite what you may think of that other version, Lynch knew that a voice-over was essential; if you've read the novel, you'll understand why.

The cinematography is by the renowned Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now; The Last Emperor) but what he's chosen to do with the limited budget will irk some folks. You may laugh at the painted backdrops of the set-bound production, but if you do then you're not seeing the bigger picture.

Visually, each planet has its own unique style, so we can tell instantly where we are without the need for repetitive establishing shots. The costumes follow the same pattern, and the people chosen to wear them are (mostly) well-suited to their book counterpart. A longer running time means it can be more faithful to the original text. It invents a subplot for Princess Irulan that wasn't in the book, but it's woven around the main themes well so it never feels like an intrusion.

3 episodes, approx 98 minutes each.

3½ signs of worm out of 5