I have and will continue to defend the movie. I simply weep for what it could have been.
They wrote out Irulan! This is unforgivable! They had freaking Virginia Madsen and they still wrote out the character.
The cast and budget they had for the movie was incredible. The movie had so much potential.
My pros for the movie: They had a great cast and budget available to them. (I'll break down who I felt was better in each below). I think that the movie set up Doctor Yueh's treachery better. The movie did have some kick ass worms. And yes, the soundtrack was incredible. Toto did a bang up job. Michael Bolton :lol (yes, the movie had him as the drummer in the final battle between Paul and Feyd).
My cons: Irulan
😛issed, bald bene gesserits?, weirding modules?, heart plugs?, the Baron was not diseased, it did not rain in the first book, I wasn't happy with the Navigators, Rabban's early death, Gurney and Duncan were muted in their importance to the story, the movie totally flubbed the importance of Doctor Kynes.
Neither version got Thufir right. :cry
My main gripe is that with the cast and budget they had there was little need to alter the story as radically as they did.
I am not going to go through the whole cast but for a few notables:
Paul (mini-series)
Duke Leto (movie)
Jessica (both)
Chani (mini-series) :wub
Irulan (mini-series) :wub
Emperor (both)
Baron (mini-series)
Gurney (movie)
Duncan (both)
Yueh (movie)
Reverend Mother (mini-series) :wub
(Yes, Lord help me, I'd totally bang the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam :drool )
Piter, Feyd, Rabban (movie)
Doctor Kynes (movie)
Alia (mini-series) She is far creepier in the mini-series.
I gotta say that while the mini-series is good, I love the original interpretation (aka the movie). The sand worms were horrific and monstrous, Duke Leto and Paul actually looked like they should have, and hell, Patrick Stewart acted like the star he is. The sisterhood was mysterious, the Baron (and his sons) were evil and twisted, and the navigators were totally alien. Yeah yeah, I know, the weirding way wasn't portrayed as a ultra-fast martial art but you know what, they didn't have the ability to portray special effects like that very accurately back then and a sonic based weapon actually kind of makes sense. They even got the sisterhood's "voice" ability down right. Finally, the music was TO DIE FOR! If you can put up with no matrix-style moves,
We can go back and forth on alot of this.
Sting in a codpiece (which may not be bad for some people),
:blink
and the Baron being more insane than in the mini-series, all in all, it's a good movie people.
No, no, the Baron was not insane. He was brilliant and willful. He was a social mastermind. The movie totally went off the deep end on the whole Harkonnen angle. They were a noble house. They were not a freak show. *sigh*
Anyway Rox, anytime you want to talk Sci Fi, feel free to look me up.
