aul Atreides, the young scion of one of the ruling houses of the galactic empire
helmed by the capricious and conniving Emperor Shaddam IV, has until now known only
an easy life on his lush homeworld of Caladan. But this stability is being threatened
on several fronts simultaneously. Paul is experiencing strange prophetic dreams. He
is forced to submit to mysterious testing by a priestess of the secretive Bene Gesserit
order, to which his very mother Jessica once belonged (and to which she perhaps still
owes her true loyalty). And most disturbing of all: House Atreides--in the persons
of Paul, Lady Jessica and his father, Duke Leto, as well as their many retainers, such
as Gurney Halleck--must relocate by imperial edict to the desert world Arrakis, source
of a crucial natural resource, a compound known as "spice," a drug of many uses in
such areas as life extension and the navigation of the star lanes.
Their craft is readied, and a member of the navigators' guild is brought onboard, one
of those ethereal yet hideous creatures rumored to have once been human. Soon the
family is on Arrakis. But on another planet, at the rival fiefdom of Baron Harkonnen,
revenge is in the works. The Harkonnens have hated the Atreides for a long time,
and having Arrakis taken away from them by the emperor and given to their worst enemy
was the final straw. With the help of his sadistic nephew Feyd, the cruel and deformed
baron plans the destruction of House Atreides, aided by a traitor in Duke Leto's
employ.
On Arrakis, Paul, Jessica and the duke attempt to rule fairly, learning local
customs as they proceed--including the legend of a messiah to come, named Muad'Dib.
The duke's right-hand man, Duncan Idaho, is sent out among the spice-sodden,
eerily blue-eyed natives, the Fremen, as a representative of the new order.
The local planetary ecologist, Dr. Kynes, a Fremen himself, helps educate the
new rulers. One of the leading tribesmen, Stilgar, eventually visits to pledge
loyalty. And the unique fauna of the planet--most famously the immense and horrifying
sandworms--are encountered, notably during the rescue of a spice-mining encampment.
But Harkonnen's traitor is doing his work. An attempt is made on Paul's life;
mining equipment is stolen; smugglers undermine the legal trade. Despite these minor
and major irritations, a welcoming gala is scheduled, to which the emperor's daughter
herself is sent as a token of imperial favor. Princess Irulan and Paul strike some
romantic sparks until she is hauled away by her officious Sardaukar guards.
This is
the last innocent and pleasant time anyone will enjoy.
A new Dune for a new millennium
Doing honor to a famous novel in a cinematic translation is a thankless task,
especially when previous attempts have famously failed (in this case, David Lynch's
version). But this time around, director and scripter John Harrison and his talented
associates seem to have been bold and fearless enough to succeed. Intelligently
paring away huge chunks of Herbert's baroque novel, they have nonetheless retained
enough material--and presented these core events with skill and panache, in a
fashion neither hurried nor dilatory--to evoke the flavor and heft of the original.
First, the actors are generally superb. The casting, by Molly Lopata, deserves praise
(with one reservation, given below). William Hurt's Duke Leto offers a stern and
honor-bound mask which slips from time to time to reveal real passion, especially
in private moments with his wife, and when Paul is nearly assassinated. Saskia
Reeves convinces as a woman and mother who is torn between personal and institutional
loyalties. Supporting players, such as P.H. Moriarity as Gurney Halleck and Uwe
Ochsenknecht as Stilgar, slip easily into their more limited personas.
Second, the look of the film--attributable to costume designer Theodor Pistek and
production designer Miljen Kreka Klijakovic--is
neither too bizarre nor too mundane. The various venues--each with subtly symbolic
color schemes--look like places where humans actually could live and function, from
the gritty streets of Arrakis to the offices of the emperor's palace. The special
effects, under Ernest Farino, convince and awe, espcially the much-anticipated
sandworms. Music, by Graeme Revell, mixes European and Eastern modes to good effect.
And the cinematography of Vittorio Storaro offers a succession of keenly composed
shots, both intimate and grand.
On the downside, there are some defects. Certain characters, such as Duncan Idaho, are
now reduced in stature. The Mentat advisors are ciphers, and the Bene Gesserit almost
suffer the same fate. Phenomena such as the "spice blows" are unforeshadowed, arriving
out of nowhere. And the Fremen, cast as a mix of a dozen different ethnic types, no
longer possess any visual tribal unity. But these qualms are tiny compared with the
astonishing achievements of this respectful and ingenious film.
