Dune newbie questions

[Harvey]

Lynch made the Harkonnens more...disgusting than they are in the book. Their depiction in the miniseries is more on point, especially with the Baron.

 

[JD]

Glad to have that confirmed, they hurt the quality of the movie IMO. I usually don't mind weird and disturbing stuff, but they were a little to much for me. I have to admit though, it does make me wonder what his Return of the Jedi would have been like, especially Jaba.

 

[Agenda]

I just picked Dune a couple days ago, and I have a couple questions before I read it.
1) Which adaptation is better? I'm talking both general quality, and closeness to the book. A few years ago I tried to watch both of them, and I really liked the miniseries, but I didn't make it very far in the movie. I don't think they'd even gotten to Arrakis yet before I turned off the movie.
2) If I decide to continue the series what is the best order to read the sequels/prequels/interquels, midquels or whatever you want to call the new series?

1. I prefer the movie because it has style. Can't stand the first miniseries, but the second one is much better.

2. Don't read the prequels or all that other garbage. Please.

 

[Reverend]

As much as I do like Dune, I think in general, David Lynch films ought to have a disclaimer at the front of them; "Warning: The director of this film has a thing for bodily fluids, remain calm!"

But to answer your question, yes, the Harkonnen in the movie are much more...squishy than they are in the book and not nearly as sneaky. Rabban is actually about right (a mindless, sadistic brute who actually thinks he's the heir apparent) though Feyd-Rautha is supposed to be more of a dark, vain and spoilt reflection of Paul.
Having said all that though, while the "movie Baron" is of course much more extreme and psychotic, I think the original book version is actually allot more perverse, though you only get a little hint at the extent of his "tastes."

As for the cat...best not to ask. In the book they did impregnate Thufir with a poisen, but cat milking was defiantly not involved. Actually, if I remember it right, it was actually a precaution against his betrayal or escape and moreover he didn't know he'd been addicted as the Harkonnen were secretly feeding him the antidote. The idea being that to kill him, all they need to is withhold it.

 

[Lindley]

The miniseries pretty much discarded the Hawat subplot. I didn't notice its absence.

 

[Hyperspace05]

The miniseries has the best Baron harkonnen, IMO. Ian McNeice is brilliant in the role.

 

[Lindley]

I think I'm going to have to watch the mini again now.

 

[Harvey]

The miniseries pretty much discarded the Hawat subplot. I didn't notice its absence.

Jogging my foggy memory, you mean Thufir Hawat? I'm pretty sure the miniseries just kills him off during the initial Harkonnen attack. Like the loss of the 'Usul' name, it's a wise choice in simplifying the material for the screen, I think.

 

[Reverend]

Not a huge loss in that case as the casting of Thufir was totally forgettable. The movie Thufir on the other hand was right out of the book. Same goes for the guy who played Duncan in the first mini, I recall he was killed off rather quickly and unremarkably. A bit of a pain since in the book, I rather though his death was a pivotal moment...plus I REALLY wanted to see that lasgun/shield explosion he caused and the artillery strikes on the sheild wall. None of the adaptions to date have really gotten that part of the book quite right. The scene immediately before Thufir's capture for example says volumes about what the Fremen were about and exactly how much they pissed off the Sardaukar. Plus of course there was supposed to have been a planetwide pogrom in full swing by the time they met up with Duncan.

 

[Starbreaker]

I don't really like the downplaying of Caladan and Thufir and Duncan in the miniseries, but that's really my only gripe.

 

[Skywalker]

I don't really like the downplaying of Caladan and Thufir and Duncan in the miniseries, but that's really my only gripe.

Didn't Duncan have a prominent role in Children of Dune?

 

[Starbreaker]

Yes he did. Duncan is pretty much Children of Dune's main character... I think he's the main character of the whole saga, really.

 

[JD]

I started the book last night. I only got a few pages into it though.
Sorry to keep asking all these questions, but I promise these will be the last two. I was just wondering which book(s) is/are your favorite(s), and who your favorite character(s) is/are.

 

[Lindley]

I think Gurney's my favorite, but that may be influenced by his portrayal in the two Scifi minis. (Surprisingly, Patrick Stewart's version didn't have much effect on me.)

 

[The Wormhole]

Yes he did. Duncan is pretty much Children of Dune's main character... I think he's the main character of the whole saga, really.

Well, he does appear in every book except for the Butlerian Jihad Trilogy.

 

[HighteeHeller]

Well I like Heretics and Chapterhosue better than God Emperor...

I liked them all, but ya, Chapterhouse and Heretics were great.

God, it'd been years since i've read the series. Even though i read a lot of teen sci-fi, like L'engle, Adams, and Monica Hughes, Dune was my first adult introduction to Sci-fi. I read them when i was 18 and then a dozen times since then. I think im about due for another read through.
Other then the first mini series i have never watched any Dune movies.

 

[Michael Chris]

Favorite book: God Emperor of Dune
Favorite character: Leto II by a hair over Duncan Idaho

 

[JD]

So does Duncan play a bigger role in the books than he did in the Lynch movie? Because I keep hearing his name here and on wikipedia, but he was only in 2 scenes of the movie.

 

[Hyperspace05]

yes.

 

[Harvey]

To be fair, he doesn't play a large role in the first book, does he? He has more than two scenes, but he's killed off early in the middle section, isn't he?