Frank Herbert's Children of Dune: Sci-Fi TV Miniseries (Two-Disc DVD Set)

I did not like the TV adaptation of Frank Herbert's first Dune novel very much perhaps because the said TV adaptation fares badly when compared with the larger-than-life mystical vision of the 1984 movie adaptation. However, "Frank Herbert's Children of Dune", the TV adaptation of the second and third books of the Dune saga, suffers no such weakness. It is a major triumph - spectacular, moving, mystical, well-paced, and coherent despite being faithful to the complex source materials (Dune Messiah and Children of Dune). I was especially amazed that its first half, based on Dune Messiah, is so well put together. Susan Sarandon and Alice Krige (the Borg Queen!) both shine as the scheming Princess Wensicia and the exiled Lady Jessica respectively, while Alec Newman grows into the role of the reluctant Messiah - he makes a better Paul here than he did in the first mini-series. At the end of the first series, Muad'Dib of the Fremen, Paul Atreides (Alec Newman), has defeated the armies of the Harkonens and the Padishah Emperor on the planet Arrakis. He is enthroned as the new Emperor even as his ferocious Fremen army sweeps across the known universe in a jihad to destroy all resistance to his rule. He marries Princess Irulan to cement his power but does not consumate the marriage - Chani remains his one true love. As "Children of Dune" starts, billions have died as a result of the ongoing jihad, which has taken a life of its own well beyond the control of Paul. Paul has become a Messiah of sorts for a new religion that has arisen in his name and propagated by Alia, Paul's unstable sister, and by the powerful Fremen priesthood. Paul is haunted by the death toll of the wars waged in his name, but does not know how to stop the jihad - or rather, he knows that the price of stopping it may well be beyond his endurance. In the meantime, enemies of the new order, within and without, weave plots within plots to dethrone the new Emperor. Fremen malcontents plot to return Arrakis to the old ways while Fremen priests plan to wrest power from the Emperor. Bene Gesserit witches plot with Princess Irulan to prevent Chani from conceiving any heirs while Princess Wensicia (Susan Sarandon) of the dethroned House Corrino, the Tleilaxu and the Spacing Guild plot to present the new Emperor with a deadly gift - a Trojan Horse that he could not refuse. Meanwhile, Alia is slowly losing her grip on her sanity as voices from the past take over her mind. Paul must use all of his visionary powers and be prepared to sacrifice everything to ensure that his heirs, Leto II (James McAvoy) and Ghanima (Jessica Brooks), survive to put an end to the deadly legacy that he started. This is epic sci-fi done right, and is well worth watching. Five stars and two thumbs up. Will they ever make an adaptation of God Emperor of Dune? I sure hope so!

Put simply, this is an brillian mini-series. It is clearly superior to the Dune mini-series, which was decent, but suffered from a comparatively low budget and very questionable costume decisions. But beyond that, it shows what can happen when great acting and production follows great writing. When the writing is bad, everything is bad and you can see examples of this in about 90% of all movies out at a given time. Children of Dune has shockingly good writing and acting and it makes you wonder if this is the same Sci-Fi channel behind such epic "Sci-Fi Channel Originals" as Mutant Mosquito Genocide and its three sequels. With productions like this and Battlestar Galactica, Sci-Fi shows that it can get it really right. I'm stunned at how consistently well written, acted and shot this series is. Children of Dune's excellence also shows that there are some things you can do on television that you simply can't do in movies. You can take your time, develop character and plot, and have many moving and engaging interpersonal scenes that feature films rarely make time for, and unfortunately sometimes cannot make time for due to budget, meddling studio execs and other barriers. I really don't buy DVDs anymore unless it is for something I'm certain I will watch again. With all of the new media competing for my attention, I rarely have time to go back and revisit things I've already seen. It takes something exceptional. Children of Dune is exceptional and despite it's 4.5 hour running time I will be watching it again. If you are a fan of sci-fi, you truly owe it to yourself to watch this. It is sci-fi done right, but more importantly, it is Dune done right.

This long awaited sequel does not disappoint, but adds wonderful dimension to the two books that followed Frank Herbert's original Dune. Watching Dune first is mandatory. WARNING: This movie (together with Dune) is EXTREMELY LONG AND COMPLEX. There are dozens of role playing characters, each intrinsic to the story, so unless you've read the books, it may be challenging to differentiate who is who, and what role they have. The books themselves are well adopted. Much of the story calls for striking special effects, and this movie makes them seamlessly. The music is gentle and unobtrusive setting an appropriate tone for the various events. Some of the scenes here, I believe to be of the best ever filmed by anyone. The title character, Paul from the first movie now finds himself in the irrevocable destiny of his own vision, becoming Emperor of the Universe. His prescience becomes so complete that his own blindness does not stop him from seeing as though he had eyes. Yet his inner conflict finds himself imprisoned in a future of death and destruction that he cannot escape. His sister Alia, in twisted conflict herself takes control of the universe until Paul's children are old enough to ascend to the throne (ah...but that is the next book not in the movie). This story carries on the twisting of plots and themes developed in the first movie. The story turns itself inside out often. The astounding concepts get deeper and the radical ending will shock anyone who doesn't know it. I strongly recommend this movie and its must-see prequel "Dune" as two of the best movies ever filmed. Please refer to my review of Dune for more detailed information.

i thought it was very good quality and watching iwill be telling my friends all about it thanks so much

Finished the series that I watched years ago

Je pensais qu'il y avait la version française, mais c'était anglais ou espagnol. je comprends un peu l'anglais. Mais c'est mon erreur, je n'avais pas demandé cette explication.

I've always loved Dune. I really enjoyed watching this follow up.

I recently watched the new Dune movies part 1 & 2 and part 3 might not be released until 2028. I remember this sequel from TV and decided to get this DVD boxset. This was a great miniseries when it was on TV and is still holds up with excellent acting, storytelling, and visual effects.