Streamlined plots, ignoring lore, and cutting characters might spice things up onscreen,
but these changes to the Dune films left fans of the original book wanting so much more.
In the novel, Frank Herbert frames the story with narration from Princess Irulan.
While Herbert's prose jumps between the story's main players, notes from Irulan's diegetic
writing serve as the glue holding the ambitious plot together.
Epigraphs from Irulan's later works of history give color to each chapter.
These stylistic flourishes give the narrative of "Dune" the flavor of an official account
taken from within its own universe.
While both the 1984 and 2021 adaptations include narration, they both feature different narrators.
In David Lynch's 1984 film, Princess Irulan, played by Virginia Madsen, introduces the
universe of "Dune" and quickly explains the importance of spice before the opening title.
In Denis Villeneuve's 2021 version, a voiceover from Chani opens the movie and introduces
the struggle of the Fremen people to the audience.
Her narration is represented as part of the ongoing dreams consuming Paul Atreides.
In each film version, the narration gets the audience up to speed on the conflict over
melange — also known as spice — that drives "Dune's" universe.
While neither film's narrations serve the same purpose as Irulan's in the novel, both
versions do attempt to give an entry point to the enormous world the audience enters.
It'll be interesting to see how much this changes when Florence Pugh's Princess Irulan
appears in Dune: Part 2.
Gurney Halleck — War Master of the House Atreides — appears in both the 1984 and
the 2021 adaptations.
While both films represent the character's loyalty and military might, neither quite
nails the character's warrior poet traits.
In the novel, Halleck is often reciting poetry, singing, or playing an instrument called the
baliset.
"Music, then?"
"No music!"
In both films, directors Lynch and Villeneuve seem to stress the character's warrior side
more than his poetic aspect.
The 1984 version, with Patrick Stewart starring as Halleck, uses Stewart's natural theatrical
talent to smooth out Halleck's hardened edges.
In the 2021 adaptation, Josh Brolin plays Halleck as all business.
"Smile, Gurney."
"I am smiling."
In a roundtable with reporters, Villeneuve confirmed that he actually did film a scene
of Halleck singing and playing the baliset, but opted to cut it for Part One.
Not many people make movies quite like David Lynch.
For an example of Lynch's one-of-a-kind influence on his "Dune" adaptation, fans need to look
no further than the "heart plugs" worn by the Harkonnens' servants.
From their initial appearance, Lynch wastes no time ensuring that the audience is immediately
repelled by the Harkonnen brood.
Just when viewers think the Harkonnen boys can't get any grosser, the Baron calls a servant
with a brass key surgically implanted into his chest into the room.
After accosting the boy, the Baron removes the key, blood comes pouring out, and the
servant dies.
In true Lynch fashion, the heart plugs are never explained or even mentioned.
However, the visceral nature of the device is so grotesque that to behold it tells the
audience everything they need to know about the Harkonnens.
Only a mad genius like Lynch could devise something that makes these villains even more
vile than Frank Herbert ever did.
Lynch also opens his "Dune" with a meeting between the Emperor of the known universe
— Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV — and a Spacing Guild Navigator.
This scene does not appear in the novel, but it quickly establishes Lynch's vision for
a "Dune" universe that looks like a combination of sci-fi pulp covers and abstract painting.
Even though the scene's essentially an exposition dump, Lynch's bizarro creature and set design
make a dialogue-heavy scene a grotesque treat to watch.
Duncan Idaho's chemistry with Paul, his physicality during fight sequences, and moments of levity
bring a ton of energy to Jason Mamoa's character.
"Look at you.
Put on some muscle?"
"I did?"
"No."
Idaho is a fan favorite.
So when he dies at the hands of Sardaukar warriors, it's no surprise that it's an emotional
highlight and a standout action setpiece all at once.
In the novel, however, Idaho's death occurs during a chapter following Paul's perspective,
so Paul and the audience don't get to see Idaho's last stand against the Sardaukar.
The film also raises the emotional stakes of Idaho's death by having Idaho close the
door between the Atreides and the Sardaukar.
Paul seals the door himself in the book.
Small changes like these are what give Idaho's death its wallop on the big screen.
Villeneuve spends a sizable portion of the first act developing the relationship between
Duncan and Paul.
Because the relationship is better developed on screen, the audience feels the impact the
decision has on Paul when Duncan sacrifices himself to save the young Duke.
After losing all of his father figures, Paul must prepare to take responsibility for his
survival, the future of House Atreides, and eventually a battle with the Harkonnens.
The 2021 version of "Dune" does a lot of work to put the first Atreides family at the center
of the story.
This helps audiences empathize with the good and noble Atreides and despise the despicable
and grotesque Harkonnens.
However, focusing on the family members also means giving less attention to some of the
family's key advisors, like the Mentats.
In the novel, Mentats for House Atreides and House Harkonnen advise the leaders of both
houses and figure more prominently in the plot.
Mentats are essential because their continued consumption of the spice melange turns their
brains into supercomputers.
They're responsible for all things involving strategy, probability, and logistics.
While the Mentats for both warring factions are included in the film, neither receives
much screen time.
In fact, the characters are never even called Mentats on screen.
"Sire, I failed you today.
There's no excuse.
You have my resignation."
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Villeneuve explained that cutting down on
characters like the Mentats was a deliberate choice to ground the first movie more in Paul's
experience.
The Fremen — the indigenous people of Arrakis — have many interesting traditions yet to
be explored in the latest adaptation.
It's likely more of their customs will be explored in "Part 2," but the first film passes
on a chance to depict an important ceremony.
"May thy knife chip and shatter."
Like the film adaptation, the novel sees Paul duel with Jamis.
However, after Jamis' death in the novel, Herbert dedicates all of Chapter 34 to presenting
a Fremen funeral and its implications for Paul.
Fremen funerals, or water preservation ceremonies, are all about water.
During the ritual Jamis' water is distilled into a "bulging sack," weighed, and reclaimed
as "the tribe's water," which shows just how important water is to the Fremen.
While the latest adaptation of the water preservation ceremony may not appear until "Dune Part 2,"
any curious viewers can check out Lynch's take on the ceremony, which appeared in a
deleted scene.
Both the 1984 and 2021 "Dune" adaptations cast actors who were older than their counterparts
in the novel.
In the book, characters like Paul, Feyd Rautha of House Harkonnen, and Chani Kynes are all
part of the up-and-coming generation behind current leaders, making the story a coming-of-age
tale.
Paul is 15 years old at the beginning of the novel.
Interestingly enough, the actors playing Paul in both films — Kyle MacLachlan in 1984
and Timothee Chalamet in 2021 — were both in their mid-20s when their versions were
released.
The same goes for its female leads.
Chani has been portrayed twice on the big screen by women in their mid-20s, Sean Young
of "Blade Runner" fame in 1984 and Zendaya in the latest adaptation.
MacLachlan and Young in particular simply don't pass as teenagers.
While the pairs' performances fit well into Lynch's absolutely gonzo sci-fi vision, their
apparent age makes the story seem centered around the adults.
In the 2021 version, the leads look young enough to be older teens, so the coming-of-age
story present in the novel remains in the more recent film.
One of the most compelling features of "Dune" is its preoccupation with hand-to-hand combat.
By envisioning a world where most combatants rock a projectile-proof body shield, Frank
Herbert created a necessity for blades.
While the latest adaptation contains several scenes showing the importance of sword and
knife fighting in the "Dune" universe, David Lynch's version goes a different route.
"Put the weirding module on him."
The weirding module — a weapon which essentially turns sound into a weaponized laser beam — doesn't
appear in Herbert's novel.
The weapon serves as a stand-in for the martial arts and powers practiced by the witches of
the Bene Gesserit known as the "weirding way."
Lynch turns the "weirding way" into a means to deal out physical damage with one's voice.
In other words, the 1984 version replaces the Bene Gesserit's unique combat abilities
with voice-activated ray guns.
This change ends up de-emphasizing the importance of hand-to-hand combat in the movie.
The attention to blade combat is a huge part of what makes the book's vision of the far
future so fascinating and different from other sci-fi worlds.
Luckily for fans, the 2021 adaptation did away with the weirding modules and delivered
some truly epic sword fights.
In the book, Paul's nemesis, Feyd Rautha, appears the first time readers encounter the
Harkonnens.
While Rautha is present throughout Lynch's version, he is entirely absent from Villeneuve's
2021 adaptation.
Rautha is an awesome villain because he acts as a twisted reflection of Paul.
Like Paul, Rautha is a skilled warrior, extremely intelligent, and the heir apparent to a powerful
family.
Unlike Paul, Rautha is also one sick puppy.
In the book, he spars to the death with Harkonnen slaves for fun.
He was also raised by the most cunning, ruthless, and power-hungry uncle to ever wear anti-gravity
pads: Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.
While Paul struggles to wield his new power for all things good, Rautha can't wait to
seize power to do all things bad.
"All I can see is an Atreides that I want to kill."
While some fans might have been disappointed with Rautha's absence in the latest adaptation,
they can rest assured he'll appear in the sequel: "Elvis" star Austin Butler is taking
on the role.
Fans of the novel will likely notice the Baron's full plot to undermine House Atreides is streamlined
in both the 2021 and 1984 adaptations of "Dune."
The book goes into a lot more detail about the Baron's full scheme to reclaim Arrakis.
The linchpin of the Baron's plan is Dr. Yueh.
Wellington Yueh is the trusted in-house physician of House Atreides.
The Baron has Dr. Yueh's wife, Wanna, abducted to gain leverage over the doctor.
However, the Baron also plans to sow discord in the Atreides camp by pitting the Atreides
Mentat against Duke Leto Atreides' wife, Jessica.
The idea is that Atreides' human computer and resident witch will be too busy snooping
on each other to pick up Dr. Yueh's scent.
While it's hard to know exactly why some plot threads are cut and others are kept during
adaptations, both film versions streamlined the Baron's plot to solely focus on Yueh.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as Dr. Yueh's storyline is both compelling and tragic.
However, simplifying the Baron's plan paints the Baron to be a bit more ruthless than he
is cunning.
He's still terrifying to behold in any version, but he definitely reads a bit smarter on the
page.
"Dune" is a best selling sci-fi novel for many reasons, but its deep lore is definitely
a strong selling point for fans.
One aspect of the novel's lore that hasn't made it to the big screen in its entirety
is the universe's detailed economic system, although Lynch's version did mention it in
a deleted scene.
"We know of CHOAM, yet we are the secret."
The "Dune" universe is ruled by the Padishah Emperor and governed by the council of Great
Houses called the Landsraad.
All of these houses, including the imperial house, participate in the open market of trading
goods and services across the galaxy.
Because the "Dune" universe is ruled by money — much like our own — real political power
comes from a given house's stake in the Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles, or the
CHOAM Company.
Essentially, any house with a bigger piece of CHOAM's pie than the Emperor can shirk
his rule and do whatever they want.
The contest for economic supremacy drives the plot as much as any other of its essential
elements.
While it's definitely a complex system, it gives Herbert's universe a level of specific
detail a lot of other sci-fi properties lack.
Both film adaptations have simplified the complexities of interstellar economics, but
maybe "Dune: Part 2" will introduce the CHOAM Company — to the delight of dedicated fans
everywhere.