Denis Villeneuve's Dune has been out for well over a month and with the film returning to IMAX
in the next week and it finally releasing in Australia and New Zealand, the hype
and positive responses have only continued to flow during all this time. The film has
had the lowest week to week drop of any film globally during the pandemic and I think that
just speaks to how happy people are with this adaptation of Frank Herbert's seminal novel.
But in this video, I'm going to be discussing why I believe Denis Villeneuve got
Dune right when it comes to how the material was adapted for the big screen along with
how his particular approach to filmmaking supported this successful endeavour. Before I
get into it though, if you want to keep up to date on any of my future content on Dune 2021,
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description below. But without further ado, let's dive into how Denis Villeneuve got Dune right.
It's no secret that filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has since his teenage years been obsessed with
Frank Herbert's Dune. He remembered reading the book when he was about 13 years old
and it instantly sprung cinematic visuals and ideas into his mind, but he never knew if he
could bring them to the big screen. Even when getting the green light to make his
adaptation, he was making the film based off a childhood memory and like fellow
composer Hans Zimmer, he's kept that memory for decades without letting it be altered by the
adaptations that have released ever since. He's spoken about how he loves elements
of David Lynch's Dune and the other takes but tried to stay away from being too inspired by
them because there's things that he clearly didn't like and filmmaker David Lynch doesn't
particularly like them either. But what's clear from Villeneuve's film is an enthusiasm
for the world of Dune, a bold take for a movie that already has a $165 million budget
and is an adaptation of the biggest-selling science-fiction novel of all time. While Dune
had enormous challenges to overcome, Denis saw these as strengths, with his adaptation
aiming in at the smaller details, rather than becoming more like the conventional
approaches that Hollywood is used to putting out. Like David Lynch, Denis Villeneuve is one
of the best filmmakers of his time with a unique style and auteur print that he
places on every film. He uses visual imagery and atmosphere to tell dense stories
and elevate the crucial messages along with the characters within the storytelling. And for a
book like Dune, this is already a perfect fit when bringing this to the big screen
in a day and age where we don't get many science fiction films like this.
And Frank Herbert’s Dune is of course a notoriously dense book and not the kind
of story that most filmmakers would deem likely or fitting to bring to the big screen. Alejandro
Jodorowsky tried to bring ambitious ideas with big names attached and of course,
Lynch just couldn't quite craft the right tone, and its pacing wasn't executed to a high standard.
It skipped through important character moments and jumped over parts that made it obvious
that whoever was going to adapt this in a sensible way, would have to take their time
to really allow elements and scenes to be fully adapted. There has to be a balance
of bringing your own filmmaking style while adapting the material in the right way. And
while Lynch did bring his trademarks, the material got lost within that. I think for the time
Lynch's version had great special effects and as a cult sci-fi film, it did bring
something different, a sort of anti-Star Wars approach. And of course, Jodorowsky
had some intriguing ideas that just never saw the light of day. We had the Dune miniseries
too that did a decent job of bringing all the material to the screen with a larger
running time. But one thing was missing in that version and that was that Dune has the
potential to be extremely cinematic. Frank Herbert's Dune is a transportive piece of
science fiction, that can give creators a level of inspiration that grows into wanting to
see smaller things like the sounds of Arrakis or what a character is feeling
in a given situation. It's the kind of story that calls for a big-screen realisation, one that like
cinema, transports you to the world you are unfamiliar with. It calls back to the hallmarks
of great sci-fi and it's one of the books that really made that a staple. And the new
adaptation by director Denis Villeneuve, a filmmaker who proved he could successfully
pull off impossible sci-fi projects we'd never dreamed of seeing done right, has once
again given us trust in his work. He called back to those childhood memories,
showing he was comfortable with tackling it and demonstrating his visual inspiration on huge
IMAX screens. His work is atmospheric, introspective, and brings visual, yet emotionally
driven stories to the audience, showing great imagination and examination of important
concepts. As he has said in interviews since the film's release, he made this film for
himself and those who were getting lost in Dune for the first time and hadn't read the
book. It's the idea of re-imagining what it felt like as a teenager to come across
Arrakis and the character of Paul Atreides for the very first time. Bringing us visuals,
sounds, vistas and themes that we haven't seen dealt like this on the big screen before.
In particular, he establishes a direct focus and does so in a way that allows you to be
immersed in the story and in an authentic cinematic adaptation. But this cinematic take
can only work if the material is approached correctly and brought to the screen in a way
that does it justice. And for the most part, the director has done the first half of the book
right. He establishes the focus for his film straight away by having the very
opening scene be about Arrakis and the people on that world rather than Arrakis and its resources.
We don’t have to slowly introduce the audience to what's going on the planet
with the Harkonnens and the fremen, we get there immediately. And even Chani played by Zendaya
gets the introductory speech over Princess Irulan. And I'm sure that Denis will
have Irulan maybe even open the next movie with a speech, but Part One
is focused on exactly what it needs to be. We see her home planet is invaded by the Harkonnens who
wish to harvest the powerful resource known as spice and therefore from the beginning,
Dune Part one is outlined as a story about colonization. And this only develops
throughout as we transition into Paul Atreides and his process of adaptation
to the world that has already become easily accessible for the audience.
And this direct focus also carries over to the natural progression of scenes
and the characters that share them. There's no dramatic skipping over elements to fit everything
into a shorter runtime. With more room to breathe and this being a part one, the
director understood that the audience needed the time to really get into the world and the people
at play within that. There's no briefly summarising integral elements that are
linked to Paul's development such as the early scenes on Caladan or the final knife fight
with Jamis, one which would help mould him into the person he becomes. Every scene is
given importance because one ends and leads into the next one continuing that piece of
development. And even when we do jump to a character's viewpoint we see their reaction
to the events that have just occurred. At many times characters are isolated and Denis has
masterfully made it all feel natural and even more connected than ever through his work with
editor Joe Walker. This is aided by the performances, making us understand who
these characters are and the wider circumstances of the story. It's conveyed that Josh Brolin
is perfect for the role of weapons master Gurney Halleck, barking with concern for
the safety of the young Paul Atreides and his potentially dangerous journey. Jason Momoa
plays swordmaster Duncan Idaho, with a sense of freedom and speaking in an inspirational
context with Paul. Stellan Skarsgård brings a huge presence yet one that's fittingly grotesque
for the character of Baron Harkonnen and even Sharon Duncan Brewster gives us a
portrayal of Dr Liet Kynes that is much bigger in the film and has a more impactful
ending in a moment of sacrifice. And when placing these characters in scenes, while Denis
does give us multiple interconnected moments like with the Gom Jabbar scene and the events
with the Reverand Mother that follow, he uses very little dialogue. He could have
easily adapted all of the dialogue to the screen, but as a quality filmmaker,
he understood that film is a different medium. While this adaptation is extremely faithful,
adapting all of the book scene by scene to film just wouldn't work as a coherent and
structured story for the genre of filmmaking. But more importantly, this approach works for
all types of audiences watching this version of Dune. It's great for those who are familiar
with the source material and don’t want vital scenes wasted with exposition. And it
also visually tells us the story in an easy way
that new viewers will be able to understand quite straightforwardly. Although Dune is
a story with a lot going on and it includes many phrases that you'll need to write down,
the benefit of this method is that the filmmaker allows moments the freedom,
communicating the scale of Arrakis and the more psychologically cerebral elements in Paul’s dreams
with looks at his potential future. In total, there's a focus on characters and
scenes in a natural way and the dialogue and elements he doesn't adapt from the book
are brought to the big screen visually. He had to cut out scenes like the dinner sequence
and Gurney playing the Baliset but kept ones in the movie which helped build out the character
of Paul and kept the mystery and tone of vital moments. It's a perfect example of
breaking a story down and showing what needs to be onscreen for this particular adaptation
and not by constantly telling us this or reciting Shakespearian quotations from the book.
Like I was getting at before, Denis Villeneuve's ultimate aim was to make people not familiar
with Dune love the world, while also truly respecting what most fans love about the
book. It's relatable themes and politics, it's worldbuilding, and the way it challenges you.
He succeeded in merging the art film with the blockbuster. The best of both worlds
when it comes to mainstream audiences and what they want. It feels large in scope
without being dumbed down, contemplative without being overly flashy, yet visually dazzling to
the right degree. The filmmaker has of course focused on larger-scale films more recently,
and with Part Two in the pipeline, he’ll stay in that lane for the next couple of
years. But what's clear after Arrival, Blade Runner 2049 and now Dune, is that
he’s one of the rare directors who's able to make big films without losing a sense of
unoriginality, giving us event cinema that means something rather than bringing one of
many weightless-feeling blockbusters that dominate screens today. He knew this was a
challenge to overcome but like he has said in previous interviews, “cinema is art,
and art is risk,". Cinema has quite obviously always been a weird combination of art and
commerce, and I personally think that with Dune,
what we get is a perfect blend of those two things.
But that was my video discussing why Denis Villeneuve got his adaptation of Dune right.
Like I said, I really like elements from the other adaptations of Frank Herbert's novel,
but I think as a film, Denis Villeneuve truly gets how to bring this material to the big screen
within the genre of sci-fi. It may only be the first half of the novel and for
all, we know the second part may not live up to expectations, but just looking at
this first part as a single film alone, I think this is the definitive adaptation of the source
material we've already got onscreen. If Part 2 does follow that trend, and maybe we'll even
get a film to round out a trilogy, then I think Denis is on to even greater things
come to the end of his version of the story. It's with the aim at bringing this material to
the theatrical world today while giving a take that will connect with fans of the book and
I think his approach at making a film for all of these different types of audiences
is fitting considering how much he needed to do right to pull this off. It's just my opinion
and I know there will always be those who don't particularly like a film or a
certain adaptation, but I think when it comes to the majority of people who have seen this version
of Dune so far, then many are extremely happy with the outcome. I can't wait for
Dune Part 2 to finally come out in 2023, where we get to see the complete vision of director
Denis Villeneuve and his so-far successful adaptation of Dune. But what do you think
towards the points I have discussed in this video and do you agree that Denis Villeneuve
did the famous novel justice. Let me know your thoughts down below in the comments section.
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But anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it, I've been Cortex and as always make some noise.