It was a masterpiece.
Posted on 03/19/2020 8:33:25 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Dune is destined to be another crashing bore, because the actual characters in the story are not very relatable or likable.
True story. Years ago, even before dudes wanted a Dell, a gaggle of Army generals gathered to ponder how to integrate computers into military operations. One prefaced his prognosticating by admitting to being a “Trekkie,” having grown up watching the 1960s TV-series. He went on to talk about the future of warfare as though they would all be Captain Kirks firing photon torpedoes from the command deck.
Science fiction and the future have a messy relationship. Much science fiction either meditates on the present or mines the past. The technology may be mundane (taken from the pages of Popular Mechanics) or magical (casting aside the laws of physics).
Since it’s often not really about the future, using science fiction to plan the land of tomorrow is life imitating bad art. Yet, good science fiction, like all good fiction, can tell us much. We should not ignore the entire genre.
Which brings us to the new film version of Frank Herbert’s classic 1965 sci-fi novel Dune, slated to come out later this year.
This sprawling story first hit the silver screen in 1984. It was a mind-numbingly bad adaptation. Then came two so-so TV mini-series: Dune (2000) and Children of Dune (2003). The latter was largely inaccessible to those who had not already read the books.
Will Hollywood’s latest try be a hit or a flop? Time will tell if it’s the next Star Wars (1977) or just another Jupiter Ascending (2015).
The makers of this Dune start with a serious advantage. The original book sparked decades of writing by the author, his son and a co-author. At last count there are about 18 books on the Dune universe spanning from when humans started to exploit space travel to their scattering to the ends of the universe. The original Dune book sandwiches somewhere in the middle of the story. Thus, the screenwriters start with the advantage of understanding the whole saga, being able to reflect and foreshadow on everything that ever happens. This would have been like George Lucas starting Star Wars knowing who Luke’s father was.
The history of Dune is particularly important. The past turns out to be a vital driving force in Herbert’s version of science fiction. Technology is a bit player. There are no robots, no computers, and a lot of sword play. That is because of a much earlier event called the Butlerian Jihad, when humans destroyed all the “thinking machines.” No Terminators (1984) here.
The lack of advanced weaponry significantly impacts the nature of governance and war in the Dune universe. Great houses compete for power using weapons of intrigue like spying, disinformation, diplomacy, double-dealing, assassination, and troops that look suspiciously like special forces.
Contemporary audiences may relate more to Dune than Cold War audiences identified with the original novel. The interstellar politics of Dune feel a lot like the geopolitics of our age of “great power competition.”
The environment is also a key component of the Dune mythology. That, too, should resonate given our own debates over climate change.
And, like the world of Dune, everyone is fighting over the great substance that controls the universe. In Dune it’s called the “spice melange”—a drug necessary for space travel that is a billion times more powerful than opioids on steroids. In our world, it’s data. The power that can collect, analyze, manipulate, and exploit the most data is on its way to becoming the master of our universe.
Here is the big disconnect between us and Dune. Our future is inextricably intertwined with technology. Unless the screenwriters can figure out how to bridge that divide, Dune will be no more relatable than the dragons in the Game of Thrones.
In the real world, how we handle technology could dramatically impact the course of great power competition. If those challenges are woven into the film, it might well provoke some serious thinking about our future—making the movie truly great science fiction.
Otherwise, we’ll have to hope it has terrific special effects and a music score equal to what John Williams produced for Star Wars. Lacking that, Dune is destined to be another crashing bore, because the actual characters in the story are not very relatable or likable.
Not enough spice?
Dune is a great novel. I have trouble seeing how it can ever be a great movie. Some stories are best read, not watched.
“
This sprawling story first hit the silver screen in 1984. It was a mind-numbingly bad adaptation. “
Nah, had it’s faults but can’t accept the judgment of someone who gores this far.
I agree. I saw the David Lynch “Dune” back in the day and was intrigued. I eventually made it through the original trilogy and was blown away! Great sci-fi but hard to translate to the screen.
I had a friend who really liked the movie version. Given the detail crammed into that film I figured it would be too confusing, but he replayed it may times to get to know it better.
Dennis Villnueve is a good director and I’ll probably give the movie the benefit of the doubt unless it gets embargoed for review until release.
Do you have a citation?
Not cinema material. Plenty of other stories would have been better fodder.
I venture to say that if you didn't read the first book before seeing the original Dune movie you would be lost. I did, and I enjoyed the movie. Others that have watched the movie with me did like it so much, but they didn't read the book and were lost among the sea of characters.
I generally don’t like remakes, but then there is Titanic.
I LOVE DUNE! The longer the version, the better.
GREAT MOVIE! I don’t care what anybody says. If you like Syfy you have to like Dune.
Everyone forgets the SyFy movies that were actually pretty good.
Another Dune Remake?
https://libertyislandmag.com/2019/03/08/another-dune-remake/
They could do it through the mental and Paul himself.
I’m concerned they’re going SJW, such as already being proud of gender swapping Liet Kynes.
The tragedy is that the soap-opera follow up books by Brian Herbert would be easier to film, though they screw cannon and dumb down the plot and main characters.
Frank Herbert Vs. Brian Herbert: Dune Cannon Vs. Everything Else
https://libertyislandmag.com/2019/03/01/frank-herbert-vs-brian-herbert-dune-cannon-vs-everything-else/
The original Lynch version was a poor adaptation. The mini series was excellent and very true to the book. The author who created this review doesn’t have an clue and probably never read the books. I met Frank Herbert back in the 70’s in Port Townsend. It was an honor and privilege. I will wait and see what the new dune is like but not going to judge it until I see it.
It was a masterpiece.
Because we’ll know that the stylish, Italian clothes are actually made by Chinese?
The only way Dune could be made would be as a mini-series. Just too much information and too many great characters to crunch even into a 3 hour movie.
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