

Dune proceeds with similar grandiosity across scenes set on various house planets, from the large welcoming ceremony for the Herald of the Change (Benjamin Clémentine) and a group of Daft Punk-styled Spacing Guild Representatives on the lush ocean planet of Caladan to a detour into the gothic hellscape of Harkonnen, a world ruled by the wicked Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård, suggesting a cross between Jabba the Hut and Marilyn Manson). Spaceships float through the cosmos in balletic splendor, lending new credence to the term space opera. The space travel to Arrakis is depicted with the assurance and control, not to mention meticulous eye for detail, for which Villeneuve has become known. By contrast, Duke Leto hopes to work with and learn from the Fremen, who live clandestinely in caverns underneath the sand. Previously, the planet was ruled by the villainous House Harkonnen, which ravaged the lands for as much spice as they could, all the while waging war against the native Fremen community.

It’s an important appointment, as Arrakis is coveted for its natural production of “spice,” a mystical sand-like substance with life-enhancing qualities. Dune, is put under the care of the House Atreides, led by the compassionate Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac). In the year 10,191 A.G., the hostile desert planet of Arrakis, a.k.a. But sadly, when the dust-or, rather, sand-finally settles on this new Dune, the most unexpected and depressing thing about it is the sheer ordinariness of it all. A couple of well-regarded television miniseries would follow, but the prospect of a definitive, uncompromised big-screen adaptation continued to dim until Denis Villeneuve, one of our chilliest auteurs, revealed that he was approached to helm a new take on Herbert’s book. No less notorious is David Lynch’s completed 1984 adaptation, a heavily studio-meddled vision that was ill-received and even disowned by its maker.
Dune denis villeneuve crack#
Alejandro Jodorowsky’s crack at the epochal tome collapsed under the weight of the filmmaker’s gonzo aspirations, never leaving the preproduction phase. The filmmaker insisted on shooting on location because he wanted the actors to experience the journey that Atreides goes on.Frank Herbert’s Dune has long been viewed as unadaptable. The desert planet of Arrakis was not created via green screen - rather, the film was actually shot on location in Jordan and Abu Dhabi. In fact, what makes his Dune so incredibly cinematic are the jaw-dropping visuals used to catapult audiences into a futuristic world riddled with mystery, adventure and action. Villeneuve, who’s known for creating big-scale epic features like Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, spared no creative expense when it came to bringing his vision to life.
Dune denis villeneuve movie#
Villeneuve’s Dune arrives nearly four decades after director David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation - which starred Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides, and was filmed in a Mexico City movie studio. Photo: Chiabella James © 2021 Warner Bros. Denis Villeneuve on the set of ‘Dune’ with star Timothée Chalamet, who plays Paul Atreides - the protagonist who gripped Villeneuve when he was a boy reading the ‘Dune’ novel for the first time.
