Dune, the highly acclaimed and eagerly anticipated movie adaptation of Frank Herbert’s iconic 1965 science fiction novel, has been in US theatres since October 22, receiving a variety of reactions from viewers.
Since Dune was announced with popular director Denis Villenueve, an immense budget of $165 million, and all-star cast including Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, and Oscar Isaac, the movie has been eagerly awaited by fans. Dune was initially set to be released in 2020, but COVID delayed the movie’s production, leaving fans waiting for over a year. The impatient wait, however, was not in vain, as the movie is a masterpiece with complex world-building, an engaging story, and magnificent audio and visuals.
The story follows a young Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), the heir to the throne of the House of Atreides, currently led by Paul’s father, Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac). The House of Atreides is sent by the Imperium to live on a new Planet, Arrakis, that runs plentiful with the universe’s most powerful substance, Spice Melange. Arrakis’ wealth of resources is desired by other houses that threaten the Atreides’ power. The inhospitable desert inhabited by the Fremen (native people of Arrakis) and giant man-eating worms also pose a domestic threat to the Atreides family. Amongst all the conflict, Paul grapples with his identity as some believe that he is the “Kwisatz Haderach,” a prophesied human being that will act as an all-knowing messiah for the imperium.
The acting was a triumph of the movie. As Lucia Scott, Barstow’s debate coach and B-Line supervisor, said after seeing the movie, “They used some really well-known actors for some of the main characters, and that’s usually people’s problem when watching a movie like Dune, is they get the characters confused.” The recognizable cast and distinctive characters clarified the storyline and added to the overall quality of the movie. All of the actors performed exceptionally well, even communicating complex aspects of the plot without having to use dialogue.
Timothee Chalamet played the main character of Paul Atreides, the heir to the Atreides throne and potential messiah. His character in the book undergoes much change and emotional development, but a lot of it is very cerebral and only discussed through the lense of an omniscient narrator, limiting the extent of verbal explanation that is used. Despite this quality of Herbert’s storytelling, Villenueve was able to stay true to his intentions for the characters and their tacit developments with strategic directing. The angles of cameras, tints and tricks of light, and the grand or small scale of certain scenes alone offer a comprehensive understanding of the movie. Chalamet’s acting also contributed to this understanding, with his disposition maturing as his character did. His many emotional scenes were extremely moving as well.
One of the most well-received parts of the movie has been the soundtrack by Hans Zimmer. Zimmer is best known for his previous compositions in Interstellar, Lion King, and the Dark Knight trilogy, earning him an Academy Award, four Grammys and two Golden Globes. Dune is proof of Zimmer’s genius, and the soundtrack was expertly crafted to elicit certain emotions and reactions from the audience as they view the movie. “Hans Zimmer is the goat,” as senior Max Parr (‘22) simply put it.
The powerful music makes Dune a movie that is worth seeing in theatres as the full effect of the soundtrack cannot be felt at home. The big screen of the theatres offers an immersive experience like no other. The vast shots of barren deserts and entire planets are indicative of the complexity of Dune’s story, while the ground-shaking audio creates a feeling of being surrounded by the universe on-screen.
On top of the immersive soundtrack, lead cinematographer Grieg Fraser and Villeneuve’s vision truly came to life on screen. The aesthetics of the movie start with a cohesive color palette, filled with light teals, muted yellows, and a pop of electric blue, coming from the extraordinary eyes of the Fremen people, turned blue from exposure to spice. The visuals properly communicate the desired tone of each scene, with simplistic yet extremely complex images. The actual creation of the world of Arrakis came through shots of arid desert juxtaposed with the smooth sandstone of Atreides headquarters on the planet, completely enclosed in the grounds of the earth. As for the Atreides home planet of Caladan, the land was flush with vast rainforest and incredible bodies of water, only furthered by the architecture of the Atreides home, ingrained in rich mahogany wood and sweeping curtains.
Perhaps the most visually interesting scene came from the introduction of the Bene-Gesserit, a religious group of women who hold vast amounts of power in the Dune universe. The directorial choice to use rain and long black coats to mask the identities of the women and position them linearly during the scene, all create an ominous feeling in the eyes of the viewer.
To create such extra-terrestrial sets, VFX supervisor, Paul Lambert, partnered with DNEG studios used a wide variety of computer animation techniques. One of the hardest parts of the movie was the creation of the incredible giant sand worm characteristic of the Arrakis desert. The worm, on screen, however, was lifelike and moved with a certain agility, proving an immense amount of hard work made into making the worm both realistic and otherworldly.
The method of storytelling, relying more on visual queues than narration, did create some confusion for certain viewers of the movie, especially those unfamiliar with the book.
“I thought it was boring, slow paced, and I didn’t really get it,” said sophomore Amara Patel (‘24). Her confusion was echoed by sophomore Kyanne Carlgren (‘24). “It was English, but it didn’t seem like it,” she said.
A true and full appreciation of Dune is only really possible with background knowledge about the Dune universe. Herbert created vast political systems and complex social structures within the story, making it a hard book to get through and complicating the process of putting it into movie form. Most viewers agree that background knowledge makes the movie much easier to understand, and those who have already read the book are able to more accurately judge the movie.
The movie follows the story of the book very closely, only modifying very small aspects of the plot when absolutely necessary. “There’s some stuff that’s out of order,” said Scott, who has read the book, “but I think that that is sort of necessary when you’re making something into a motion picture.”
Maintaining the original story of Dune was vital to the movie’s success, as the book was already finely crafted with finesse and is a story that is naturally enthralling. In 1984, Dune was adapted into an unsuccessful movie, and similarly, in 2000, an unpopular television adaptation was created. Both of these attempts at capturing Dune may have flopped because of lackluster actors or disappointing budgets, but the real failure lies in their departures from Herbert’s epic storytelling. Villeneuve’s Dune is not only a triumph of screenwriting, cinematography, film score and acting, but a testament to and celebration of the intensely creative mind of Herbert.
Dune has been a box office success, grossing over $334 million worldwide, and a second part has already been announced. The first Dune movie only covered about half of the first novel, so a second movie is well in order and is eagerly awaited by Dune’s many new fans.
