Adapting Dune for the Big Screen

Director Denis Villeneuve has never hidden his excitement about adapting the book'Dune' for the cinemas. In an interview with Entertainment Weeklythe director spoke about the experience of bringing to the screen the world created by Frank Herbert in the book released in 1965. The film 'Dune' features a stellar cast, with names such as Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, Jason Momoa, among others. It tells the story of young Paul (Chalamet), heir to the powerful House Atreides, led by Duke Leto Atreides (Isaac). The family agrees to control the arid planet Arrakis, source of a precious natural resource disputed by the noble houses. In the midst of the power games, he and his mother, Lady Jessica (Ferguson) are forced to flee to the desert, where they join the Fremen, the native people of Arrakis.

The influence of 'Dune' can be seen in various media, from 'Star Wars' until 'Game of Thrones'. The book was attempted to be adapted in the 70s by Alejandro Jodorowski, but the production was unsuccessful and ended up giving rise to a documentary about its behind-the-scenes. It was adapted for the cinema for the first time in 1984, by David Fincher, but the adaptation was not very well received. Even so, Denis Villeneuve's dream of adapting the bestseller never stopped existing.

'A Year to Remember – Autumn' film to be directed by Lázaro Ramos

Carl Weathers returns to filming 'The Mandalorian' this week

Remake of the classic 'Home Alone' gets official trailer

“When I finished watching the movie (by David Lynch)it stuck in my head that there had to be a different way of doing it so that it would be closer to the spirit of the book.”, said the director. “This idea kept growing inside me. I'm not comparing myself to the master, just saying that I saw something more in this book.”. Most of 'Dune' was filmed in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and Moon Valley, Jordan, with the other planets shown in the film being built on sets using as few special effects as possible, to give a greater sense of reality. An essential part of this world-building are the famous desert worms, giant worms that inhabit the arid Arrakis and appear in three striking scenes in the new film.

With author Frank Herbert having gone to such great lengths that the book included an appendix on their ecology, Villeneuve knew he and his team would have to take the same care in translating the worms to the big screen.”It was important to us that the worm looked like an animal that made sense.”, commented the director, who worked on the design together with Patrice Vermette. “To live for millions of years in the desert you need a species that has evolved and built a shield against the elements. Its skin has to look thick enough to protect it in the worst environment (…) You will feel that you are facing a huge presence, a different kind of intelligence, something beyond our way of thinking”. The worms are attracted by rhythmic noises, sand earthquakes indicate their approach and each time they roar the image shakes, an experience maximized by the cinema screen.

One of the biggest problems when adapting 'Dune' is the extent of the work, with the six books covering years of history. The first book alone has 680 pages in the Brazilian version published by Aleph Publishing. Villeneuve knew that summing it all up in just one film would be impossible, and stated that the book is “dense” and that the story “draws its strength from the details”. The filmmaker said that a major concern of his was deciding where to stop in the first part of the adaptation, so that the audience would feel like they were reaching the end of a journey while also realizing that more was on the way.

_{Subtitled trailer for 'Dune' (Reproduction/YouTube)}

The director is visibly excited about the project and wants to move forward with it, highlighting the relevance of the themes addressed by 'Dune', which remain current even though the novel was released 56 years ago. “'Dune' It shows a world that has gone too far, that has lost its balance. I hope we don't get to that point, but I feel it is something that should be a priority for all citizens and politicians around the world.”, highlights Villeneuve. “'Dune' It's also about a love for science and the power of the human brain. We need to trust scientists. We are at a crossroads and we need to change, adapt our way of living. This will be a big challenge, people don't want to change, but we need to if we want to survive. That's what 'Dune' speaks about adaptation”.

'Dune' premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 3, and was well received. The film will be released in Brazilian theaters on October 21 and is expected to premiere on HBO Max 35 days later.

Featured Photo: Zendaya, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, Timothée Chalamet, Javier Bardem, Jason Momoa, Oscar Isaac and Sharon Duncan-Brewster. Photo: Reproduction/IGN.