REVIEW: “Dune: Part One” by Denis Villeneuve

A year after the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the release of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, I finally had a chance to see this latest adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel. Given Villeneuve’s work on Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, I fully expected his Dune – the first of two movies – to look gorgeous and feature excellent acting. Dune is a powerful cinematic experience, best experienced on the big screen (I saw it both on IMAX and HBO). It’s a cinematic epic that combines the majestic deserts of David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia with the science fiction otherworldliness of Ridley Scott’s Alien. 

As somebody who has not just read Dune several times but also published academic articles about it,* I can’t help but compare the film to the novel. I feel the loss of the scenes omitted from the film. I know that the book provides more detailed explanations for everything from why soldiers use swords to why nobody uses computers. The book suggests that the Harkonnens have red hair. Yet, despite all this, I also find myself agreeing with most of the film’s adaptation choices. This movie is recognizably Dune – or at least the first half of the novel – even while it is also recognizably a Denis Villeneuve movie. 

As I rewatched Dune this weekend, I began to wonder: Why did Dune work as an adaptation, despite the differences from the book? 

“The Star Wars” by J.W. Rinzler

The Star Wars is not the Star Wars we’ve all grown to know and love. Instead, this comic is an adaptation of George Lucas’s first draft for the film that eventually became Star Wars. This is an alternative take on the story, a great “what if?” Some of the characters and places have names similar to those in the final films, but in a completely different context. Luke Skywalker isn’t an optimistic young kid, but rather a grizzled old Jedi general.

“Children of Dune” (Sci-Fi miniseries)

I enjoyed the Sci-Fi Channel’s Dune miniseries, but was also frustrated by its weak acting and special effects. Fortunately, the Sci-Fi Channel’s Children of Dune miniseries improves upon its predecessor in every way. It manages to provide an effective distillation of Frank Herbert’s Dune Messiah and Children of Dune.

 

“Dune” (Sci-Fi miniseries)

Last week, I made clear my opinion of David Lynch’s Dune. That remains the only version of Dune ever released in theaters. However, in 2000, the Sci-Fi Channel released a TV miniseries adaptation of Dune. Fortunately, it’s not bad. The screenplay actually resembles Frank Herbert’s novel and manages to balance political intrigue with action. The show’s problems are mostly technical, particularly the acting and special effects.

“Dune” (1984 film)

I admit I’m not a fan David Lynch’s adaptation of Dune. I have many problems with the film, but the biggest is that it completely misses the point of the novel. Dune is not a hero’s journey. It’s not simply a grimdark Star Wars. Rather, it’s a story about the dangers of charismatic leadership and the interplay between political and religious power. In the movie, we don’t get to her Paul’s internal struggle, much less any hint that his jihad might have negative repercussions for the future. Indeed, in the final scene from the film, rain pours down as if to bless Paul’s victory.   

“The Shape of Water” by Daniel Krauss

Most science fiction and fantasy movies nowadays get a tie-in novelization. Often, these adaptations reincorporate scenes that were deleted from the final cut of the film (as Jason Fry’s The Last Jedi recently did). They can also let readers peer into a character’s private thoughts, something notoriously difficult to do on screen (see David Lynch’s Dune adaptation). The Shape of Water novel by Daniel Kraus is something rarer and altogether more interesting. According to io9, Kraus pitched the story to Guillermo del Toro several years ago. Although Del Toro’s film The Shape of Water came out first, they agreed that each would tell their own version of the story through their respective mediums. In other words, Kraus’ book is not simply an adaptation of the film, but a unique and original telling of that story.

Adding The Force Awakens to the Star Wars Ring

This article originally appeared on Legendarium Media…

The Force Awakens is clearly soaked in nostalgia, to the point where some critics allege that it’s little more than a copy of the original Star Wars film. I addressed this claim in my last post. The film isn’t just a remake, reboot, or “requel” of A New Hope. The film mirrors the past, but often does so in new and interesting ways. Other times, the parallels do come across as straight up copying. Here, I attempt to understand what those similarities between the Original Trilogy and The Force Awakens do for the overall story.

Did The Force Awakens Plagiarize Star Wars?

This article originally appeared on Legendarium Media…

Every four years, Americans are confronted with a basic question during presidential elections: change or more of the same? In the 2016 presidential campaign, the winning mantra definitely seems to be “change” of some sort, whether on the extreme left or the extreme right. In Star Wars fandom, audiences voted with their wallets for “more of the same” in The Force Awakens. At least that’s the most prominent criticism of the film that otherwise earned over $1.9 billion at the box office and has a 93% positive rating at Rotten Tomatoes. The basic plot points of the film mirror the original Star Wars and, to a lesser degree, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi).

Childhood’s End

I wasn’t a big fan of Arthur C. Clarke’s novel Childhood’s End (see my full  review here). Despite that, I was interested to see how SyFy’s TV miniseries adaptation would approach the story. I came away with the impression that this was more of an update to the story than either a straight retelling or a creative adaptation. In that sense, it’s an interesting look at how science fiction and pop culture have changed from 1953, when Clarke first published the novel, to the modern era.

*** WARNING: Spoilers for both the book and TV show follow ***

“Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell” (BBC TV miniseries)

Mythgard Academy is offering a free podcast course on Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. In preparation, I read the book and watched the BBC TV miniseries adaptation. Here are my thoughts on the TV show:

I know this will get me in trouble with some people, but I actually liked the BBC adaptation of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell more than I liked the book. To be fair, although I enjoyed the book, I don’t have a particularly strong attachment to it. If anything, I thought the book would have benefitted from a tighter narrative. Fortunately, the miniseries makes one change that really helps the pacing and increases the dramatic tension.