Friday Meanderings: Scenic Adaptations from Dune
I could use a little help in exploring the ways that Dune has been adapted for the big screen
It feels like this year is already flying by. Where did January go?
So thankful for all of you who are reading and sharing The Cosmobiologist. I really would love to know more about all of your interests, so please do reach out. This Friday post is short and sweet, really because I’ve been writing a bunch of other stuff lately. But I have an idea for an essay on film adaptations of Dune and would love to hear your thoughts.
Journeys
We’ve got an all new Ask an Astrobiologist queued up for today! Joining me will be Nathalie Cabrol of the SETI Institute to chat about her newest writings and research and career in the realm of astrobiology.
I now have a working group at BMSIS that includes 12 Visiting Scholars. In the coming months, I’ll be sharing a bit about their various projects here on The Cosmobiologist.
Applications are now open for the 2025 Karman Fellowship. I applied last year. Though I wasn’t accepted, I joined as a Karman Pioneer. This year, I’ll be applying for fellowship again, but I’d bet there are many of you out there who might also be a good fit for this.
I’ve now agreed to lead a trip for high school students to Iceland again this summer. Parents, teachers, and anyone who knows some students who might love this adventure of a lifetime: please share the info for the Smithsonian Student Travel trip Iceland: Geology, Climate Change, & Renewable Energy. There are some scholarships that are available for students from lower income families. The trip itself is not cheap, but I promise it will be an amazing adventure. The students who take part will join me in exploring the geology and history of Iceland, we’ll tour the Golden Circle and hike on a glacier, we’ll eat Icelandic foods and explore outdoor hot springs, we’ll hike in remote areas and see a huge waterfall, and far, far more.
Scenic Adaptations from Dune
I’m working on an essay about the ways that the novel Dune has been adapted for film and highlighting some scenes that have been done well while others have been done poorly.
For example:
Of the attempts at adapting Dune, the Sci-Fi Channel miniseries from 2000 is the only one that has attempted to create the famous banquet scene. The adaptation, though, falls rather short, as many fans of the novel know that the banquet sets the tone for so much of the political intrigue of Arrakis, highlighting the role of Liet-Kynes as a Fremen leader, showing how the mercenaries are connected, and displaying the way that Paul and his mother are able to sense the various unspoken intentions of the guests.
Another scene that has been attempted is the fight scene between Paul and Jamis. The Villeneuve film failed spectacularly at this—that fight was ceremonial an0d would never take place outdoors and rushed. The Lynch film in 1984 came the closest by having the fight inside (where moisture can be reclaimed) and showing not only its ceremonial value but also highlighting for the Fremen that Paul is a skilled fighter. But the novel really goes a lot deeper on that scene—the fight is one of the key ways that Paul and his mother are able to cement themselves among the Fremen and use the people due to the way that the Bene Gesserit had implanted religious dogma for later use.
But some things have been done very well. The 1984 Lynch film had the best looking stilsuits, in my opinion. The 2000 miniseries did the best job showing that the Baron Harkonnen is more than just a gross slob and pedophile (he really is also part of the political elite and galactic nobility). The Villeneuve films easily had the best music and their representation of the spacecraft, sandworms, and architecture of buildings is the closest to what I personally envisioned as a young person.
I’d love some help from readers here who are also fans of Dune to explore this idea further.
What are your favorite scenes that have been adapted from the Dune novel for film?
What are your thoughts on the failed Jodorowsky project?
If you’ve read the novel, what do you think is missing thus far from most adaptations?
What would you change if you were the Director or screenwriter for a new adaptation of Dune?
What are your thoughts on the new Dune: Prophecy show?
Have you read the original novel? Have you read all of Herbert’s original novels in the series? Have you read any of the further works by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson?
If you were to sculpt your own future universe including elements of political intrigue, highlighting exploitation through religious fervor, consciousness expanding drugs, or a galaxy-wide feudal system rooted in capitalism are there any key concepts or ideas from Dune that you would want to include?
There are lots of opinions about the Dune adaptations out there, and some of them are very wrong (!). But I’d love to know what you think.
Drop a comment here on your own ideas about adaptations of Dune, or drop me a line on my contact form. I’ll quote the best ideas in the essay I’m working on.
Thanks so much to everyone our there who’s reading The Cosmobiologist.
If you want to share on any of my adventures, meet up for a coffee in person someday, chat about the topics I share here, or just talk about anything and everything, feel free to reach out!