To refine these gifts and make them more common, eugenics is practiced. Without it, humanity must fall back on natural gifts, which are rare. In Herbert’s imperium, artificial intelligence has been destroyed as oppressive and remains under the iron ban of a syncretic form of Christianity. He depicts a world where liberal democracy failed and has been replaced by a feudal imperium. Frank Herbert’s vision of the future was deeply reactionary.
It is excellent, despite its poor special effects.Ī Dune movie is also politically significant. Its sequel, the Children of Dune miniseries (2003), dramatized Dune’s first two sequels, Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. In 2000, the Sci-Fi Channel did a three-part Dune miniseries which was quite flawed. David Lynch’s 1984 Dune was a flop, but it is a brilliant movie and remains the best version. The first screen adaptation was Alejandro Jodorowsky’s failed production, which may have been the greatest movie never made. Set more than 20,000 years in the future, Dune is the story of two noble houses fighting for control of the planet Arrakis or Dune, which is the sole source of the most valuable substance in the universe, a psychoactive drug known as “spice.” Dune and its five sequels have been read by millions, inspiring whole universes of fan art and fan fiction, as well as a number of screen adaptations, to say nothing of rip-offs like Star Wars. This is a pity, because Frank Herbert’s original novel, published in 1965, is one of the twentieth century’s great works of popular fiction, brilliantly synthesizing both the futurism of science fiction and the archaism of fantasy literature. Of course audiences are willing to sit through long movies if they are really good: Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, for instance. David Lynch told the whole story in 137 minutes. Villeneuve spends 156 minutes and only gets halfway through the novel.
I found it dull to the eyes, grating to the ears, and a drag on my patience. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, Part I is now in theatres.