'Dune' Remake On the Way -- Third Time's the Charm?
Filed under: Classics, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Deals, Paramount, Fandom, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels
Now this shall be a hotly debated remake. Variety has just announced that Peter Berg will be directing the latest version of Dune for Paramount (as previously rumored). It will be produced by Kevin Misher, who has spent the last year trying obtain rights from Frank Herbert's estate.Dune has been made twice already -- most famously by David Lynch, less so by the Sci-Fi Channel. This time, they are looking for writers who can adapt the definitive version for movie audiences. However, just a glance through any "geek" forum shows fans are already worried that the studio's belief that "its theme of finite ecological resources [is] particularly timely" is already missing the point.
The Lynch version is a film that people either love or despise. Most critics despised it upon release, but it has a fairly large fan following. (I know one guy who considers loving it a dating criteria.) Well, except me -- it's been so long since I have seen it that I fall into neither camp, especially since I watched it at 2am through very bleary eyes. I must remedy that so I can discuss this properly. So I'm not entirely convinced a remake is a bad idea -- after Lord of the Rings, no book is considered impossible, and it would please many Herbert fans to see a more loyal adaptation. Then again, there are so many sci-fi books I would love to see tackled that I'm disappointed to see them simply pick up Dune again. Perhaps it is the beginning of a trend.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-18-2008 @ 11:34AM
Mr. R said...
It is well known that Lynch´s version was cut over and over to make it more attractive and it wound up a disaster. I love the art design on it, contrary to the TV mini series where everyone was dressed like Cirque de Soleil. They should dig up H.R. Giger´s designs for the failed Jodorowsky project of bringing it to life. The books are so beautiful and deserve a grand project.
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3-18-2008 @ 11:39AM
gerryscott said...
Let's see an adaptation of "The Star's My Destination". Or we could just sleep through another two hours of Dune.
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3-18-2008 @ 12:58PM
Jesse said...
The Stars My Destination is quite possibly my favorite book. I'd love to see it done right on film some day.
3-18-2008 @ 11:44AM
TvLover said...
I actually loved the SciFi version...the costumes were weird, but it was a far better tribute to the book than Lynch's cut to hell version.
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3-18-2008 @ 11:53AM
Robobagins said...
I like both adaptations. Though I must admit, it was the Sci-Fi miniseries that got me to read the books.
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3-18-2008 @ 11:55AM
Paul D said...
The Lynch version is the ultimate. No one can do better.
Yeah, you heard me.
I would consider myself in the same camp as the guy "who considers loving it a dating criteria."
I'm a little weird. *shrug*
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3-18-2008 @ 12:05PM
Akbar Fazil said...
ultimate? You consider a made up physical "wierding weapon" to be a great representation of the book?
3-18-2008 @ 12:04PM
Akbar Fazil said...
Agreed on the greatness of the SciFi version, it defintley was close to the spirit of the book than Lynch's version ever was.
However, even with the greatness of LOTR I have to say that Dune is really unfilmable in a standard cinematic medium. Not sure that the narrative could be broken up into 2-3 cinematical pieces.
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3-18-2008 @ 12:37PM
eugene said...
I think Dune could work as a trilogy. Make the first movie a politcal movie about the Duke moving the family to Arrakis and defeating the Harkonnes. The second movie could start with the fall of House Artredies and the rise of the Muad'dib of the Fremens and end it with Paul taking the water of life. The third movie would have Paul coming out of the trance and leading the Fremens in an over throw of the Baron.
3-18-2008 @ 12:40PM
Akbar Fazil said...
Your suggestions for 2 and 3 work, I just don't see your suggestion for film number one working well enough to get people into the story and wanting to see 2 and 3. But thats just me.
3-18-2008 @ 12:43PM
kevjohn said...
eugene, when you break it down like that it sounds an *awful* lot like the Star Wars prequels that seemingly no one but me liked.
3-18-2008 @ 12:52PM
eugene said...
Why wouldn't it work? Because science fiction fans don't enjoy a well written politcial intrigue movie? I suppose you could take the fall of the House Artredies and tack it onto the end so that people could have their big pyrotechnic extravanganza. End it with Jessica defeating the Fremens with with Paul choosing the name Muad'dib. That could give it a nice hopeful end.
3-18-2008 @ 12:59PM
eugene said...
You're still single, aren't you? :p
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3-18-2008 @ 1:44PM
brian586 said...
I think now that we have resources like the yuen wo ping (sp?) fighting team and much better special effects that the "wierding way" of the fremen, which was just hyper-advanced hand-to-hand combat, could be accurately portrayed, instead of the highly unfortunate magic gun in the Lynch version. I love Dune (the books), and I love David Lynch, so Lynch's version for me has been love/hate, in that I love the ideas for visually representing the book, but the shortcuts they were required to take were very painful (and I am still not entirely happy with the way the bene gesserit are portrayed, the reverend mothers weren't bald crones!). Dune nerd rant over.
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3-18-2008 @ 1:45PM
brian586 said...
Oh yeah, and the rain at the end, please no rain at the end, please!
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3-18-2008 @ 3:36PM
flatrabbit said...
Really I've always loved the Lynch version even though it wasn't totally faithful to the books. Which in a sense is hypocritical of me as i tend to lambaste movies that don't adhere to the book it represents.
I justify this by saying that Lynch's Dune was grandfathered in as I was pretty young when it was released and I hadn't read the books yet. The Sci-Fi version was too polished for me. It was a more strict telling, but I really think that no one has captured the spirit of the books yet. It may never happen, but as long as there is money out there people will keep trying.
Personally I say just let it die. No one is ever going to remake the whole series as movies so why do just one at all?
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3-20-2008 @ 1:30AM
Truffled said...
I don't know about no book being impossible...
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski would be amazingly hard to do RIGHT.
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6-09-2008 @ 2:41PM
Captain Spangle said...
I loved the Lynch version because I think the combination of Lynch, Dune and Toto was brilliant. I must admit that the weirding way mind bullets and the blocky shields make me cringe but the Guild Navigators are great. I'll be watching the next remake when it comes out for sure.
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