Visions of Dune: Put to the Silver Screen

[TMA_1]

This is completely hypothetical, but just say that you were given the go by the Herbert Partnership and just say, Warner Brothers for example gave you a bottomless supply of funds to make your own version of Dune.

And just say that you not only were the writer of the adapted screen play, and you were director and cinematographer and conceptual artist.

You know what I am getting at, a complete fantasy and dream for most dune fans.lol

What are some ideas you have on the artistic touches that you would add to the film?

Like with the characters, what would their wardrobe look like? With the dialog, what kind of style would you have it in the screen play?

[Mahdi]

Ignoring the casting question, which has been asked a thousand times already and, imho is the least interesting, heres at least a partial answer:

No Cinema Verite.  The style does not fit the story.  Instead lots of wide shots and, yes, a constantly moving camera, but a smoothly moving one with no boundaries when it comes to angles and places it can move to and through.  Think Fincher and the Wachoski...umm...siblings combined.

Since this is a dream project, hard R rating. 

Location shooting in the Empty Quarter, definately.  Emperor's palace based on Hitlers all marble room.  I saw that in that 80's Albert Speere TV movie Inside the Third Reich and thought to myself "Wow, that's perfect for the Emperor!"

SFX-wise, a combination of practical and CGI.  Models for chips, thopters, etc. CGI for times when practical effects would be impractical, such as wide shots of riding a worm, or of a worm attacking.

Each group would have its own fighting style.

Atreides would be finesse fighters.

Harkonnen brute force.

Saurdakar a blend of the two.

Fremen pure efficiancy.

Ginaz best with bladed weapons but somewhat weaker in hand-to-hand.

Bene Gesserit best at hand-to-hand but weaker with weapons.

Each of the major actors would be schooled in multiple forms of combat, from boxing and ultimate fighting to Ju Jitsu and Kung Fu.  Same with swords, from fencing and broadswords to akeido.

Have an editor unfamiliar with the books.  Someone who can looka t me and say "I don't care if this was in the books or not, it fucks up the pacing and if you keep this scene it will ruin the film."

Two soundtracks.  One of rock/pop songs (hey, it works for Scorcese) and tribal music for Fremen, and one that is a combination of tribal music and the expected classical/operatic music.  Would then select one (probably the latter) for the theatrical release and allow viewer to chose which on the DVD.

Dialogue:  Staying away from hip, sly dialogue.  Stick to the type presented int eh books.  Aristocratic, "heavey" type dialogue.  Taken from book were possible, but not lavishly following it.

A partial answer at least.

[Andrew]

I would do it exactly as the book is. Although it would be a 20 hour movie, it would be a good one nonetheless.

[TMA_1]

sheesh the traitor I mentioned teh casting because it is apart of the whole question.lol Its not like I was asking that same question. But I do agree that has been asked about quite a lot. hehe :)

by the way good choices mahdi, especially impressed on your opinion about the choice of the editor not really knowing the books well. That way it wouldnt interfere with the editing. If he or she didnt know as much about the book, it would make the person less leary, and give him or her more freedom for seeing the artistic expression of the film done completely through, so that the flow of the film would not be hindered, if that makes any sense.

[Mahdi]

Apparently Andrew doesn't think so.

[Andrew]

Who is "the traitor" ?

Don't remember how Mahdi got the name if it is him.

I have no time to further embellish on what I would like to see. I am 100 hours behind in school. :(

[nemafakei]

"Who is "the traitor" ?

Don't remember how Mahdi got the name if it is him."

Uhhh... well what better name?

[TMA_1]

uhh, I meant mahdi, I think that maybe it was apart of mahdi's larger name, but he changes it so much that it doesnt make any sense anymore. I dont even remember writing "the traitor".

I am as mystified as you guys, and I am the one that wrote it!

this is not good, I must be going nuts.lol

[TMA_1]

The shooting should be crisp, almost surgical. It should remind a person of Stanley Kubrick. I would want the space seens to be highly identified with the space shots of Discovery in 2001.

The shots in the palace should be almost give you a feeling that you are watching a stage. Lots of static shots panning and moving with the actors. The key to the film should be the actors, but never with a loss of focus on the beautiful scenery. I picture Lawrence of Arabia as a perfect example for Arrakis. If i had my druthers, I would film in the antiquated (and damn expensive!) 70 mm film. This would feel like an epic.

the actors should be largely shakespearean in approch. It has to feel archaic and kinda old.

The sets should look exactly how they did in Lynch's film. Nobody could top the props and clothes in that film, that is exactly how I pictured it.

No need to improve anything there.

With the technology, I have the exact image in my mind, and this is a perfect example.I had in a dream of a las-gun. In it I saw a beautiful oak stock with a blued barrel, it almost looked like an old flint lock blunderbuss. At the same time it would have the "robot-vomit" linkages and appendages all over it, to give it an extremely odd but suprisingly fitting ancient/highly modern look to it. That is how I would want all the technology to look in the film.

Like I said earlier, it should be edited so that the flow is not hindered, but also so that there is no unneeded dialog. I explained that already.

The music should have no contemporary base, in a sense that it should not sound like the music of our time. It at the same time should NOT sound like the miniseries. (The perfect example of that kind of music is Troy, with that annoying vocalist whining through the whole flick.lol) Again I loved Lynch's music, a great example.

I wouldnt want any known actors in the film, it would be completely fresh and new, so that people would not remember them from any other movie, which would allow people to more easily completely enthrawl themselves in the movie.

those are some of my ideas, I have more and will post more later.

[Egeides]

Bottomless funds?? I'd pay David Lynch for as many years and money he wants.

[AeonGrey]

I would say to them:  "I'll let you keep your money as long as you promise to never ever let anyone try to make a movie out of this ever again.  Ever.  And the same goes for Brain Herbert writing Dune books."

Dune is too big for any medium other than the human mind.

[TMA_1]

thats not true aeon. I used to feel the same way. See you are right in this aspect. It could not be copied, and should not try to be copied, which is where the miniseries failed.

You have to take it, and make it your own story all together. You cannot copy it, you can only take it, keep the basic story objective and plan, and then make it your own creation.

Naked Lunch is a great example. It is nothing like the book, but it is a great story in its own right because David Cronenberg took it and made it his own artistic creation. See, Dune is such a wonderful medium, that this kind of creation would kick ass.

[AeonGrey]

thats not true aeon. I used to feel the same way. See you are right in this aspect. It could not be copied, and should not try to be copied, which is where the miniseries failed.

You have to take it, and make it your own story all together. You cannot copy it, you can only take it, keep the basic story objective and plan, and then make it your own creation.

Naked Lunch is a great example. It is nothing like the book, but it is a great story in its own right because David Cronenberg took it and made it his own artistic creation. See, Dune is such a wonderful medium, that this kind of creation would kick ass.

Okay well I suppose maybe I was trying to look at it wrong.  I guess now that I think about it, I'm okay with films changing the original, just so long as they don't defile it or disprespect it or censor it.  I have personally always secretly day-dreamed about the prospect of some kind of animated version of Dune.  Not a TV show, not Manga or Anime style necessarily.  I just think that the medium would allow for a lot of the stranger stuff in the books to be accomplished easier.  Dream-sequences, spice-trippin', etc.  I also think it would allow the characters to "appear" however the creator wants them to appear.  The format also wouldn't necessarily tie it down to a "silver-screen" release.  This is the most important part to me because I have an attention span and I'd be willing to put up with a film broken up into the 3 books of Dune(Dune, Muad'dib, and The Prophet...correct me if I'm wrong).  It wouldn't be so bad if you watched a 2 1/2 to 3 hour installment one night, then the next part the next night and so-on.

As far as what it would be like....it'd be very "earthy" in color.  Earthy and austere for Dune itself.  Caladan would of course be focused on the color green.  Geidi Prime would be black.  The scenes with the Emperor would be emerald and gold (mostly gold).  The benegesserit would NOT be balled.  They would have austere black robes, long hair, and very little make up, but lots of natural beauty.  Paul's character would not look like he is 25 years old at the beginning.  Duke Leto would not be blonde (William Hurt).  Maybe I'm just anal, but I think the details are important.  Irulan would not be a brunette, etc etc.  I could go on and on forever.