Just finished reading Dune. What an amazing book! Now I understand why it is called as “one of the greatest sc-fi novels of all times”  and an “Unparalleled Achievement of Imagination“. It was a start to end read, consuming the whole of my weekend.

The book got me interested in the movie adaptation. Upon searching, I came across David Lynch’s 1984 movie Dune. Opinions are divided about this movie. It is definitely not Lynch’s best work, with most loyal Dune fans having a negative opinion about it.  Even Lynch has sort of disowned the movie, and does not talk about it in interviews etc. It did not perform well commercially either.

I have seen portions of it on youtube and I must say that I was not impressed. Some very powerful portions of the novel are presented in quite unimpressive manner. For example, see this scene where Paul rides the sand worm for the first time. Such a waste of  a wonderful cinematic opportunity.

Also, probably the technology required to present the grand canvas of the movie was not available at that time.

In short, this one is not a worthy cinematic cousin of this great book. We need something better. A true movies version of this novel should parallel Avatar in terms of visual grandeur.  Arrakis needs to be created the way Cameron created Pandora. Also, the screenplay written in such a way that essence of the  novel is retained and yet, it makes for a good movie.

French director Pierre Morel was supposed to take the reins and direct a remake for paramount, but things did not work out. The job is up for grabs, lets see who takes it up. My fingers are crossed. Till that time, enjoy some cool Dune concept art here.

PS: Next on my menu: Another great sci-fi novel: Ender’s Game