I just imagine Denis saying "We choose to adapt Dune, not because it is easy, but because it is hard"

I think the hardest part of adapting Dune is all of the terminology and getting an audience who didn't read the books to fully understand all of it.

I'd say the main difficulty is with the optics. Dune is not a happy story of good guys defeating bad guys. It's a story of people having terrible things done to them and in turn doing terrible things to others. Paul loses his father and then goes on to cripple the spice flow that enables galactic travel before overthrowing the emperor and starting a universe wide jihad in his name, his sister gets possessed and goes completely mad, then his son gets transformed into a worm hybrid and enslaves the universe to teach people the value of freedom. You try selling that story to investors.

My sons are obsessed with Dune. If one of them does something stupid, the other one says "...as it was written." And if one of their friends hears that, he'll yell "Lisan al Ghaib!" And if one of them makes a dumb pun like pointing to a car and saying "Nissan al Ghaib," then the other son will say "...as it was driven." It's kinda funny, but kinda weird.

The adaptations must flow.

The thing that is hardest to adapt in dune is not the Worms or Arrakis. It is the fact that most dialogue are internal dialogues. Add to that, it is written with third-person perspective omniscient. So it's like,you're in someone's head in this sentence and then suddenly you're in somebody else's head in the next sentence. Previous dune adaptations just adapted it with heavy use of internal voices, which are never good. Denis V. on the hand just streamlines the dialog part of the book and make it short or just not adapt scenes with heavy dialogues at all(i.e banquet scene, Hawat and Jessica confrontation).

I hope dune 2 video is coming soon too. &why does this video feels like it was recorded 1-2yrs ago?

Feels to me like Dune could work as a long-running TV show if you pitched it as a Game of Thrones style high-budget political thriller.

An adaptation is not a translation. When taking a story from one medium to another it is not meant to be the same.

“Is Dune truly unadaptable?” The recent 2 Dune movies: sigh *boi*

The syfy series might look cheap nowadays, but back then it was one of the highest budget and most innovative series for it's time. Children of Dune is leagues better and might be the only book 3 adaptation we get

Seeing Dune 2 tomorrow. Part One was so good and Villeneuve not only chose the right parts to adapt, they were executed so well. Heard good things so far so cross fingers.

Kind of odd that this video was published after Dune II was released lol. Edit: Btw, I did not mean any disrespect to the video’s creator. It is a great video and good analysis. If I saw it between 2021-2023, it would feel very much on point. The majority of the video, especially in reference to the books and older adaptations are succinct and well formulated. My one and only critique is that it came out after I saw Dune II… which addresses many of the issues raised in the discussion regarding the 2021 film. :) Edit 2: When I first commented, the video had a different title.

I recently re-read the book for the first time in over 15 years, and what really struck me as odd was how Herbert repeatedly has these insane build-ups to important scenes that are suddenly just over. Even the ending of the book just kind of drops on the reader out of nowhere... At least I was expecting some sort of epilogue or another scene showing the new normal in the universe instead of Paul just telling the antagonist how things are going to be from here on out. Also, that one lord or whatever his title was with incredible fencing skills gets introduced at the end as the biggest threat to Paul, and then he just chooses to not do anything. Why even introduce a character like that, especially at the end?

Definitely agree... but also aren't all books difficult to adapt fully. Visual mediums, like movies, are so different from books and to aid the transition items are always left out or changed to make it easier to adapt. Even the best adaptations, like Lord of the Rings, have missing or changed pieces in the visual adaptation to support the flow and viewing of the movie.

Saying Dune is "Unadaptable" is a sign of weakness, it should be thrown in the middle of Arrakis desert and fed to Shai Hulud. If Cloud Atlas had been adapted into a movie surely Dune can too. It is a film making obstacle of how would you tackle the internal dialogue of the books into the medium of motion picture.

DUNE 2 was incredible! I think it delivers on the promises made in the first movie!

Dune is such a huge collection of books, but unfortunately only the first three really allow a visual adaptation. Which is such a shame, as the alter books deal with philosophical and existentialism themes that cannot be put into cinema.

I never read the book, but from all the essays about the adaptations, I have a feeling the best version would be a high budget series like Game of Thrones was. Not considering the whole thing on the last seasons...

I want the David Lynch 3 hour cut.

I would love to see Denis Villeneuve give his take to Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons. Adapting that one to movie would make Dune look simple.

I read Dune in 1979 and after that, I thought to myself "This story is way to big and spectacular to even try to produce a movie from". I'm glad that the attempts have been made and pleased with the results. Looking forward to seeing the new one.

Why would you post this video after Dune 2 came out?? Feyd Rautha was a major character in Dune 2, and this video is saying he’s book-only 😂

Villeneuve's interpretation (both films that form the whole) is probably about as faithful as we'll ever get, and it's already a masterpiece.

Villeneuve's version is the best, but the 2000 miniseries holds a special place in my heart. It was my introduction to Dune. It's what brought me to the source material, and I've now read the original 6 books multiple times. Each adaptation really does have its own strengths and weaknesses. While the 1984 adaptation can be a bit weird and off-putting, and the 2000 adaptation's television budget really limits it, I wouldn't say that any of them are "bad". If nothing else, each of these adaptations has captured people's interest enough to attract them to the source material, and thus helped to keep Dune popular for generations.

Always thought this was odd, i thought while reading the book it felt very cinematic and would work well as a film.

Really enjoyed your insights, I'm a hardcore Dune fan & just love all the attention that Herbert's universe is getting. Arrakis, Dune, Desert Planet...

How come Alejandro Jodorowsky's near attempt at Dune wasn't covered? The documentary detailing his efforts and concepts is bind-blowing!

Y’all must feel silly after Dune 2 huh 😭

I haven’t seen “Part Two” yet since it just opened as of this writing, but I think my favorite adaptation is the Sci-fi (SyFy) miniseries. Mostly from nostalgia and the look of it, with all the colorful cinematography. I like the all though, but for different reasons.

Didn't people used to say the same thing about Lord of the Rings?

They didn't had a guy named Hans Zimmer before

I finished reading dune literally hours before seeing both movies. I regret it. I wish I had either read it years and years ago so it wasn’t so fresh or never read it at all. What I loved about the book changed in the movie. But I believe only because the book was so fresh in my mind. I want to love the movies, I do. But I’m left missing my favorite parts (all the internal conflicts that are so hard to show)

Well done! I haven't had the pleasure of reading the book but from just a cinematic perspective it did seem like a huge risk to end 1 like they did, very much feeling like the story had only partially been told. I watched 1 and 2 back to back in my home theater last night after watching the first one about a dozen times and its such a seamless transition it made you appreciate those decisions in the first film. The 2nd did end more complete but still with that "tune in next week" vibe. Dune 3 has been greenlit from what I can see and I don't have any doubts it will pay off just the same and I cant wait to watch all 3 back to back to back.

What I want to see is Villeneuve attempt to adapt God Emporer Of Dune. That is going to be almost impossible to bring on screen.

Dune 2 was fking amazing

Lets just hope the change to the ending of part 2 doesnt make the book sequels unadaptable, because for good or bad, that was a mayor departure from The source Material

Irulan and Rautha are not in part one of the novel which you emphasises was what Villineuve's film adapted so the critique for their absence makes no sense. Rautha is mentioned in passing by the Baron. Irulan has been mentioned as the Emperor's daughter once near the end of part one, other than that she introduces each chapter in quotes but with no relevant context to the narrative - bits of Arrakian history and media are being shared to the reader through quotes from her, but she is some all seeing mysterious narrator at this point. Actually its Zandaya as Chani who despite being present in the film has absolutley no trace in the part one of the novel. Her name does not appear and it's possible she's alluded to but I missed it if so.

I love both parts of the 2021 adaptation. Part 2 had a lot more actions, but I honestly adore the world building in part 1. The atmospheric shots with the Hans Zimmer filmscore are simply masterpieces.

Time and budget. The 80s one could have been good if homeboy had been given more of both

I hate when mainstream media talk about Paul by using words like "hero" and "good guy".

I hope Villeneuve gets to adapt RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA Because nobody else is more perfect than him for the job

Why wouldn't you make this video after watching Dune 2? It makes no sense as it currently stands, especially given the movie released the same day this was published (unless it's a re-upload, in which case wtf?).

The new dune is perfect and with han zimmers making music and sound effects. It just takes it to a whole new level

But, Timothy is LISAN AL GAIB!

fire af edit bro

Some element of the story is always missing in a book to film adaptation. Stories in written media don't have to worry about budget. They can put in as many characters as they want, because the author doesn't need to hire actors to portray characters on paper. They can put in as many subplots or make the story as lengthy as they want, because authors know the user doesn't need to read the book from start to finish like how they watch a movie. All of these are privileges you do not get to enjoy if your story is told in movie or TV series format.

Watching this after watching dune part 2. The first film set the final film up perfectly and ended it incredibly

Remember in the David Lynch one at the end with Alia, "And how can this be?! Because he is the Kwisatz Haderach!"

I just watched Dune Part Two. It was satisfying in a way that Lynch's version was not. However, I still feel that there are elements missing from the book that would have made it even better. Hopefully Dune Messiah turns out to be just as good if not better. The changes to Chani's character seem especially significant.

The Syfy series was so awesome lol i still rewatch it every 2-4 years

well pages and pages full of inner monologue and narration....it is like watching a french mime in a zen garden having a crossover with david lynch-s rabbits, kudos for an attempt

Every time the narrator says "Villa-noov", I die a little...

I love how we get the 2 missing characters in mocie 2

I didn’t even know there was gonna be a part 2 until part 1 ended in the cinemas I was so mad for a few weeks after that.

I am not exaggerating when i say Dune part 2 is one of the best movies i've ever watched

My favorite is Children of Dune, and God Emporer of Dune. I really hope they make them. Even if not connected to the current ones, which I don't mind, but idk I guess I don't hate them.

Dune part 2 is a masterpiece! Part 1 did much of the world builder and character development. Part 2 was able to dive right into the action.

Why doesn't this video cover Villeneuve's part 2? It seems like this was made three years ago or sth

Dune? More like dune' fine, how bout yourself?

1:58 WOW, he treated even his mom like that!!!! Power really went over his head. GENIUS text and surprisingly great acting, bit expressionless but the voice was wow.

This was posted two days ago and you're complaining that Irulan and Feyd aren't in it? Both of whom are famously in part two?

Dune Part Two helped to finish adapting the first novel, for the first time, nearly perfectly for a movie. I was so incredibly impressed by seeing Dune Part one and Part two telling the story perfectly of that first novel. Now the next two novels need to be adapted.. it will be very difficult but exciting if we get a Part Three and Part Four. Bring us the LOTR of science fiction please Dennis!

This video has valid points until you realize it came out on the same day as Dune Part 2

It’s saying something that the 1984 adaptation isn’t liked and yet contributed to the 2 most iconic lines “The spice must flow” “He who controls the spice controls the universe”

I am a fan of the sci-fi mini series and the fan made recut of the 1980’s film, where a lot of the original cut scenes are added back in. Without them too much context got lost.

Dune Messiah is still adaptable, but i dunno about 3rd book onwards 😅

I hope they keep it going in the new style. The Tleilaxu and the guild navigators are going to be wild

I'm really glad Villeneuve adapted the book the way he did, and puts it as the definitive version of the material for me my mind. I personally thought that Herbert's book was tedious to read. It had no flourishes or aesthetic quality to the prose at all. So it's nice to see some artistic vision brought to this work.

Note: It still is after seeing Dune 2... it needs a lot more explanation.

Before watching the video, I must first protest the use of the word "Was" in its title

In the books there's so many moving parts it's hard to tell the full story on screen. The SCI FI channel did a decent job in the early 2000's but it was a low affects budget saga. It had really good acting for it's time. The 1984 Movie tried to do it all in one showing and while it wasn't a complete failure, it fell short in story telling. The 2021 telling is allot better, but allot is still missing. But only die hard Dune fans will notice because they've read the books a bunch of times. I'm hoping for a big box office payout for the studios only because there might be more Dune movies in the future.

I feel like if any creative director could make a proper Dune adaptation, it would be Yoko Taro of the Nier franchise. Yes, its a video game and not cinema, but if you've played any of his projects to the route E conclusions, you'll know exactly what I mean.

Dune is complicated, that's why people love Star Wars and Star Trek

Both those characters are in the 2nd one? What the fuck is this lol

And we answered the call, even having the movie on digital on day one, we went to the theater and crowdfunded part 2

I think Dune is best experienced through both its movies and books.

I wish I could get the SciFi series with the visual effects of the new movie. I like the old movie too but it's too limited in scope. I love Patrick Stewart playing one of the greatest warriors in the Galaxy. LoL

Just a quick note on the typo on the thumbnail: you can see that the L, A and T were made by you. It’s not fitting the style of the original font used. Its actually more curvy and very light. The B was a good try but still too much effort. It could have been more simplified! The P turned out very good, even though it could use more roundness on the edges. Cool idea though keep it up

You should all do yourself a favour and watch the documentary on Jodoryosky's Dune. His vision was absolutely bonkers and would have changed history. Salvatore Dali was to play the Emperor. Need I say more?

I'm disappointed they didn't do the 3 year time jump but it's also understandable why it was condensed into like 8 months for the sake of the movie

the other 4 Herbert books (after Deni finishes Messiah) needs to be a series....preferably for HBO Max....

I'm gonna rewatch it never understood it at first but with all this hype why not

4:45 its a shame that they dont use these as the Primary Posters for the movies but instead go for the splatering characters allover marvel like design

Props to the Chilton's Book man who had enough vision

I loved Dune part1 can’t wait to see Dune part2.

This video brilliantly explores why Dune has always been deemed 'unadaptable' despite several attempts throughout cinematic history. It's fascinating to see the challenges directors face in bringing such a rich and intricate novel to the big screen.

Still waiting on the follow up after the second one

well this video didn't age well, dune part 2 came out yesterday... & it's really good

When I saw the original in theater they literally passed out a sheet of terms and definitions as a primer before the movie started.

I think Dune could make a greally great anime series. Anime is really good at showing emotion and characters having inside thoughts. A lot of visual stuff trhat could be considered heavy handed in live action is more acceptable in animation.

Denis Villeneuve's Dune Messiah is gonna wreck everybody up.

Wish Jodorwoski smoked some shrooms and said "Let's make Jodorowski's Dune" (and then he gathered iconic talented people from around the world to play the characters and cooked a banger even bigger than Villeneuve's Dune. The movie of all time. 🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥

I think adapting Dune is akin to adapting Lord of the Rings. Inevitably, something has to give, because the complexity of the written word cannot be simply lifted, whole cloth, and transposed onto film. This would be true of any really complex novel. Books and films have different strengths and pacing and each one needs to be distinct, to be successful. I love Jackson's LOTR...but the director himself will fully admit that it's not the book in itself and neither is Villeneuve's Dune, Herbert's book. But both Jackson's and Villeneuve have created excellent films. They will always exist somewhat separately from their source material, but they are worthy endeavours in their own right.

I started watching the first movie because of the tik tok hype for the second movie and it’s great but Im taking a break because it’s a huge exposition dump that I don’t even really understand but since then I’ve been doing research about the franchise and I’m seeing that they could really only adapt the first 4 into movies but I want to see an adaptation of the last two books

I don't think any of the points he made about the unadaptability of dune go above and beyond the general loss in translation that occurs from one medium to another. The exact thing happened with Lord of the Rings; the exact same thing happens with any novel adaptation. You can't turn a book into a movie without losing anything.

That’s one hell of a pronunciation of Jodorowsky, lol

I would love to see a Zach Snyder adaption of Dune just out of morbid curiosity

Years ago when I first read the Dune series, I remember saying to myself "Man, they can never make THIS a movie without missing - like - 90% of the content." I still believe that.

All the amazing things about the DUNE movies and the few flaws aside, I just have to note how much my appreciation for Timothee Chalamet grew after seeing him in this role. I never understood the hype he got, but he's been killing it this year - with Wonka and Dune Part 2, he did justice to two of my most beloved stories and their characters. He's a really good actor and maybe we'll see even stronger performances as he matures.