It hasn’t been long since Pierre Morel was hired to step in and direct the new film being based on the 1965 Frank Herbert novel, Dune. As you know, David Lynch was the director of a 1984 film of the same name that was based on the book, but don’t for one second think that this new movie has anything to do with that film — no, this is an entirely new interpretation of the story.
Morel spoke to MTV recently, where he was sure to explain his plans for this new venture.
The Taken director first explained that he was a big fan of the book, and that he really wasn’t happy with the ‘84 film:
Like many people, I was not fully satisfied with David Lynch’s movie in 1984. I do respect David, and I think his interpretation and vision was interesting, but not what we [fans] expected. And I thought I’d give it a chance, try to do this, make it faster and more modern. I think that now, in 2010, we have the technology to achieve much more than David could do twenty-five years ago. I think it will be cool to try something different.
After that, he got into the good stuff, discussing what he plans to change and why. Dune takes place 10,000 years from now, so Morel is concentrating on basic ideas now, like what to do with the clothing people will be wearing and the technologies we might see. We’ve all seen how films of the ’40s and 50’s perceived the “future” and, considering we’re in it right now and it looks nothing like they had it, you can imagine how difficult it will be to envision 10,000 years ahead.
Well, this is supposed to take place 10,000 years from now, so I wonder why people are still dressed like Captain Nemo. It feels very 19th century to me. I think the [character’s clothes] should be much more modern than that. That’s one thing [I’ll change]; that’s a basic thought.
We’ll try to figure out what things may look like 10,000 years from now; it’s all about reconfiguring the entire universe. Everything is going to be very different than [it is] now. And we know from the book that there’s no more computers, no thinking machines. So a lot of the technology is going to be different. We’ll be working with design concepts, futurists and scientists who will give us a vision of how technology may evolve with certain conditions. That might lead us to another vision of the future – it’s not David Lynch’s vision, it’s not ours either, but in-between.
Morel says that they’re starting completely over from whatever had been built when Peter Berg was set to direct, which includes rewriting the script. Even so, he hopes to be filming Dune next year, but it’s far too early to tell.
I always thought that David Lynch’s vision for Dune was spectacular, but that the structure of the film was all wrong. I loved the use of graphics and narration in the film’s first quarter. That was a very original technique at the time, and is still quite interesting.
The problem was that Lynch’s Dune is that it felt like 80% exposition, and then it rushed to conclusion. Everything up to and including the Harkonian attack on Arrakis was great, but then it falls apart. Paul’s emergence as Mau’dib, the birth of his supremely powerful sister, and the rise of the Arrakis jihad occurred so quickly that it was rendered totally devoid of drama.
I tried to watch the extended (Alan Smithee) cut once, but the edit was disastrously unpolished and painful to watch.
This new director sounds questionable. ‘Dune’ is really situated in fantasy and allegory, not sci-fi. Being too particular about technology could compromise it’s unique qualities. There are reasons why the story is set on a desert world, where people battle for a rare resource, where the rebels call for a ‘messiah’ to lead their ‘jihad’, and why the planet’s name is pronounced: Iraqis.
Garbo thanks for not slamming Lynch’s version. Sooo many people I speak to immediately tear his vision apart. His film resonates and has stayed with me since I saw it so many years ago. Admittedly there are problems and things that I hope will be improved upon. I would hope that everyone would admit the acting was fantastic, esp the Baron was a big standout for me. Others think the SciFi channels version was superior, I don’t agree. Looking hopeful about this new attempt.