Early Access: The Horror Of Dune's Spaceship Design

This was the video that got me hooked on your content and (after less than 24 hours) to become a Patreon member. Incredible analysis and research. I also want to shout out your video about the politics of Star Wars being important. Maybe a similar one, but about the politics of Dune? Regardless, keep up the good work. So happy you went full time, it was the correct decision!

I'm going to focus on just one question raised early in the video, one that IMHO elevates Vinneneuve's vision over Lynch's -- is the highliner a ship that "moves" (whatever that means), or is it a conduit, a tunnel, one highliner here and a different one there in another stellar system, somehow connected & (temporarily) convolved as one? But there's a third possibility that the magnificant _Hyperion Cantos_ of Dan Simmons brings to mind. Here's the quote from _Endymion_: | All during the centuries of the Hegemony of Man, everyone knew that there were hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of TechnoCore-created farcaster portals—from the smallest doorway to the larger River Tethys arches to the huge spaceborne portals. Everyone was wrong. There is only one farcaster portal. But it is everywhere. | So if there's just the one highliner, but it's everywhere, doesn't that raise contradictions? You betcha, and that's the point. This "thing" (whatever _that_ means) comes from a very mysterious future, and in that future probably from a very distant past. Contradictions, perhaps even paradoxes, par for this course, magical in its mysteriousness. Excellent!

I've really enjoyed everything I've seen of Denis Villeneuve's work, including Sciario, which isn't sci-fi but is a fantastic film. I'd love to see him bring his artistic sensibilities to something completely different - he would surely elevate whatever it was (rom-com maybe? :) And while not directly part of the design of the ships and so forth, part of what makes Dune so amazing is the score and the sound design -- particularly during the sequence described here of the arrival of the Herald of the Change. The introduction of that musical motif as the ship is landing is a significant part of what made that scene super powerful.

Although it's been 45 years since I read Dune, I'd argue Villeneuve's version isn't Dune, the story, it's Dune as inspiration for someone else's fantasy art. You explained at the top of the video that spice is needed because society has become anti-technology. The technology is no longer as important as the trade routes the Spice controls. Therefore, the ship would look closer to Lynch's version than Villeneuve's. But both are wrong to me. It's a feudal future. Why isn't the inspiration from our feudal past? The good new is Dune still awaits the filmmaker it deserves.

I've somehow managed to go all this time without seeing/reading Dune or even knowing wtf spice is. 🤷 But now I am fascinated.

I think part of the design philosophy of Villeneuve stems from that fact that his films are very character focused. While they are set in sci-fi universes, those settings are merely backdrops for the more important character work. In some ways, I think it’s also an economy of time. With Dune (book 1) taking 6 hours to tell, adding more screen time to technology would stretch our attentions further. Also, I like that he basically takes the approach of “this is normal” for his restraint. What I mean is this - imagine a sci-fi book written back in 1800 that somehow predicted accurately that we would all drive cars on a daily basis in 2026. For the 1800 reader seeing into the future into our current year, these are bizarre and crazy contraptions, while for the characters of the story - it’s just a car. Why would we want to focus on a thing that just sits in our garage or a parking spot for 95% of the day? Diving into the technology of how a car functions would be a distraction for whatever story this imaginary 1800 author is trying to tell. Unless the character is a mechanic, show the car and move on.

Villeneuve has earned my deep respect since Arrival. The cinematography in it is jaw-dropping and how the story rolls out is pure genius.

DV is DA MAN! Definitely one of the best sci-fi directors around. I noticed you called it Dune Messiah. Is that your own personal "rebellion" to calling it Dune 3. 😉

I first encountered the new universe with David Lynch's movie which I love. The new adaptations are visually overwhelmingly beautiful. Looking forward to the third Dune movie the end of this year.

Agree 100% about Villeneuve; after Arrival that much became clear. Btw I'd love to hear you talk about Ted Chiang sometime.