Dune Adaptations Keep Ignoring This One Vital Book Scene
Although Denis Villeneuve's Dune and David Lynch's Dune have received opposite reviews from critics and audiences, they have one thing in common.
And that is the absence of a scene that author Frank Herbert himself wanted to see in the film adaptation of his work.
The 1984's Dune is David Lynch's third feature film, after Eraserhead and The Elephant Man, which was nominated for eight Oscars.
The filming of the movie was marked by peculiar situations, such as Lynch not knowing that he had agreed to adapt the famous science fiction novel, and not being entrusted with the final editing of the film.
In the end, the movie flopped at the box office and received mostly devastating reviews from critics.
The situation with Denis Villeneuve's adaptation was different. After several postponements, the movie was released in 2021.
The new adaptation of Frank Herbert's cult novel was well received by critics and viewers. Villeneuve's film turned out to be a large-scale picture, in which the director managed to acquaint the audience with a complex universe.
Although the two adaptations turned out to be completely different, as the critics' reviews show, neither director included in his film a scene that, according to the author himself, is very important for the plot and the revelation of the characters.
And this is the banquet scene, where the powerful people of Arrakis gather and the tension mounts by the minute.
In the book, the Atreides family hosts a feast upon their arrival on Arrakis. It introduces Paul (and the reader) to the complex politics of the planet.
Merchants, smugglers, and even bankers appear at the banquet, spying for the Harkonnen. Incidentally, it was at this event that Dr. Kynes first said that Arrakis could be transformed from a desert into a thriving oasis.
According to Frank Herbert and fans, this particular scene in the movie could be an excellent premise for future political struggles, and could reveal the hidden motives of some of the characters.
"I agree I wish it was there because that is also how you see Duke Leto respects the people of Arakis by offering them cups of water instead of watching them lick it off the floor," Reddit user DrTardis89 commented.
However, other viewers agree that the scene is very complex and interesting, but Villeneuve didn't refuse it for nothing.
Some of its elements can only be revealed by knowing the thoughts of a particular character, and in the movie format this is almost impossible.
"The main reason much of the mind games got scrapped was because it happened in the characters thoughts which is near impossible to adapt without it being bad or feel forced," Reddit user Redtiger2211 said.
Frank Herbert's novels are considered to be rather difficult to adapt to the screen, precisely because the books contain a lot of internal monologue.
Villeneuve managed to overcome these difficulties, as the success of the movie proves. Dune 2 will be released on November 3, 2023, revealing even more secrets of Arrakis.