It would not be an exaggeration to say that "Dune" became the main fantastic premiere 2021 years. Fans of the novel of the same name Frank Herbert and just fans of the genre were looking forward to the release of the tape on the big screen. We invite you to take a look behind the scenes of the filming process and learn about the curious events that accompanied the creation of the film.
According to the plot, Paul Atreides must go to one of the most dangerous planets in the universe - Arrakis. It is in this inhospitable, desert world that melange, an incredibly valuable resource, is mined. Paul will have to face local monsters, harsh weather conditions and, of course, human cunning.
The production of the sequel until the last was in doubt
As you know, the novel "Dune" they tried to film it for a very long time, but for directors the volume of the narrative has always remained a problem. Denis Villeneuve immediately stated that he was not going to fit the whole story in one film, so the release of the sequel was almost a done deal. However, the studio was in no hurry to green-light the sequel.
At first, the bosses were going to see how "Dune" starts at the box office, since no one wants to invest in a deliberately unprofitable project. Sadly, under certain circumstances, we could be left without a continuation, fortunately, the audience showed interest and went to the cinemas.
Denis Villeneuve has long dreamed of directing "Dune"
Few people know, but Villeneuve got acquainted with the novel "Dune" Even as a child, and when he became a director, he decided to make a film based on the book. Especially Denis wanted to achieve authenticity, however, felt that he lacked the experience to work on such a grandiose project.
Before taking on the film adaptation of the novel Frank Herbert, the director made two fantastic films: "Arrival" и "Blade Runner 2049". These projects helped Villeneuve to become more familiar with the genre and start working on Dune with full confidence that the tape would be a success.
Old people here do not belong
At first glance, the picture of the brothers Cohen "No Country for Old Men" has little to do with "Dune", but it is not so. in the famous thriller Josh Brolin plays a welder who accidentally enriched himself at the expense of the mafia, and Javier Bardem embodies the image of a charismatic assassin, Anton Chigurwho is instructed to return the money.
In "Dune" the actors once again got the opportunity to interact on the set. Brolin got the role of one of the mentors of the protagonist, Gurney Halleck. Bardem played the leader of the Fremen, Stilgara. Intersections like this happen regularly in films of various genres and are always interesting to watch.
The original Paul Atreides is very young
Choosing an actor for the lead role was incredibly difficult. Denis Villeneuve, according to eyewitnesses, even shed a tear when at the start of filming he was finally convinced that Timothy Shalame lives up to expectations. But how does the screen image correspond to the book, where Paul Atreides there was only 15 years? In addition, the main character looked somewhat younger, like all representatives of the dynasty.
Timothy at the time of the start of filming was 23 years, moreover, he really looked younger, and also had similar features with the character of the novel. And here Kyle MacLachlan of "Dunes" David Lynch turned out to be much less convincing. The guy was already 25 years, and he gave the impression of being a accomplished man rather than a fragile teenager.
David Lynch did not appreciate the new version of the film
Since we already remembered the film adaptation "Dunes" 1984 years, it is necessary to say a few words about the reaction of the David Lynch for a remake of his painting. When asked by journalists about the director's attitude to the new film, he replied that he had absolutely no interest in him. This is due, first of all, to dissatisfaction with his own work, which Lynch has repeatedly stated earlier.
Recall that "Dune" in 1984 failed at the box office, although it became a landmark event for fans of science fiction. Lynch himself did not take part in the final editing and was forced to fit the entire novel into an unconvincing running time of 137 minutes.
Minimal use of computer graphics
Of course, modern science fiction without the presence of computer effects is almost impossible to imagine. The reason is simple - even unrealistic things should look natural, and this is very difficult to achieve using mechanical models of monsters and vehicles. However, "Dune" managed with a minimal set of graphics and tried in most cases to manage with natural scenery.
To say more about Denis Villeneuve said that he stands for maximum naturalism - it is very difficult to make a really high-quality movie if effects are applied without measure. That is why the shooting took place in natural conditions, and the graphics were used only in extreme cases, when it was impossible to replace it without harming the picture.
Complicated filming process
As graphic effects were kept to a minimum, the filmmakers had to find suitable filming locations. So as a planet Caladan Norway came out with its endless oceans, but with Arrakis it was more difficult, because its deserts must be really harsh, inspiring sincere horror.
The aim of the film crew was Near East, namely, Jordan и Abu Dhabi. Dunes were created in a special way - platforms on drilling rigs were covered with sand, and the actors were located on them. When a worm “crawled” under the dune, the vibration made people react naturally to what was happening - they didn’t even have to play.
Creating worms was not an easy task
Now let's talk about the most terrible creatures Arrakis, according to the director, really painstaking work was carried out on the creation of worms. Leading designers tried to find the right skin texture, color and appearance of the creature. The main goal was to create prehistoric monsters that could look pretty much authentic.
It took a whole year before the final layout was accepted. We must pay tribute to filmmakers - the worms turned out to be really naturalistic and frightening, and their scale boggles the imagination of science fiction lovers.
Incredible work of make-up and costume designers
Many tend to underestimate the work of make-up and costume designers, but in "Dune" they had to give 100% to achieve their goals. Designers, when designing clothes specifically for the film, drew inspiration from Roman and Greek mythology, which was dictated by the novel.
Make-up artists worked in the sweat of their brows, who worked daily on Stellan Skarsgård by 8 o'clock. The actor himself admitted that playing the Baron Harkonnen it was extremely easy for him, since the main work for him was done by the image created by makeup artists and costume designers.
Participation in the Hans Zimmer project
It's no secret that Hans Zimmer is a highly respected composer in the film industry. Getting him into your team is a great success, since the musical accompaniment helps the viewer to perceive the picture as a whole. Hans is a big fan of the novel "Dune", so he refused to participate in the project "Argument"to stake out a workplace on the set Denis Villeneuve.
In order to come up with something truly alien, Zimmer took the unprecedented step of creating new instruments. The bet was made on the extraction of alien sounds that will not allow the viewer to forget that he is in a fantasy universe along with the heroes of the film.
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