Denis Villeneuve once highlighted a “weakness” of ‘Dune’
There are countless filmmakers currently working in contemporary cinema who are pushing for its innovation and success, from the work of British filmmaker Jonathan Glazer to the American indie filmmaker turned box-office hit Greta Gerwig. But, if the focus is on the preservation of movies as a booming cinematic experience, there are few filmmakers you’d trust more than Christopher Nolan or Denis Villeneuve.
Though he feels like something of a newcomer to the fold, Villeneuve has long been simmering in the film industry, particularly ever since he caught the attention of the Hollywood elite with the release of Incendies in 2010, an intense drama that would earn him an Oscar nomination. Ever since, the Canadian filmmaker has been trusted to carry out pretty much any cinematic vision he desires, following up the success of Incendies with 2013’s Prisoners and 2015’s Sicario.
But, if you want any indication of just how much industry clout Villeneuve holds in the modern industry, just look back at his previous trio of films. 2016’s Arrival was a revolutionary sci-fi flick that perfectly synthesised epic visuals with an inherently human core, 2017’s Blade Runner: 2049 was a banquet for the retinas, and 2021’s Dune showed off the sheer ambition and cinematic scope of his filmmaking mind.
Dune was a particularly impressive feat, after all, some of the greatest filmmakers of modern history had tried to bring the iconic sci-fi novel to life before, yet couldn’t get their head around the vast material. Villeneuve succeeded where the likes of David Lynch and Alejandro Jodorowsky could not, creating a tangible world from across the stars that houses an epic and ancient war.
Understandably, Villeneuve respects the source material, “The book is probably a masterpiece,” he tells Wired in regards to Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, “But that doesn’t mean it’s perfect”.
Continuing, he admits, “It has some weaknesses, and it was a space for me to explore. Baron [Harkonnen] was one of those elements. I wanted to make sure that it was not, as you said, a caricature or a goofy bad guy. I wanted the Baron to be threatening, to be intelligent, to be sophisticated in his own ways. He has radical views about the world, but the more we are impressed and mesmerized by the Baron, the more powerful he will be”.
Played by Stellan Skarsgård in the movie, Baron Harkonnen can be better identified by most fans of the movie as the large floating slug-like man doused in black goo. A corrupt and treacherous individual, Skarsgård’s performance as Baron gave the film some of its finest moments.
Take a look at the iconic scene involving Baron Harkonnen from 2021’s Dune below.
