Journey to the West in the East, Lord of the Rings in the West.
Countless literary classics have been put on the screen and remade into movies.
Journey to the West
The Lord of the Rings
However, in the history of film, there are also some novels that make directors "frightened".
For example, Liu Cixin's "Three-Body Problem".
Some Hollywood filmmakers have bluntly said that the story structure of "The Three-Body Problem" is difficult to integrate into the system of commercial genre films.
It was taken to remake for 12 years.
Except for a few posters, there is no more following.
But in front of the novel "Dune".
The difficulty of the remake of "Three-Body Problem" is probably only the undeveloped "Zhu Chaoyang".
How "scary" is Dune?
Known as the most difficult film history, Hollywood's "forbidden king", the film industry's remake black hole.
From 1971 to 2021, it took half a century.
Filmmakers around the world have come and gone to try to adapt this science fiction novel into a movie.
Until the famous director Dennis Villeneuve presented the latest film version of "Dune".
More than 5 world-class directors have folded into this novel.
Why is the novel "Dune" filmed by who is unlucky, and the difficulty is so great?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="235" > the "Lord of the Rings" in science fiction</h1>
In 1965, writer Frank Herbert wrote this science fiction story:
On a planet that is arid, but is full of the code of wealth in the universe - "spices".
Scheming, fighting, hope and hatred are staged.
The young Paul's family is broken and displaced, and he will rewrite his fate here.
People call this planet the "Dunes."
Once the novel "Dune" was published, it quickly became popular in the Western world.
It has been hailed as the greatest science fiction novel of the 20th century.
It was the first work to win both the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award.
Its place in the science fiction world is like "The Lord of the Rings" in the history of fantasy literature.
In the list of many authoritative must-read books released around the world, there is the figure of "Dune".
Author Frank Herbert also became a master of science fiction alongside Asimov.
Frank Herbert
In 1971, Jacobs, the owner of the independent film company Apjac, bought the film adaptation rights to Dune.
Little did he know at the time that Dune would later be known as the history of science fiction literature.
I just think that this story of Niu B is enough to compare with the movie I am shooting, "Planet of the Apes".
It may well be the next sci-fi blockbuster.
Planet of the Apes
The "poisonous" producer approached the director of "Lawrence of Arabia" with a business card, David Lane.
I hope that as soon as the famous director shoots, the box office will be immediately there.
Lawrence of Arabia
outcome......
Everyone was stunned.
The arrogant British director thinks: What good things can Americans with no "culture" write?
Before I read the book, I refused to read it.
David Lane
But Jacobs didn't give up, and he turned to the Golden Globe winner for best director, Charles Garlot.
Sure enough, wherever you fall, you get up from where you go.
The inspector was also British, and cheerfully agreed to Jacobs.
So the two quickly began to prepare.
However, Providence is unpredictable.
Due to overwork, the heart is exhausted.
Jacobs died suddenly of a heart attack in 1973.
Left behind the film "Dune", which is still in the incubation stage.
Jacobs
When the family cleaned up the aftermath, they sold all kinds of film and television IP of Jacobs Company.
Among them is Dune.
And who's next to take over?
He, Zodrowski.
Zodrowski
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="535" > big-name director "Graveyard"</h1>
If Xu Ke is called the "old monster" of the Chinese film industry because of his whimsical talent.
Jodurowski is simply the "green-robed old man" of the Western film circle.
Talented, but avant-garde.
His films are completely out of the ordinary.
Perhaps only a semiotician like Robert Langdon could basically understand what Comrade Zoe was trying to say.
Jodulovsky's Poetry Without End
Dance of Reality
Because Zodlowski had heard of the name "Dune" for a long time, he shouted to the producers to shoot it!
But in fact, he had not even read the novel.
Zoe patted the producer on the chest: I will definitely make it understandable to all the audience.
At that time, the gold lord behind the grandfather was the French consortium.
The French really hoped that Zoe could make "vulgar" American novels into literary epics that could sell for money.
Just do it.
The zo-master, who is not short of money, rented a castle in Europe to prepare for the current period.
Concept map of "Dune" organized by Zoe
The old man was truly extraordinary.
The goal in mind is to gather the world's best artists to make this film.
Yes, you read that right... "Artist".
For special effects he found Dan O'Bannon.
The art director brought in Hans Rudolf Giger.
Having to obey the eyes of the grandfather, these two later also worked together on the "Alien" of the history of the film.
Dan O'Bannon was in charge of the special effects for Alien.
Rudolf Giger personally designed the "Alien", the first beast on the screen.
Hans Rudolph Giger and the Alien
Zoe even found the soundtrack of "Dune".
In the picture is the Band Pink Floyd from the UK.
The band's historical status – the banner of art rock and psychedelic rock.
Gee.
Pink Floyd Band
And the unified statement of the above geniuses recruited by Zoe is:
I'm going to make the greatest film in the history of cinema, and you haven't been able to jump in yet.
more than.
He even wanted Spanish surrealist Dalí to join him in a role.
The oil painting "The Eternity of Memory", which is filled with melted clocks, is the work of this old man.
Dali
The Eternity of Memory
Zoe gave Dalí the highest salary for a Male Star in Hollywood.
It is also said that he passed Dalí's aesthetic test privately.
Sure enough, it is not a family that does not enter the door.
However, Comrade Zodrowski called an art troupe, and after a few years it was still not filmed.
Only a storyboard script as thick as a book remains.
The reason is understood in a second.
Zoe wants to put the movie... It's 12 hours long.
...... hehe.
The audience may be able to understand, but the physical strength does not allow it.
Zoe let go.
Ray is here again.
Ridley Scott took over Dune with the afterglow of Alien.
He even asked the original author, Frank Herbert, to be the screenwriter.
However, the result of the preparation was that Director Lei ran to make another science fiction movie that later became a legend - "Blade Runner".
Blade Runner
The reason was the sudden death of his brother.
Director Lei feels that the discussion of the universe and life in "Blade Runner" is more in line with his current state of mind.
However, in hindsight, people speculated that Lei Dao, who may have been preparing for many months, suddenly found that "Dune" was too grand.
In addition to the magnificent imagination of space opera.
There is also the conspiracy, religion, philosophy, and the digging of human nature.
In the eyes of later generations, one of his novels has the visual sense of "Game of Thrones", "Godfather", "Lord of the Rings" and "Star Wars".
Director Lei is also somewhat afraid of his own "Dune" and become another "Cleopatra" (a famous money-losing film in Hollywood history).
Cleopatra
But ridley Scott's head finally blossomed in the hands of David Lynch (director of Mulholland Drive).
"Dune" became Director Lin's first commercial production.
After nearly two years of production cycles, the 1984 film Dune finally came out.
It had been 13 years since Jacobs first saw the novel.
(This version of "Dune" has been broadcast on CCTV6 several times)
1984 Dune
Yet it's as clever as thunder.
It is necessary to tell the complex and magnificent story of the original work in its entirety, and it must also conform to the extremely compressed length of the film.
Almost impossible.
So this blockbuster that cost 50 million US dollars that year, and finally the word-of-mouth box office hit a complete bottom.
Public opinion was so fierce that director David Lynch later refused to even admit that the film was his own work.
David Lynch
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="537" > "forbidden" piece of Nirvana reborn? </h1>
So far
Making Dune a classic movie has almost become a taboo, impossible task in Hollywood.
And then some of Hollywood's fiction movies have been tragic cases.....
For example, in 2012, "Cloud Atlas" was adapted from the novel of the same name by British novelist David Mitchell.
Because of the 6 independent and eerie stories, it is not easy to adapt.
Despite the addition of Tom Hanks, Hugo Viven, Zhou Xun, Pei Doona, Ben Weshao, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant and other movie stars.
As a result, word of mouth was poor (Rotten Tomatoes 66% freshness) and the box office fiasco failed.
It is also constantly hinting that there is little hope of remaking "Dune" again.
Cloud Atlas
Until 2016.
Director Villeneuve took over this "hot potato".
Villeneuve has a good reputation in the film industry.
A "Border Killer" has allowed industry insiders to marvel at its skillful and advanced film audiovisual language.
Border Killer
The niche science fiction film "Arrival" has made people understand the ability of wa director to control the science fiction theme.
Movie "Arrival"
Even so, Villeneuve still found Dune super difficult.
He first went to test the waters of Blade Runner 2049 (Blade Runner sequel).
This shot, almost all over the world thinks - stable.
The right balance between art and commerce, the grand narrative, isn't that exactly what Dune wants.
Blade Runner 2049
So the film side smashed the budget equivalent to 1.13 billion yuan to support the wa director.
The cast includes, but is not limited to:
"Thanos" Josh Brolin.
"Sweet tea" Timothy Chalame.
"Spider-Man's girlfriend" Zandaya.
Chinese movie star Zhang Zhen.
Dave Batista the "Destroyer" in Silver Guardian.
The cold-blooded killer Javier Baden of The Old Man.
"Aquaman" Jason Momma.
The 2021 version of "Dune" by Wa Dao is scheduled for October in China and released simultaneously with North America.
The total duration is more than 2.5 hours.
The number of early screenings in 24 overseas markets around the world achieved an excellent result of 36.8 million US dollars in the first weekend.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the score is as high as 90% freshness.
2021 Dune
Professional film critics claim that it has the cinematic charm of showing dreams.
Half a century, or exactly 50 years, has passed since 1971.
It is almost unsurprising that the most difficult novel in film history to remake into a movie will be nirvana on the big screen.
The 2021 edition of Dune is a new starting point for the silver screen legend of this protracted novel.
Text/Porco Rosso Watch Movie Editorial Department: Cyborg Dreams of Bionic Sheep
(Image from network infringement deleted)