What are the differences and similarities
between the 2021 Dune film by Denis Villenueve, and the first half of the 1965
Dune novel by Frank Herbert? This video will contain no
spoilers beyond Dune Part 1. Check out the amazing Alt Shift X video
"The Real Dune" if you want a deeper dive. Now, let's begin. The opening scene establishes the situation: The desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune - or "Doon" if you're American - is brutally controlled by House Harkonnen, who harvest the Spice and
tyrannise the Fremen natives. This isn't based on any specific
moment or chapter from the book, but it sets up the status quo
that's about to be shattered. We meet Paul, the heir to House Atreides. In the book he's described as a small, skinny teenager with the olive skin of
his father and green eyes of his mother. Timothee Chalamet is in his late 20s,
but looks like he could be late teens. He's having breakfast with
his mother, the Lady Jessica, the Bene Gesserit concubine of Duke Leto Atreides. In the book, she's described
as having bronze hair, although the official graphic
novel makes her a full-on redhead. This scene showcases the Voice - a
special Bene Gesserit control mechanism, kind of like a Jedi mind trick. It's not a moment in the
book... but this portrait is. This is the late Duke Paulus
Atreides, father of Leto. We later see this portrait - and the head of the
bull who killed him - being taken to Arrakis. Paul listens to Dune on Audible to
learn that juicy background lore - and no, I'm not sponsored. We learn that, for the Fremen, the spice is
a sacred hallucinogen which preserves life; for the Imperium, it's used by Spacing Guild
Navigators to ensure interstellar travel. In another film-only scene, we meet representatives of various
factions within this universe: Members of the Imperial Court,
Spacing Guild Representatives, and a Sister of the Bene Gesserit. The Imperium is held up by 3 powerful pillars,
which we learn more about in the book: One such pillar is the Padishah Emperor himself, Shaddam IV Corrino, who sits the Iron Throne - sorry, the Lion Throne. Another is the Landsraad, an institution made up of the Great Houses, including
House Atreides & House Harkonnen. Thirdly, there's the Spacing
Guild, an interstellar travel, trade, and banking conglomerate. Spacing Guild Navigators are so mutated by the spice that they resemble
human-fish hybrids in tanks. The mysterious Bene Gesserit, meanwhile,
are an ancient, quasi-mystical sisterhood. One important faction not mentioned in the film
is the Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles - also known as the CHOAM company - a monopoly encompassing
almost all economic affairs. All the great institutions within
the Imperium have a stake in CHOAM. Receiving these representatives are Leto
Atreides, Gurney Halleck, and Thufir Hawatt. Duke Leto is described as an
olive-skinned man with regal features, so Oscar Isaac is perfect casting. Gurney Halleck, however, is
not the handsome Josh Brolin, but a small, ugly, balding lump of
a man with a large inkvine scar. Thufir Hawat - the Mentat human-computer - is described as an elderly man with
red-stained lips from sapho juice, which increases Mentat powers. The Mentats in this movie sport a
black symbol on their lower lip, which looks more like a tattoo
to signify their profession, perhaps something similar to
the Suk School forehead diamond. Another character we meet is
the swordmaster Duncan Idaho, described in the book as a handsome
man with a dark round face. In the movie we catch him leaving for
Arrakis to spend time with the Fremen; in the book, we first meet him when he
returns with Stilgar from this adventure. Gurney Halleck trains with Paul in a
scene that's almost identical to the book, although overall Gurney, is a different character. Here, he's more of a gruff military man, and less of a flamboyant,
poetic, baliset-playing chad. There is a deleted scene
where he plays the baliset, but none of the deleted scenes have been released, because Denis Villenueve hates us. Gurney furiously calls the Harkonnens "brutal". He was once enslaved by them, and
Beast Rabban gave him his inkvine scar. We travel from Caladan to Giedi Prime,
the homeworld of House Harkonnen, a heavily industrialised
planet bearing little sunlight. This scene is unique to the film. Count Glossu Rabban of Lankiveil, also
known as Beast Rabban due to his brutality, confronts his uncle, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen,
and the Baron's Mentat Piter de Vries. All are pale and completely hairless. Piter from the Lynch movie would be furious. The paleness is likely from the lack of sunlight, and the baldness must be related to the culture
of Geidi Prime, as the servants look the same. In the books, the Baron is grotesquely fat, and wears belt suspensors that allow
him to walk swiftly despite his mass. Here he's large but somewhat muscular, and his suspensors are attached to
his spine, allowing him to float. Beast Rabban is never physically described, although the Baron views him as
a "muscle-minded tank-brain", and Bautista's Rabban captures that image well. Piter de Vries, however, is described
as a feminine man with stained red lips and the blue-on-blue eyes of a spice addict. In the film, he bears the Mentat lip
tattoo, and doesn't have blue eyes. Our first Harkonenn scene in
the novel is a lot different. The grandiloquent, flamboyant
Baron lays out his evil schemes directly to his sullen nephew Feyd-Rautha,
who makes his debut in Dune Part 2. The Emperor has gifted Arrakis to
House Atreides, the Harkonnen rival; spice production will be sabotaged, and the
Harkonnens will be justified in the eyes of the Landsraad in seizing the planet
back and wiping out House Atreides. But the Baron does not just want to wipe
them out - he wants Duke Leto to suffer. Part of his plan involves making him
believe that Lady Jessica is the traitor. Meanwhile Piter, a sadistic
creep, wants Jessica to himself. The Baron has a toxic back-and-forth with Piter. The two men rely on each other just
as much as they despise each other. This dynamic is not present in the movie. Which brings us to the famous
Gom Jabbar scene from the book: Paul keeps his hand in the pain box to prove
to the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam that he is a "human" and not an "animal". He may just be the Kwisatz Haderach, the powerful prophesied product of
genetic manipulation by the Bene Gesserit. Before this scene, we also meet Dr
Wellington Yueh, the Atreides Doctor. He bears a diamond tattoo on his forehead
to display his Imperial Conditioning. In the film, he appears a few more times before revealing his motivations to
Duke Leto during the betrayal. In the books, we are inside Dr Yueh's head
as he grapples with his impending betrayal. In one such scene, he gifts
Paul a tiny little book: the Orange Catholic Bible, a fusion
of all significant religious thought. The OC Bible apparently
appears in a deleted scene. Dr Yueh's imperial conditioning is
broken by the Harkonnens because they kidnap and torture his wife,
Wanna Marcus, a Bene Gesserit sister. In the film, we see a black creature
with human hands, the Harkonnen "pet". Some suspected this creature
may be Wanna, but more likely, Denis Villenueve just really
likes giant spiders in his movies. The Atreides finally arrive on Arrakis,
introduced by a man playing bagpipes. Denis Villenueve said he's always seen
the Atreides as "a kind of Celtic people". I guess it's open to interpretation, but personally I never saw the
olive-skinned, bull-fighting, Atreus-descended House Atreides as being... you know… Celtic. We also see the Atreides symbol
- the black hawk on green. The House coats-of-arms in
the movie are very minimalist. The Harkonnen symbol looks like this, which is a large departure from the
books, where it's stated to be a griffin. In the 2000 Dune video game
game it's a bull's head, which I personally think fits
their vibe better than griffins. The scene between Jessica & Shadout Mapes, where she is presented with a
Crysknife, is directly from the book. The crysknife is made from the tooth of a
sand worm - which the Fremen call Shai-Hulud. Perhaps the strangest change
from the book are the palm trees. The date palms in the film are "sacred"
to the Fremen despite the water they use, while in the book they're a symbol of
power left over by House Harkonnen. The Hunter Seeker moment
is straight from the book. Paul's death is not a necessary
part of the Baron's plan, just the assassination attempt itself. It's designed to strike at
Leto and stir up his paranoia. In fact, the book Baron, who has a proclivity
for young boys, implies he wants Paul to himself. Speaking of the Baron, we
get another film-only scene that confirms that the Emperor
is connected to these schemes Let's jump from a film-only
scene to a book-only scene. Lady Jessica discovers a hidden Conservatory, in which she finds a kind note left by
the previous resident Lady Margot Fenring, a fellow Bene Gesserit sister, who
leaves a warning of treason on a leaf. No, really. The books also delve into the Harkonnen
plot to create suspicion around Jessica. Although Leto himself never falls for
it, he can't let Jessica know that, to ensure that his frosty demeanour appears
as natural as possible for potential spies. This Arrakeen council scene is very similar. We are introduced to Stilgar, who gives the
gift of his body's moisture by spitting, and Leto promises not to hunt the Fremen. Leto and Paul meet Dr Liet Kynes, the imperial ecologist & Judge of the
Change overseeing the power transition. In the book, Dr Kynes is a man - the
son of ecologist Dr Pardot Kynes, and the father of the Fremen girl Chani. They travel in an ornithopter to a sand crawler, and due to Harkonnen sabotage,
something goes wrong. In the film the carrier is broken, while
in the book it never actually arrives. Also, book Leto only has thopter
space to save all but three people, and asks the spice workers to draw straws. After this, we're greeted to the
greatest scene in the history of cinema. This film-exclusive scene
is set on Salusa Secundus, the prison planet of the Sardukaur,
the Emperor's elite warriors. Piter is discussing the recruitment
of 3 battalions of Sardaukar - after all, the Atreides soldiers are
some of the best trained in the galaxy. In the film, the Sardaukar take part
in the attack on Arrakis… as Sardaukar. In the book, they're disguised in Harkonnen
livery so as not to implicate the Emperor. Instead of this scene, the book gives
us a lovely dinner hosted by the Duke. Guests include the Spacing
Guild representative Soo-Soo, water magnate Lingar Bewt,
and smuggler Esmar Tuek. Attempted schemes unfold - Jessica
realises that Soo-Soo is a Harkonnen agent, and a stillsuit manufacturer's
daughter fails to seduce Paul. Later, Drunken Idaho openly
accuses Jessica of treason. She confronts Thufir Hawatt, who genuinely
suspects her and even considers killing her. We never see these internal
Atreides divisions in the film. The coup is launched. Shadout Mapes killed and
Leto is knocked out by Yueh, who gives him a poison tooth to kill the Baron. In the book, the Baron & Piter
confront the bound Jessica & Paul. The Baron gives Piter the
choice between ruling Arrakis, OR having Jessica for his own twisted amusement. Piter chooses the former. Jessica and Paul are sent to die in the
desert, but Jessica uses the Voice: "Kill Him" In the novel, she's more subtle, telling
them "you don't have to fight over me"; a sort of reverse-psychology
that makes them fight. Oh, and Paul kicks a man
to death, because why not. The traitor is betrayed. Film Yueh
is beheaded by the Baron himself, while Book Yueh is stabbed in the back by Piter, but not before giving an ominous
last warning to the Baron. Yueh gets his revenge from the grave. Leto thinks of Jessica and releases the poison,
killing himself as well as Piter de Vries - but the Baron protects himself
with a ring-activated shield. The Book Baron just yeets out of the room, and one of Book Leto's victims includes the
Captain of the Harkonnen Guard, Umman Kudu. The shaken Baron realises he needs
a new captain - Iakin Nefud - a new ruler of Arrakis - Beast Rabban - and a new Mentat - Thufir Hawat. After having a spice-induced freakout in the tent, Paul and his mother are picked up by Duncan
and Dr Kynes and taken to an Imperial base. They're discovered by the Sardukaur. Duncan Idaho is slain, and Dr
Kynes becomes a sandworm snack. In the book, Kynes is captured. The Baron is ordered by the Sardukaur
to spare him as he technically works for the Emperor - but the Baron abandons
him in the desert without a stillsuit. The dehydrated Doctor hallucinates his
father's voice before dying in a spice blow. The film Baron is damaged by the poison and
heals himself inside a giant tank of black goop, and orders Rabban to squeeze Arrakis
hard for spice and therefore income. This scene is likely inspired by
Rabban's first book appearance in which he's summoned to the Baron's
chambers and given command of Arrakis. This is because the Baron wishes to
eventually replace the brutal Rabban with his other nephew and heir, Feyd-Rautha, who he hopes will be seen as a
saviour to the people of Arrakis. At the climax of the movie, Paul
and Jessica survive a sandworm, and then meet some Fremen led by Stilgar. Jessica gains their respect
by overpowering Stilgar, and Jamis invokes the Amtal
rule to fight Paul to the death. The movie ends during the second act of the novel. In the future, I'll be comparing the
second half of the novel to Dune Part 2… and I might also do a Lynch comparison for fun. If you're interested in Dune and
A Song of Ice and Fire content, like the video and subscribe to Fantasy Haven. Special thanks to my Lord of Light patrons: Andres, Alex the Pagan,
Caden, Colshot, and Devcole. Lemme know in the comments if you'd
like to see more Dune content. See ya.
