The 94th Annual Academy Awards ceremony just concluded, and Dune took home the most awards tonight - six Oscars. Best Achievement in Cinematography, Film Editing, Sound, Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score), Visual Effects, and Production Design. Not that we needed the validation of the Academy to tell us how important a film this is, but we have it nonetheless.
If there’s a sci-fi museum somewhere, with the hallowed hall carrying memorabilia or images of the best works ever created in that genre, there is little to no doubt that the highest mantle would carry something from the writing desk of Frank Herbert, the celebrated author of the Dune series of novels. Or now that there’s a Denis Villeneuve movie based on the first novel, the said mantle could even have a prop from the set. The point is, if sci-fi were a religion, Dune would be its holiest of the holy scripts. One of the main reasons why us sci-fi geeks love it so much is because we see how the themes addressed in Herbert’s epic saga are undoubtedly timeless. No, it wasn’t a story told way ahead of its time - because those themes were relevant then, and they’re even more so now. If you haven’t had a chance to read Dune, do it now. It’s a deep-dive you won’t regret. If reading is not your thing, fear not for Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 movie adaptation, which has just won six Oscars, will satiate that thirst for great storytelling nonetheless.