Dune director Denis Villeneuve says the film was designed for IMAX. Villeneuve shot the majority of Dune in real-world environments, including Budapest, Jordan, Norway and Abu Dhabi, which served as a major backdrop for the Planet Arrakis. The entire film was shot with IMAX cameras in order to meet the format requirements for presentation. Villeneuve hired The Batman and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story director of photography Greig Fraser to capture his vision for this new adaptation of Dune.
Villeneuve has been a staunch supporter of the theatrical experience from the beginning, but was faced with same issues many filmmakers were challenged with in the last few years; a global pandemic and its effect on the box office. While Villeneuve has shown his support for the simultaneous release of Dune on both HBO Max and in theaters, he hasn't hid his preference for which he prefers, saying that he views Dune as a "tribute to the big-screen experience." Still, even with vaccinations and an overall adjustment to life inside a pandemic, Villeneuve believes it's time to get the movie out to the masses.
Dune recently premiered in Venice and speaking from there (via Deadline), Villeneuve elaborated not only on the theatrical experience of the film, but specifically the IMAX experience. Villeneuve says that the film was "dreamed, designed, and shot" for the format and that it's almost a "physical experience" watching the film in that way. He goes on to say that Dune is an "immersive" experience and that the "big screen is part of the language." Check out his full comments below:
“It has been dreamed, designed, and shot thinking about IMAX. When you watch this movie on the big screen, it’s almost a physical experience. We designed the movie to be as immersive as possible, and for me, the big screen is part of the language.”
Villeneuve has experimented with IMAX cameras before, working with Roger Deakins on his last film, Blade Runner 2049 to take advantage of the format for the big screen. Many filmmakers are ardent supporters of IMAX, including James Gunn, whose recently release The Suicide Squad was filmed entirely in the format (and also released simultaneously on HBO Max). Upcoming movies that will be leaning into the IMAX format include Spider-Man: No Way Home and the Tom Cruise-led sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
With the pandemic still affecting theatrical attendance, getting people back to theaters has been a somewhat difficult endeavor. However, as has long been predicted for the industry, the movies that people are more apt to turn out for are the big-budget, spectacle-driven films, such as Villeneuve's Dune. The IMAX format capitalizes on the biggest presentation possible and that could very well be the more sought after theatrical experience for moviegoers as time goes on. With filmmakers continuing to shoot their films in the format and the IMAX cameras themselves becoming more and more advanced, it doesn't appear that IMAX is going anywhere and it could help persuade those who are more apprehensive about returning to theaters in the post-Covid era.
Source: Deadline
