Titan Books kindly sent me a copy of the Dune Part One: The Photography book to provide this review for you today on Back to the Movies.
A beautifully curated book consisting of thousands of stills shot take by Chiabella James throughout the filming of Dune it’s releases like this that are becoming more and more rare in the world of film.
With digital images being so easily sourced online it’s rare to have a physical copy of a book in my hand with all the behind the scenes photos from production to indulge in. This deluxe volume is the perfect coffee table addition that is a joy for fans to flick through and see a glimpse behind the lens of what life was like on set shooting the movie.
Thousands of never before seen photos form a wonderfully visual journey which captures a spirit of production that you just didn’t see on film.
I appreciated the film a lot more seeing all the effort that went into it behind the scenes and from me that’s quite something because admittedly, I didn’t like the film one bit. I got lost in a whirlwind of confusion and never saw the original and wasn’t invested in its rather bloated and lengthy duration.
The fact that I am here flicking through each page of the book and enjoying seeing the on location shoots mixed with a few candid moments here and there not to mention information about each country that the film was shot in, there’s now an appreciation there for it.
Don’t get me wrong, I still don’t like the movie and will be avoiding part 2 at all costs but having material like this to browse through is a wonderfully rare thing and I love it.
Key cast members including Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Zendaya, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, and Jason Momoa all feature and the foreword of the book was written by executive producer Tanya Lapointe (The Art and Soul of Dune), a preface by Ferguson, and an afterword by Brian Herbert.
From the cliffs of Norway to the deserts of Jordan, unit photographer Chiabella James was on set to capture every moment of Dune, director Denis Villeneuve’s Oscar-nominated sci-fi epic based on Frank Herbert’s classic novel.
Titan Books have a strong offering of limited edition stills books from a variety of films. One quick browse of their website (you can view for yourself HERE) and there’s a making of book of Army of the Dead which I’d love to check out! Snowpiercer, Star Trek and even the most recent Spider-Man film all have limited edition coffee table style books to indulge in and enjoy.
Dune Part One: The Photography book retails for £39.99 and can be purchased from Forbidden Planet.
Whilst for me £39.99 seems a little expensive for essentially a book of photos you’re paying for that exclusivity. The opportunity to look at photos that until now were private and part of the production. You’re not just owning a book you’re owning a piece of production history and celebrating the work that has gone into creating this rather wonderful book.
Curating photos for the book James selected a few hundred images from the thousands available and broke it down from there. She wanted to show that an on-set photographers job goes beyond the standard collection of photos that are included with a press release.
James wanted to incorporate all elements and experiences of the production where the art comes to the fold over the photos just being a marketing tool.
I want to express a huge thank you to Titan Books for sending me a copy to review and from someone who didn’t enjoy the movie, I certainly enjoyed the book. Seeing the details in the costumes, how cameras were set up and how various locations were used to contribute to the final feature is all very interesting to a little movie nerd like me!
