You Must Not Fear This Gorgeous DUNE (1984) Concept Art by Ron Miller


Check out Dune concept art by Ron Miller!

Welcome to Flashback Friday where I feature artwork from classic science-fiction movies or tv shows. Today's feature is Dune (1984). 

There's a live-action film adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi novel Dune coming in October of 2021 directed by Denis Villeneuve. Back in 1984 another Dune adaptation was released directed by David Lynch. 

While it wasn't a box office success and got mixed critical reviews it has since become the definitive adaptation of the book. Dune was also nominated for an Academy Award. Despite the critical backlash the striking visuals and book-accurate strangeness of the movie led Film4 to call it "completely ahead of its time". One of the many skilled people working on the movie is artist Ron Miller.

Miller is a professional concept artist who's worked on Hollywood projects like Total Recall (1990), Ghosts of Mars (2001), and New Alcatraz (2002).

Click on the images to enlarge.

I reached out to him to get permission to share the illustrations and he told me his favorite designs for the film.

"I think my favorite of all the designs was the insect-like Harkonnen 'thopter, though I didn't have too much to do with the design of it," Miller said. "I did do a lot of weapons and props, though, and I was really happy with all of those...mainly, I suppose, because it was such a novelty to me to see a drawing turned into a three-dimensional object I could hold in my hand. The Atreides gun was one of these..."






















Back in 2014, Miller gave a couple of insightful interviews for io9 well worth reading.

See more of Ron Miller's portfolio at https://spaceart.photoshelter.com 

Click on the links if you want to see more of Ron Miller's work or Dune artwork on my blog.

About Dune (1984)

Official synopsis: "Set in faraway future the year 10191 where life in the universe and space travel is reliant upon a spice Melange found only on the desert planet Arrakis or Dune; where the natives of the planet eagerly anticipate the arrival of their Messiah who will lead them into a holy war against the evil Harkonnen empire." 
Directed by David Lynch 
Cinematography by Freddie Francis 
Production Design by Anthony Masters 
"Dune" stars Francesca Annis, Leonardo Cimino, Brad Dourif, José Ferrer, Linda Hunt, Freddie Jones, Richard Jordan, Kyle MacLachlan, Virginia Madsen, Silvana Mangano, Everett McGill, Kenneth McMillan, Jack Nance, Siân Phillips, Jürgen Prochnow, Paul L. Smith 
"Dune" was released on December 14, 1984 (United States) 

[Some images via duneinfo.com]

What do you think of the concept art? If you've seen Dune what do you think of the look? 

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© Copyright 1984 Universal Pictures and Ron Miller. All rights reserved.

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