Book Review: The Art and Soul of Dune

The Art and Soul of Dune is a 240-page hardcover companion to Denis Villeneuve's 2020 Dune. This book features the concept art, film stills, behind-the-scenes photography and production stories on the making of the film.

There are two publishers for the book: Insights Editions and Titan Books. Both feature the same number of pages. The edition I'm reviewing is from Titan Books and comes with a glossy slipcase with a matte textured print of a sandworm on it. The glossy slipcase looks classy but it's also very susceptible to fingerprints.

This is an excellent artbook packed with beautiful visuals. There's almost and equal mix of art and film stills. The art direction and visual aesthetics sometimes make it difficult to tell the art from the film stills. There are also many behind-the-scenes photos on the film making process, such as photos of the location sets, Baron's full-body prosthetics, how they filmed the oil bath scene, and more.

Many have claimed that Dune the novel is not something you can make into a movie. Well, we have that movie now and you can read all about how the film was made with the extensive text which includes interviews with the film makers. Author Tanya Lapointe did a great job putting this book together. She also authored two Blade Runner 2049 artbooks and that film was also directed by (her husband) Denis Villeneuve.

There's also a US $595 limited edition of this book available only from Insight Editions.

● A Limited Edition version of The Art and Soul of Dune, featuring an exclusive cloth cover with ornate, foil-stamped Atreides and Harkonnen symbols.

● An exclusive companion volume titled simply Dune, featuring the candid and intimate on-set photography of Oscar-nominated director of photography Greig Fraser, accompanied by Josh Brolin’s personal perspective and recollections of the production. This volume, designed, custom printed, and hand bound with a variety of fine Japanese papers, provides an authentic and tactile experience that reflects the aesthetics of the film.

● A signed and numbered signature card individually inscribed by director Denis Villeneuve, author and executive producer Tanya Lapointe, star Josh Brolin, and director of photography Greig Fraser. (Note: The first printing signature card included star Timothée Chalamet.)

● A unique, cloth-bound reproduction of the Fremkit instruction booklet prop created for the movie, featuring 80 pages of exclusive unseen art from the film.

● Packaged in an elaborate deluxe clamshell case wrapped in saifu cloth featuring copper-stamped bespoke imagery based on the Bene Gesserit designs created for the movie.

-

This book was borrowed from Basheer Graphic Books for review purposes. You can order the book from them. Check with Basheer on Facebook.

The Art and Soul of Dune is available at Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | ES | AU | JP | CN)

Visit Amazon to check out more reviews.

The links below are affiliate links, which means I earn some commission from each purchase, but at no extra cost to you.

Here are direct links to the book:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.es | Amazon.com.au | Amazon.co.jp | Amazon.cn

This book was borrowed from Basheer Graphic Books for review purposes. You can order the book from them. Check with Basheer on Facebook.