Too bad this clip is so short, it would be great to hear more from this great author. I just read Dune Messiah where he brings Paul down from being a hero to being a reluctant tool of human race consciousness. With his prescient vision Paul saw only one path forward for humans to survive and grow, but because it unleashed the power of religious extremism it would mean he was responsible for brutal wars that killed billions across many planets. Only when he walked into the desert was he free.
I've only just become aware of this Fred Herbert person, but it seems he has rushed out a number of poorly-written books in an attempt to cash in on the popularity of series such as Harry Potter or even the amazing Twilight Saga. Perhaps with time his writing will improve but I can't really foresee his "Dunes" series achieving the same scope, scale and majesty of the aforementioned works.
@TheZhonGuoRen Oh I'd have to challenge you on LOTR. They are both complex and vast, but were weighted differently. Tolkien's characters are more noble and one-dimensional, and Herbert's are more complex and nastier. They are certainly more realistic. But is ''realism'' what we really want out of epic fantasy/sci-fi? Should it be about who we are or who we could be? It's a matter of personal opinion. I find Dune incredibly fascinating but not inspiring and uplifting like LOTR is to me.
I spent quite a bit of time on Google trying to find the whole interview or even other videos of Frank Herbert and nothing,I had more chances of finding a ghost.
This guy is a science fiction god...he'll live on forever through his literature and other than Galactic Battlefront and the foundation series I don't know if any other sagas will ever be as realistic, inspiring, and true to the human condition.
I really believe that if this man had lived to write DUNE 7 himself, he would have created a religion. He had already covered every other portion of the human condition in detail, but was leaving LOVE for last, that novel would have shaken the world. My favorite of his is Heretics. It would be incredible to see that one made into a film.
Mile Teg, my favorite DUNE character has the most awesome quote, "I'm free!"
@hfdpayner I'm not saying that was his intention, but if you recall, the man was receiving phone calls from fanatics in the sixties asking him if he was trying to do just that. I believe his response was "Run like Hell."
It would seem it was almost a natural reaction to the intellectual power of his work...if it had reached full fruition, what would have happened then?
Of all futurists , Herbert is really the only one who seriously explored the power of religion on human history. He didn't defend it or excoriate it , & therefore his vision will probably end up being the most accurate prediction of times to come. Most SF authors are hardware junkies & rational theorists , & have been miserably wrong in their attempts to predict because of it.
@subliteral I don't think most sf writers try to predict the future, their aim is to create a caricature of modern times/moments in history, cast through the lens of SF, and to explore ideas and motifs. The genre grants the author total freedom to explore ideas in a way that's not possible in main-stream literature.
Awesome stuff, i love Frank Herbert's Dune novels since i was 12 about 18 years ago and i've been obsessed with Sci-fi and fantasy all my life including the LOTR books. I can't believe he actually approved of Lynch's in name only movie, i bet the movie killed him because it mutilated his novel.
the filthy cunts are everywhere,, even dune :) ,, what are they doing in a book ? dunes fucked up, nothing has ever tripped me out more than dune ,, its got alot of esoteric stuff in it ,, i think herbert knew about the reality of the world. ,, honest to god man that dune parody video is the funniest shit iv ever seen in my life.. never gets old :)
@brianranzoni the only reason i would ressurect frank is to ask him 1 thing..whats his opinion on brian's and kevin j's perspective upon his novels/unfinished writtings.
@SirPepe666 i dont know.for me the story ended with the sandworms of dune.Maybe he could have come up with something new.althought he has the other small novels (worship novels,consentient and so on) that are not so bad.i still like looking at my complete novels on the shelf,just looking makes all the words come back in my brain :-J
FH was ahead of his time...of course we got the water = oil metaphore, but (drinkable) water will become the new oil (stakes of war) very likely within decades
They already did an anime of Dune called Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds which is a homage to Frank Herbert's novels and came out the same year as that David Lynch abortion of an adaptation in 1984. It was the film that Lynch's dud should have been and even better.
@oberstul Well, I think he meant that water is the commodity for the people of Arrakis - much like oil is for Earth. Spice is the commodity for the Empire, but not for Arrakis.
@JulioMoc, you may be right. It does seem to make a sense. But I recall him saying in another interview that the CHOAM is very much like our OPEC. And this can only be interpreted in one way.
Yes, it is a possibly analogy with the Middle East, where they are swimming in oil but live in chiefly desert climates that rely heavily on irrigation and desalinization plants.
Spice is an industrial commodity, the glue that binds the empire together. However, you don't actually need it directly to live, merely to live well (since it enables life extension and rapid interstellar transit). Water is a biological commodity, without which human life will extinguish.
thats really a good point, considering that in many countries around the world, the day to day necessities overule the magnitude of foriegn power struggles for resources that really only have an importance to the combatants not the inhabitants of the area being fought over...
@JulioMoc I'm late to the discussion (thanks for the uploads!), but Frank clarified a bit: "the scarce water of Dune is an exact analog of oil scarcity. CHOAM is OPEC." "Potable water was to be an analog for oil and for water itself, a substance whose supply diminishes each day."
@JulioMoc You know, Frank Herbert is not infallible. Clearly, he's getting his metaphors mixed up. Spice is the metaphor for Oil, since it's needed for space folding, and thus intergalactic travel, just like oil is. There's even an OPEC equivalent CHOAM, that controls the spice/oil. Water is not a metaphor for anything,. It's in short supply on Earth's dessert, as it is on Dune.
This interview must have been around 1984, dues to the pictures of Paul and Jessica. He was promoting the film.
It could be taken more literally, too--that water is as important as oil in the right environment. We could also extrapolate a pattern of metaphor. Dune shows the fantasy and reality of the Hero, the contrast between literary charismatic leaders and real leaders. Clear water, black oil.
Otherwise, I always got the impression from reading the novels that water on Arrakis was akin to oil on Earth, due to all the talk of water traders and their influence on the planet.
@coffunism that metaphor still stands, outside of Arrakis. The galaxy needs spice, but the natives of of Dune, particularly the city dwellers who have forgotten the old Fremen survival way of life need water.
@oberstul I can't be entirely sure what he meant by that statement at the time, but I think water in Dune is a metaphor for oil today because of scarcity. That's what was wandering in the back of my mind the whole time I read the book.
@VooDooMadMan your right about that too but the thing is todays books are mostly a crossover with fantasy aspects aswell. Every good pure-Scifi have to have social aspects and have to ask the reader or watcher of the film more than the book or film tells. So you can mske your own decision whats the authors thesis beyound and what could went wrong with the earth we got.
@derblicker The best sci-fi is more than just pure sci-fi. The Foundation series is an historical accounting about the future. Both economic and sociological. In fact, the best work that came out of the golden age of sci-fi were psychological studies, sociological studies, or economic studies.
Pure blasters going boom boom lacks the subtlety of adult sci-fi.
blade runner or the book do androids dream of electronic sheeps,is also a true classic and will never be filmed the way the original author Philip K. Dick had written the book. Ridley scott did the job but Philip K. Dick diddent liked it this way. He passed away before the release. The original book was released 1968.
When i see films today like the japanese paprika where the book storyline is from syntetic dreams: brilliant! Released in the 70s yes it is a gold age
Frank Herbert is also an inspiration to aspiring novelists. Dune was published relatively late in his life, after a long career in newspapers. It shows in the maturity of the tale and in his theories of how to write a modern mythology with classic tropes. A shame the snippet is so short.
A historian myself, I love Frank. This interview exemplifies many of his themes. What many fans seem to miss is that Paul was never actually a hero, in fact a black hearted villian.
@HouseofAtreus01 "A black hearted villian"!!! I dont think so. He matured into a cold hearted leader out of necessity, yet couldnt accept the terrible purpose of Leto 2nd had to do because he couldnt. He became a prophet against his own religion near the end of his time...dont remember exactlly but I dont think he was a villian. Please explain.
Too true. I just finished Chapterhouse: Dune after plowing through the first 5 books in a couple of months. I started Hunters of Dune and the style is like Dune for teeny-boppers.
Even after his death and the continuation by his son and others helped very little to fill the void his passing created. Where are the replacements for Herbert, Azimov, and Bradbury?
His observations about anthropology, politics, and religion are among the most astute and resounding I've ever encountered. "Power attracts the corruptible." A shame he couldn't have written more.
I suppose if I had never read Frank's work, I might find Brian's attempts decent. But in all honesty I wish he had just left the series alone, he doesn't have the creativity of his father and there's a very noticeable decline in quality.
It is a pity he is gone! He was so eloquent in speech and writing. Herbert's philosophies are just amazing. I think he really saw the future, he just understood human nature to its truest form.
Dune is one of my favourite novels. It's also one of the few I've read more than once. Seeing this I'm compelled to pick it up again...although my copy has become old and tattered.
i fought hating the new books throughout almost five of them. Paul of Dune has caused me to completely swear off the new works. inconsistencies abound, very hard to suspend your disbelief while reading that book.
Frank Herbert invested the Dune series with a philosophical and metaphysical depth that was hand in hand with the thrilling pace. The new books, by comparison, feel like generic sci-fi of the most forgettable sort.
While I tend to agree, I am at least somewhat relieved to approach a sense of finality regarding his work. Sad truth is that it is impossible to recreate a modern substitute for Frank Herbert. Sure, Brian might grant some validity to the prequels given his genetic association but much of any credit must go to Kevin for his proven talents.
Today, successive works are commercially written as if capitalistically trying to milk out every ounce of vendible value. Oh well...Can't say I'm surprised.
It saddens me also that there are no other videos of him or at least print of other interviews. I completely enjoyed this series. I gobbled them up insatiably. To persons thinking about this series... it sounds very deep and complex and it is. HOWEVER, the fictional characters and situations are all very entertaining as well. Just Fabulous!
I don't think he predicted any specific event or World situation. The Dune series was a creation based on the destructive nature of Humans, specifically those in positions of authority or influence. The fact that Man's behaviour has, and continues to run in such close conjunction with what he describes is inevitable under certain circumstances, I'm thinking supply, demand and need, merely demonstrates his insight and nous on the topic of the human condition.
PlanetHombom, What a cowardly point of view you have.
Why not just hide your head in the sand, and look away from all life altogether. Since, (after all) there are too many possibilities that things wont always go juuust right! Don't you think?
Better not to even live! Eh??? Better to hide from everything!
Of powerful demagogues, he does not so much "foresee" inasmuch as he is astute at understanding demagogues in general. I wouldn't say he foresaw Obama and his followers. I will say that he could illustrate and explain in fine detail what a demagogue might look like in any time frame and in that he pre-described Obama, his administration and his adherent supporters.
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Genius!! off the chart genius! and understands the Jews and Zionism and the the Russian B..shit -since Hebrews came to define themselves as turning dirt into Money.
Tell me about it. I've read the all novels 7 times.
I love it for the intellectual stimulation it gives me. It touches on how mankind reacts to itself. The chaos it creates and in which it moves. How it struggles. There's a lot of philosophy in there, and that's the part a lot of people seem to forget about -- and thus the reason so many people don't like God-Emperor.
@TagDaze I read the novels as a teen, and remember that God-Emperor was my favorite. Later in life, I remember having a hard-time convincing some friends that Dune's following novels were worth it, especially this one!
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If by "the first book," you mean Dune, I'd say, hell yeah its worth reading on. Messiah totally kicked ass. Has a bit more focus than Dune did I think; dealt more exclusively with the political side. Children is good by normal standards but I think my least favorite. Emperor is much better than you will think it is after you first read it. Both Heretic and Chapterhouse were great.
wdchrismon's comes very close to my personal opinion. Messiah was great, it contained a lot of intrigue. Children was quite good. It might've dragged on a bit, and it lost some realism, but still, you want to know what happens to these people, so you're still hooked.
God Emperor is a lot of philosophy. Very very nice. Heretic and CH tell about the times after GE from a Bene Gesserit viewpoint. It deepens this faction a lot more.
I love the way he says water! Magnificent books though, I'm reading Hunters of Dune now (by his son and K.J Anderson) and they're not half-bad. Of course, they don't hold a candle to the original but I find people are too quick to write it off just because it's not Frank Herbert..
Part of it is he was supposed to write an article about the dunes on the coast of Oregon. He became incredibly fascinated with them and gathered so much info he couldn;t finish the article. He used this for his book.
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dune is the earth itself. The word for earth is "Dünya" in middle east countries and it is read as -Dune ya- So the earth is actually a place of desert like the Dune in Herberts fiction. But it is sometimes hard to recognise. Water is the anology not for only the oil but also for all kinds of energy, especially the biological energy of human. For example in middle east cultures, speaking for nothing (wasting energy, that is water) is shame.
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I also agree with him on the whole water being analogy of oil & material needs & over population issue, it is indeed reminscient of what we experience today. Water is the source of life on Earth, 93% of our bodies are made of water, the Earth is roughly 75% water, without it life on this planet would have never evolved to where it is now! In real life we as humans are running the risk of turning this planet into a desert wasteland cause of our over consumption of the planets natural resources.
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I wish I could have meet Frank, and picked his brain alittle in a friendly conversation. It's almost mind numbing to think what kind of Genius was inside that head of his.
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Because Herbert spoke through Leto II so much in God Emperor I kept imagining a sandworm with Frank Herbert's face! And now I know what the great man's voice sounds like... sharper and higher pitch than I expected.
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great to see the author himself. Its an good point about being vigilant against a leaders mistake and the danger of letting a corrupted regime grow by not challenging the mistakes. Wasn't surprised when he said he could have been an historian; i always thought he was a polymath.
Dune is more than just a SCI-FI novel. It's a dense political science book, a philosophy work, a complete anlaysis of the socity the way it behaves, religion, ethic and moral, complex analysis of the psiquis... It's a Masterpiece.
[polemic part] I love LOTR but I think Dune and F. Herbert have more credits though [/polemic part]
well, if they actually do a new movie, wonderful. If they don't I would "Lucasize" the Lynch one, meaning keep the acting (which I liked), add some of the scenes that add clarity that were cut because of running time, and redo the special effects, which haven't aged well for the post part. Yeah, I know, it will never happen.
The undertones of Dune, i.e. water - oil, profitibility of the corrupt, and the power of religious fanatacism seem more relevant today, than when he wrote the novel over 40 years ago.
I think that those undertones are timeless. Dune is about the everlasting problems of humanity as a whole - it doesn't really matter, if it's a far-future space opera, or set sometime in Prehistory, Antiquity, the Middle Ages, etc. The good and bad tendencies in us humans change little through the course of history. And Herbert captured that more than well... :-)
its as if he foresaw peakoil.Iraq war,corrupt corp profiting from it,etcIraq is our Arakis nad we need to change.permaculture on low water.He saw it coming.
OH MY! HE SAID IT what i thought years ago:"water a mataphor for what is scarce ..oil.."my god.This man will be seen as a prophet! Iraq "Arakis Desert planet"Spice=oil or water.Fremen.=
And you should concentrate on anything else besides spelling...perhaps my comment offended you?
First of all, english is far from beeing my native language, second, this is the Internet. It would be a blessing if every comment ONLY had the flaws you so remarkably pointed out. At least, my writing is my own, not a measly Face Dancer mimic attempt to copycat someone else's labor.
Ah but sorry, this is supposed to be about my...paragraphing... is it fine now?
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An interview with the Man himself. Lynch's movie, SciFi's CHildren of Dune and that guy who leeches on the work of his father cant even be compared to the absolute masterpiece of creativity, fluent writing and culture displayed specially in the original Dune novel. Its a masterpiece, a work of genius, that doesnt have the amount of visibility as say LOTR because its also a lot harder to get into(LOTR was writen for 10 years old children-see interview with Tolkien's son)with a more complex plot.
I read Dune when I was 14 I was scared too read it again till I was 19 incase it was not the classic I remeber. But it is the best sci-fi novel ever...
Гениальный человек , гениальное произведение , жаль что так рано умер:(
Вечное произведение!
ProshA1995 1 week ago
Is this ALL there is? Why not post the rest?
mrlopez2681 1 month ago
Great Interview. Frank Herbert was the best scifi writer of all time!
DuneMira 2 months ago
If this man is not a Free Mason secret society, i'll eat my hat.
He says the world is overpopulated.
We are NOWHERE near anything that could be considered overpopulated.
There are too many psycopath inbreed BANKERS screwing up our world, but there aren't too many people.
centurion180ad 3 months ago
@ smegmadiver22 Nice Troll! lol
BradPanoff 6 months ago
Leto II is the most tragic and complex fictional character ever created. Who would have done what he did?
egdonheath1 7 months ago
Hmm i thought he'd be more like santa claus than this
betsingerb 7 months ago
Too bad this clip is so short, it would be great to hear more from this great author. I just read Dune Messiah where he brings Paul down from being a hero to being a reluctant tool of human race consciousness. With his prescient vision Paul saw only one path forward for humans to survive and grow, but because it unleashed the power of religious extremism it would mean he was responsible for brutal wars that killed billions across many planets. Only when he walked into the desert was he free.
calamagrostis88 8 months ago
I've only just become aware of this Fred Herbert person, but it seems he has rushed out a number of poorly-written books in an attempt to cash in on the popularity of series such as Harry Potter or even the amazing Twilight Saga. Perhaps with time his writing will improve but I can't really foresee his "Dunes" series achieving the same scope, scale and majesty of the aforementioned works.
smegmadiver22 9 months ago
most underrated series of books - far better than lotr or sw - not even comparable really
TheZhonGuoRen 9 months ago
@TheZhonGuoRen Oh I'd have to challenge you on LOTR. They are both complex and vast, but were weighted differently. Tolkien's characters are more noble and one-dimensional, and Herbert's are more complex and nastier. They are certainly more realistic. But is ''realism'' what we really want out of epic fantasy/sci-fi? Should it be about who we are or who we could be? It's a matter of personal opinion. I find Dune incredibly fascinating but not inspiring and uplifting like LOTR is to me.
squamish4244 7 months ago
I have read the Originals -and the prequels- and I enjoy them both.
Frank Herbert was a great author, and so is his son.
cobchob 9 months ago
I spent quite a bit of time on Google trying to find the whole interview or even other videos of Frank Herbert and nothing,I had more chances of finding a ghost.
Such a pity! Has anyone had more luck?
micosair 10 months ago
@mcamoran That all seems valid. Of all global organisations today the spacing guild is probably closest to the world bank :)
BVargas78 11 months ago
I wish the video was longer :<<<
song32290 11 months ago
Intellectual bad ass if your ask me.
Shame so few interviews or him exist.
wimmerra1 1 year ago
This guy is a science fiction god...he'll live on forever through his literature and other than Galactic Battlefront and the foundation series I don't know if any other sagas will ever be as realistic, inspiring, and true to the human condition.
don13845 1 year ago
I really believe that if this man had lived to write DUNE 7 himself, he would have created a religion. He had already covered every other portion of the human condition in detail, but was leaving LOVE for last, that novel would have shaken the world. My favorite of his is Heretics. It would be incredible to see that one made into a film.
Mile Teg, my favorite DUNE character has the most awesome quote, "I'm free!"
If it's not Frank it's not canon...
MikeBurke1974 1 year ago 4
@MikeBurke1974 frank didnt want to create a cult he said that himself.
hfdpayner 11 months ago
@hfdpayner I'm not saying that was his intention, but if you recall, the man was receiving phone calls from fanatics in the sixties asking him if he was trying to do just that. I believe his response was "Run like Hell."
It would seem it was almost a natural reaction to the intellectual power of his work...if it had reached full fruition, what would have happened then?
MikeBurke1974 11 months ago
Herbert was a genius . . . !
gojira2006 1 year ago
He describes the nature of power in a very interesting way.
JustAnAdjunct 1 year ago
Of all futurists , Herbert is really the only one who seriously explored the power of religion on human history. He didn't defend it or excoriate it , & therefore his vision will probably end up being the most accurate prediction of times to come. Most SF authors are hardware junkies & rational theorists , & have been miserably wrong in their attempts to predict because of it.
subliteral 1 year ago 5
@subliteral I don't think most sf writers try to predict the future, their aim is to create a caricature of modern times/moments in history, cast through the lens of SF, and to explore ideas and motifs. The genre grants the author total freedom to explore ideas in a way that's not possible in main-stream literature.
coffunism 1 year ago
Frank Herbert is the true Kwisatz Haderach.
metaliant 1 year ago 19
@metaliant That has got to be the most awesome comment concerning Herbert I have ever read! Bravo!
MikeBurke1974 1 year ago
Awesome stuff, i love Frank Herbert's Dune novels since i was 12 about 18 years ago and i've been obsessed with Sci-fi and fantasy all my life including the LOTR books. I can't believe he actually approved of Lynch's in name only movie, i bet the movie killed him because it mutilated his novel.
Johnlindsey289 1 year ago
What a smart man--I wish I was alive in the seventies, just so I could interview him.
VirusMan254 1 year ago
@TheCheshireCat86
A trilogy of seven parts? ;-)
laflugantabastardo 1 year ago
the jews are the harkonen.
YABADABAJEW1 1 year ago
@YABADABAJEW1
No; the jews are still alive in the Duniverse. They appear later on.
laflugantabastardo 1 year ago
@laflugantabastardo
as who ? plz inform.
YABADABAJEW1 1 year ago
@YABADABAJEW1
As the Jews. They appear in the sixth book, i think.
laflugantabastardo 1 year ago
@laflugantabastardo
the filthy cunts are everywhere,, even dune :) ,, what are they doing in a book ? dunes fucked up, nothing has ever tripped me out more than dune ,, its got alot of esoteric stuff in it ,, i think herbert knew about the reality of the world. ,, honest to god man that dune parody video is the funniest shit iv ever seen in my life.. never gets old :)
YABADABAJEW1 1 year ago
frank herbert and philip k dick = visionary heroes
novoneiro 1 year ago
dune is a very intellectual novel. it will definitely have you thinking about its wisdom long after you put it down.
XpickmansmodelX 1 year ago
preserve some of his cells...and create a frank herbert ghola.
hanseriz 1 year ago 5
@hanseriz I nominate Brittney Spears as the axlotl tank!
valkerian 1 year ago
@hanseriz
No-no, the lesson is to not keep ressurecting our heros! Let the dead lie!
brianranzoni 1 year ago
@brianranzoni the only reason i would ressurect frank is to ask him 1 thing..whats his opinion on brian's and kevin j's perspective upon his novels/unfinished writtings.
hanseriz 1 year ago
@hanseriz
plus the reason to ask him if he woulndt want to write more in heaven :P
SirPepe666 1 year ago
@SirPepe666 i dont know.for me the story ended with the sandworms of dune.Maybe he could have come up with something new.althought he has the other small novels (worship novels,consentient and so on) that are not so bad.i still like looking at my complete novels on the shelf,just looking makes all the words come back in my brain :-J
hanseriz 1 year ago
@hanseriz
yeah that may be! but I´d love to know if Herbert wanted to be ended with the sandworms... :)
SirPepe666 1 year ago
FH was ahead of his time...of course we got the water = oil metaphore, but (drinkable) water will become the new oil (stakes of war) very likely within decades
marsiozo 1 year ago
@Ladykeep Never thought of an animated version, anime or otherwise. That would be interesting, if done right. :-)
JohnMoonlord 1 year ago
@JohnMoonlord
They already did an anime of Dune called Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds which is a homage to Frank Herbert's novels and came out the same year as that David Lynch abortion of an adaptation in 1984. It was the film that Lynch's dud should have been and even better.
Johnlindsey289 1 year ago
I didn't get the part when he said water is oil. Shouldn't it be more like the spice is oil?
oberstul 1 year ago
@oberstul Well, I think he meant that water is the commodity for the people of Arrakis - much like oil is for Earth. Spice is the commodity for the Empire, but not for Arrakis.
JulioMoc 1 year ago 25
@JulioMoc, you may be right. It does seem to make a sense. But I recall him saying in another interview that the CHOAM is very much like our OPEC. And this can only be interpreted in one way.
oberstul 1 year ago
@JulioMoc
Yes, it is a possibly analogy with the Middle East, where they are swimming in oil but live in chiefly desert climates that rely heavily on irrigation and desalinization plants.
Spice is an industrial commodity, the glue that binds the empire together. However, you don't actually need it directly to live, merely to live well (since it enables life extension and rapid interstellar transit). Water is a biological commodity, without which human life will extinguish.
brianranzoni 1 year ago
@JulioMoc
thats really a good point, considering that in many countries around the world, the day to day necessities overule the magnitude of foriegn power struggles for resources that really only have an importance to the combatants not the inhabitants of the area being fought over...
DCdabest 1 year ago
@JulioMoc I'm late to the discussion (thanks for the uploads!), but Frank clarified a bit: "the scarce water of Dune is an exact analog of oil scarcity. CHOAM is OPEC." "Potable water was to be an analog for oil and for water itself, a substance whose supply diminishes each day."
ehcmier 9 months ago
@JulioMoc You know, Frank Herbert is not infallible. Clearly, he's getting his metaphors mixed up. Spice is the metaphor for Oil, since it's needed for space folding, and thus intergalactic travel, just like oil is. There's even an OPEC equivalent CHOAM, that controls the spice/oil. Water is not a metaphor for anything,. It's in short supply on Earth's dessert, as it is on Dune.
This interview must have been around 1984, dues to the pictures of Paul and Jessica. He was promoting the film.
Nomoreidsleft 3 weeks ago
@oberstul
It could be taken more literally, too--that water is as important as oil in the right environment. We could also extrapolate a pattern of metaphor. Dune shows the fantasy and reality of the Hero, the contrast between literary charismatic leaders and real leaders. Clear water, black oil.
Otherwise, I always got the impression from reading the novels that water on Arrakis was akin to oil on Earth, due to all the talk of water traders and their influence on the planet.
brianranzoni 1 year ago
@oberstul Yeah, I always thought as the spice as a metaphor for oil... amongst other things.
coffunism 1 year ago
@coffunism that metaphor still stands, outside of Arrakis. The galaxy needs spice, but the natives of of Dune, particularly the city dwellers who have forgotten the old Fremen survival way of life need water.
BVargas78 11 months ago
@oberstul I can't be entirely sure what he meant by that statement at the time, but I think water in Dune is a metaphor for oil today because of scarcity. That's what was wandering in the back of my mind the whole time I read the book.
TheBCExperience1 8 months ago
@VooDooMadMan your right about that too but the thing is todays books are mostly a crossover with fantasy aspects aswell. Every good pure-Scifi have to have social aspects and have to ask the reader or watcher of the film more than the book or film tells. So you can mske your own decision whats the authors thesis beyound and what could went wrong with the earth we got.
derblicker 1 year ago
Thanks for this.
I've never seen or heard him in an interview before.
Interesting stuff.
death2utubenow 1 year ago
Dune is not pure science fiction, it's an economy thesis
derblicker 1 year ago
@derblicker The best sci-fi is more than just pure sci-fi. The Foundation series is an historical accounting about the future. Both economic and sociological. In fact, the best work that came out of the golden age of sci-fi were psychological studies, sociological studies, or economic studies.
Pure blasters going boom boom lacks the subtlety of adult sci-fi.
elspoko 1 year ago
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derblicker 1 year ago
@elspoko @elspoko true
blade runner or the book do androids dream of electronic sheeps,is also a true classic and will never be filmed the way the original author Philip K. Dick had written the book. Ridley scott did the job but Philip K. Dick diddent liked it this way. He passed away before the release. The original book was released 1968.
When i see films today like the japanese paprika where the book storyline is from syntetic dreams: brilliant! Released in the 70s yes it is a gold age
derblicker 1 year ago
Frank Herbert is also an inspiration to aspiring novelists. Dune was published relatively late in his life, after a long career in newspapers. It shows in the maturity of the tale and in his theories of how to write a modern mythology with classic tropes. A shame the snippet is so short.
brianranzoni 1 year ago
A historian myself, I love Frank. This interview exemplifies many of his themes. What many fans seem to miss is that Paul was never actually a hero, in fact a black hearted villian.
HouseofAtreus01 1 year ago
@HouseofAtreus01 "A black hearted villian"!!! I dont think so. He matured into a cold hearted leader out of necessity, yet couldnt accept the terrible purpose of Leto 2nd had to do because he couldnt. He became a prophet against his own religion near the end of his time...dont remember exactlly but I dont think he was a villian. Please explain.
sdagfgrfg 1 year ago
He has an awesome voice
GMRDUI 1 year ago 8
I so love his books. I read them once a year and everytime I found something new. The son has nothing on the father.
weezie422 2 years ago 6
It's so annoying reading others books when you read one of Frank Herbert's creation...
trombaraider 2 years ago 6
Too true. I just finished Chapterhouse: Dune after plowing through the first 5 books in a couple of months. I started Hunters of Dune and the style is like Dune for teeny-boppers.
pazuuzuuuu 2 years ago 2
Even after his death and the continuation by his son and others helped very little to fill the void his passing created. Where are the replacements for Herbert, Azimov, and Bradbury?
Jack72548 2 years ago 6
@Jack72548 That's why they're referred to as "geniuses"...
JohnMoonlord 1 year ago
A brilliant man without equal.
MentatTir 2 years ago 4
one of the most intellegent men in history i believe
hfdpayner 2 years ago 5
His observations about anthropology, politics, and religion are among the most astute and resounding I've ever encountered. "Power attracts the corruptible." A shame he couldn't have written more.
pazuuzuuuu 2 years ago 8
@pazuuzuuuu so true :)
hfdpayner 2 years ago
The man!!
sshroom 2 years ago
I suppose if I had never read Frank's work, I might find Brian's attempts decent. But in all honesty I wish he had just left the series alone, he doesn't have the creativity of his father and there's a very noticeable decline in quality.
zapproowsdower 2 years ago 7
,,, muddying the waters.
ramzahnY 2 years ago
It is a pity he is gone! He was so eloquent in speech and writing. Herbert's philosophies are just amazing. I think he really saw the future, he just understood human nature to its truest form.
burnsinblack 2 years ago 11
He's been dead since 1986. God Damn Pity.
Gastergensis 2 years ago 46
@Gastergensis Yeah, imagine how long he could have lived had he just survived a few years longer given the advances in medicine.
Gargantou 1 year ago
@Gastergensis
he has been traveling without moving.
2bornot2b1984 1 year ago
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hes not alive anymore... is he?
xXPhoenixSlayerXx 2 years ago
yes
escoluminarsus 2 years ago
Dune is one of my favourite novels. It's also one of the few I've read more than once. Seeing this I'm compelled to pick it up again...although my copy has become old and tattered.
Toyotomi 2 years ago 9
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cobchob 2 years ago
I don't believe that the fans of the original books are "retarded fanboys".
hewhosayszonk 2 years ago 53
i fought hating the new books throughout almost five of them. Paul of Dune has caused me to completely swear off the new works. inconsistencies abound, very hard to suspend your disbelief while reading that book.
lookwhatidid 2 years ago
Frank Herbert invested the Dune series with a philosophical and metaphysical depth that was hand in hand with the thrilling pace. The new books, by comparison, feel like generic sci-fi of the most forgettable sort.
hewhosayszonk 2 years ago 4
While I tend to agree, I am at least somewhat relieved to approach a sense of finality regarding his work. Sad truth is that it is impossible to recreate a modern substitute for Frank Herbert. Sure, Brian might grant some validity to the prequels given his genetic association but much of any credit must go to Kevin for his proven talents.
Today, successive works are commercially written as if capitalistically trying to milk out every ounce of vendible value. Oh well...Can't say I'm surprised.
theleftflank 2 years ago 4
It saddens me also that there are no other videos of him or at least print of other interviews. I completely enjoyed this series. I gobbled them up insatiably. To persons thinking about this series... it sounds very deep and complex and it is. HOWEVER, the fictional characters and situations are all very entertaining as well. Just Fabulous!
trinbago27 2 years ago 3
there are other print interviews.
PleiadesSeven 2 years ago
And there are no other videos of him? :(
DJRevan 2 years ago 2
yeah thank you for posting this. i love the first dune trilogy and look forward to reading the second and have never seen the man speak
octagon79 2 years ago
Genius. The Pandora Trilogy written with Bill Ransom is great too...
amaxamon 2 years ago
Thank-you so much for posting this
kiwa007 2 years ago 2
I don't think he predicted any specific event or World situation. The Dune series was a creation based on the destructive nature of Humans, specifically those in positions of authority or influence. The fact that Man's behaviour has, and continues to run in such close conjunction with what he describes is inevitable under certain circumstances, I'm thinking supply, demand and need, merely demonstrates his insight and nous on the topic of the human condition.
stu22aus 2 years ago
PlanetHombom, What a cowardly point of view you have.
Why not just hide your head in the sand, and look away from all life altogether. Since, (after all) there are too many possibilities that things wont always go juuust right! Don't you think?
Better not to even live! Eh??? Better to hide from everything!
Surwin 2 years ago
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Surwin 2 years ago
He makes the books sound boring but, believe, me they're great.
siasti 2 years ago
He doesn't make the books sound boring at all. He makes them sound relevent, multi-layered and deeply thematic.
DarthSmee 2 years ago 7
Of powerful demagogues, he does not so much "foresee" inasmuch as he is astute at understanding demagogues in general. I wouldn't say he foresaw Obama and his followers. I will say that he could illustrate and explain in fine detail what a demagogue might look like in any time frame and in that he pre-described Obama, his administration and his adherent supporters.
GOlynnGO 2 years ago
i hope you're trolling
iideftonesii5 2 years ago
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@iideftonesii5 Doesn't matter if he is or not: we'll just treat him as such! ;-)
JohnMoonlord 1 year ago
1982
JERRYKNIGHT84 2 years ago
Herbert was my next door neighbor when I was a kid.
caribootrail 2 years ago 6
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No way!
MAJORdorMo 2 years ago
way. port townsend, washington.
caribootrail 2 years ago
That is too cool to be true.
Naxwell 2 years ago
He had to have SOME neighbors :) Seemed like a nice enough guy.
nutherefurlong 2 years ago
really
ducksoup2007 2 years ago
Cool.
keytoothed 2 years ago
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Genius!! off the chart genius! and understands the Jews and Zionism and the the Russian B..shit -since Hebrews came to define themselves as turning dirt into Money.
uuubeut 2 years ago
"The mistakes of leaders are amplified by those who follow him without question." Yep, that's Frank Herbert, alright.
TagDaze 3 years ago 4
Started to read his Dune. Not bad at all :)
vaanjaa 3 years ago
A world of creepy adult fanboyism awaits you, my friend. ;-)
TagDaze 3 years ago 4
hahha... That's totally true. But thats because it's an awesome book.
wdchrismon 3 years ago
Tell me about it. I've read the all novels 7 times.
I love it for the intellectual stimulation it gives me. It touches on how mankind reacts to itself. The chaos it creates and in which it moves. How it struggles. There's a lot of philosophy in there, and that's the part a lot of people seem to forget about -- and thus the reason so many people don't like God-Emperor.
TagDaze 3 years ago
@TagDaze I read the novels as a teen, and remember that God-Emperor was my favorite. Later in life, I remember having a hard-time convincing some friends that Dune's following novels were worth it, especially this one!
JohnMoonlord 1 year ago 4
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I just finished the first book. Would you say it's worth reading on?
Tirranek 3 years ago
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If by "the first book," you mean Dune, I'd say, hell yeah its worth reading on. Messiah totally kicked ass. Has a bit more focus than Dune did I think; dealt more exclusively with the political side. Children is good by normal standards but I think my least favorite. Emperor is much better than you will think it is after you first read it. Both Heretic and Chapterhouse were great.
wdchrismon 3 years ago
wdchrismon's comes very close to my personal opinion. Messiah was great, it contained a lot of intrigue. Children was quite good. It might've dragged on a bit, and it lost some realism, but still, you want to know what happens to these people, so you're still hooked.
God Emperor is a lot of philosophy. Very very nice. Heretic and CH tell about the times after GE from a Bene Gesserit viewpoint. It deepens this faction a lot more.
I'd say, read them all if you have the chance.
TagDaze 2 years ago
Ray Bradbury didn;t recognize him at the sci-fi writer convention after Frank shaved off his beard.
PleiadesSeven 3 years ago
I love the way he says water! Magnificent books though, I'm reading Hunters of Dune now (by his son and K.J Anderson) and they're not half-bad. Of course, they don't hold a candle to the original but I find people are too quick to write it off just because it's not Frank Herbert..
qurtz24 3 years ago 4
Frank made the comment that his first role was to entertain. So the pre/se-quels that entertain I don;t despise as much.
PleiadesSeven 3 years ago
rahabaat. he knows
9shadowstyle 3 years ago
I am the 10,000 viewer.
orenatz 3 years ago
i guess you'd want a medal for that, right? A bone, maybe?
pissed1off1guy 3 years ago
give me some spice..
orenatz 3 years ago
hmm
what good would it do to you?
pissed1off1guy 3 years ago
His speech is so incredibly clear. I wonder what drove him to invent the Dune universe and all the characters.
Biochips1 3 years ago 3
Part of it is he was supposed to write an article about the dunes on the coast of Oregon. He became incredibly fascinated with them and gathered so much info he couldn;t finish the article. He used this for his book.
PleiadesSeven 3 years ago
wonder what frank would think of his son's work
fremenchips 3 years ago
Oh, no doubt in part that he'd gone all Leto II purposefully messing with his father's legacy.
PleiadesSeven 3 years ago
If someone, anyone, has the rest of this interview, please, please upload it!
tet64 3 years ago 2
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dune is the earth itself. The word for earth is "Dünya" in middle east countries and it is read as -Dune ya- So the earth is actually a place of desert like the Dune in Herberts fiction. But it is sometimes hard to recognise. Water is the anology not for only the oil but also for all kinds of energy, especially the biological energy of human. For example in middle east cultures, speaking for nothing (wasting energy, that is water) is shame.
rewalker 3 years ago
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Wotta, what the hell is wotta? Oh you mean water.
jamieleng 3 years ago
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I also agree with him on the whole water being analogy of oil & material needs & over population issue, it is indeed reminscient of what we experience today. Water is the source of life on Earth, 93% of our bodies are made of water, the Earth is roughly 75% water, without it life on this planet would have never evolved to where it is now! In real life we as humans are running the risk of turning this planet into a desert wasteland cause of our over consumption of the planets natural resources.
LordMalice6d9 3 years ago
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I wish I could have meet Frank, and picked his brain alittle in a friendly conversation. It's almost mind numbing to think what kind of Genius was inside that head of his.
LordMalice6d9 3 years ago
Why does he remind me of my vision of how Gurney looks like ? :-D
ZemplinTemplar 3 years ago 2
haha i always got the same impression too
KN1V35X 3 years ago
he looks kinda like how I envisioned Thufir, sans the stained lips and huge eyebrows
lejwocky 3 years ago
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Because Herbert spoke through Leto II so much in God Emperor I kept imagining a sandworm with Frank Herbert's face! And now I know what the great man's voice sounds like... sharper and higher pitch than I expected.
RadicalDreamer420 3 years ago
truly one of the greatest writers of all time.
BillBrasky09 3 years ago 5
First time I hear and see the Master speak!
alleyghost 3 years ago 4
Well done! Thanks for placing this video :)
BVargas78 3 years ago
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great to see the author himself. Its an good point about being vigilant against a leaders mistake and the danger of letting a corrupted regime grow by not challenging the mistakes. Wasn't surprised when he said he could have been an historian; i always thought he was a polymath.
intermender 3 years ago
Dune is more than just a SCI-FI novel. It's a dense political science book, a philosophy work, a complete anlaysis of the socity the way it behaves, religion, ethic and moral, complex analysis of the psiquis... It's a Masterpiece.
[polemic part] I love LOTR but I think Dune and F. Herbert have more credits though [/polemic part]
Frozeal 3 years ago 3
So how dose he pronouce Harkonnen.
gooyzit 3 years ago
How come this is the only Herbert interview on youtube? There should be more.
LSDCoatedBrain 3 years ago 4
well, if they actually do a new movie, wonderful. If they don't I would "Lucasize" the Lynch one, meaning keep the acting (which I liked), add some of the scenes that add clarity that were cut because of running time, and redo the special effects, which haven't aged well for the post part. Yeah, I know, it will never happen.
okonkolo 3 years ago
wow i thought herbert would be one of those odd sci-fi writers. What a very intelligent, well-spoken man. R.I.P. Mr. Herbert.
MuadDib27 3 years ago
The undertones of Dune, i.e. water - oil, profitibility of the corrupt, and the power of religious fanatacism seem more relevant today, than when he wrote the novel over 40 years ago.
kaysandesses 3 years ago 3
I think that those undertones are timeless. Dune is about the everlasting problems of humanity as a whole - it doesn't really matter, if it's a far-future space opera, or set sometime in Prehistory, Antiquity, the Middle Ages, etc. The good and bad tendencies in us humans change little through the course of history. And Herbert captured that more than well... :-)
ZemplinTemplar 3 years ago
"The good and bad tendencies in us humans change little through the course of history. And Herbert captured that more than well... :-) "
Well said ZemplinTemplar. Put another way, "Only the names change. The faces remain the same."
kaysandesses 3 years ago
"Dune" is the greatest literary masterpiece that I have ever read. Stunning genius
ogdocvato 3 years ago 3
Arguably, the science fiction counterpart of J.R.R. Tolkien, if i dare say so myself...
zydarking 3 years ago 5
a good writer
thanks for uploading
elcueropeneano 3 years ago
ever since I read Dune I was blown away by how wise and intelligent this man is. this vid confirms it.
intigfx 3 years ago 4
Thanks a lot for sharing this with us JulioMoc
lobo7922 4 years ago
do you have the rest of the interview? if so could you upload it?
tet64 4 years ago
Unfortunately, I only have this piece I shared with you.
JulioMoc 4 years ago
its as if he foresaw peakoil.Iraq war,corrupt corp profiting from it,etcIraq is our Arakis nad we need to change.permaculture on low water.He saw it coming.
tomterahedrob 4 years ago
OH MY! HE SAID IT what i thought years ago:"water a mataphor for what is scarce ..oil.."my god.This man will be seen as a prophet! Iraq "Arakis Desert planet"Spice=oil or water.Fremen.=
"Terrorist"Choam Corp= Blackwater, Halliburton,etc
tomterahedrob 4 years ago 2
And you should concentrate on anything else besides spelling...perhaps my comment offended you?
First of all, english is far from beeing my native language, second, this is the Internet. It would be a blessing if every comment ONLY had the flaws you so remarkably pointed out. At least, my writing is my own, not a measly Face Dancer mimic attempt to copycat someone else's labor.
Ah but sorry, this is supposed to be about my...paragraphing... is it fine now?
xoraisse 4 years ago 2
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An interview with the Man himself. Lynch's movie, SciFi's CHildren of Dune and that guy who leeches on the work of his father cant even be compared to the absolute masterpiece of creativity, fluent writing and culture displayed specially in the original Dune novel. Its a masterpiece, a work of genius, that doesnt have the amount of visibility as say LOTR because its also a lot harder to get into(LOTR was writen for 10 years old children-see interview with Tolkien's son)with a more complex plot.
xoraisse 4 years ago
I read Dune when I was 14 I was scared too read it again till I was 19 incase it was not the classic I remeber. But it is the best sci-fi novel ever...
workingclassbum 4 years ago 3