Vladimir Harkonnen
Baron Vladimir Harkonnen | |
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The Illustrated Dune (1978) | |
First appearance | Dune (1963–65) |
Last appearance | Dune: House Corrino (2001)[a] |
Created by | Frank Herbert |
Portrayed by | |
In-universe information | |
Title | Baron |
Family | House Harkonnen |
Children | Lady Jessica |
Relatives |
|
Home | Giedi Prime |
Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (
Baron Harkonnen is portrayed by Kenneth McMillan in David Lynch's 1984 film Dune. Ian McNeice plays the role in the 2000 Sci-Fi Channel miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune and its sequel, 2003's Children of Dune. Harkonnen is portrayed by Stellan Skarsgård in the 2021 Denis Villeneuve film Dune and its 2024 sequel Dune: Part Two.
Conception
Frank Herbert wanted a harsh-sounding name for the antagonistic family opposing
Description
Herbert's "Appendix IV: The Almanak en-Ashraf (Selected Excerpts of the Noble Houses)" in Dune says of Harkonnen (in part):
VLADIMIR HARKONNEN (10,110–10,193) Commonly referred to as Baron Harkonnen, his title is officially Siridar (planetary governor) Baron. Vladimir Harkonnen is the direct-line male descendant of the Bashar
The character is usually described as the main antagonist of the novel.
Plotlines
Dune
As Dune begins, a longstanding feud exists between the Harkonnens of
Jessica flees into the desert with her and Leto's son
The Baron's plan to assure Feyd's power is to install him as ruler of Arrakis after a period of tyrannical misrule by Rabban, making Feyd appear to be the savior of the people. However, a crisis on Arrakis begins when the mysterious
The Harkonnen leadership are also all killed in the course of this battle. Rabban dies first, in the early stages of the battle. Baron Harkonnen himself is poisoned with a
Children of Dune
Alia had been born with her ancestral memories in the womb, a circumstance the Bene Gesserit refer to as
Prelude to Dune
In the Prelude to Dune prequel series by Brian Herbert and Anderson, it is established that Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is the son and heir of Dmitri Harkonnen and his wife Victoria. Harkonnen's father had been the head of House Harkonnen and ruled the planet Giedi Prime. Trained since youth as a possible successor, Vladimir had been eventually chosen over his half-brother
The young Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is described as an exceedingly handsome man, possessing red hair and a near-perfect physique. The Bene Gesserit
Hunters of Dune
In
In adaptations
1984 film
Baron Harkonnen is portrayed by
2000 miniseries
Ian McNeice plays the Baron in the 2000 Sci-Fi Channel miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune,[26] and its sequel, 2003's Children of Dune.[27] Asher-Perrin notes that the miniseries played down the negative aspects emphasized by the Lynch film, and writes, "[The Baron's] appearance was not altered to make him seem ill, he never physically attacks anyone, and the miniseries paid more attention to the fact that the Baron was a rapist, his preference for men being incidental."[25] He also praises McNeice as a standout among the cast, writing that he "manages to make the Baron Harkonnen—easily one of the most despicable characters in science fiction literature—every bit as conniving and vicious as he needs to be...and every bit as fascinating. McNeice has a superb sense of how to make the baron mesmerizing to watch no matter how odiously he behaves".[28] Austin Jones of Paste writes, "McNeice commands his role as Baron Harkonnen, capturing the vile indulgence and vanity of a feudal lord".[29]
2021 and 2024 films
Baron Harkonnen is portrayed by Stellan Skarsgård in the 2021 Denis Villeneuve film Dune and its 2024 sequel Dune: Part Two.[30][31] Skarsgård called the role "small but important",[32] and noted, "I had seven hours in make-up every day because I had to be really fat."[33] Villeneuve said:
As much as I deeply love the book, I felt that the baron was flirting very often with caricature. And I tried to bring him a bit more dimension. That's why I brought in Stellan. Stellan has something in the eyes. You feel that there's someone thinking, thinking, thinking—that has tension and is calculating inside, deep in the eyes. I can testify, it can be quite frightening.[34]
Merchandising and influence
A line of Dune action figures from toy company LJN was released to lackluster sales in 1984. Styled after David Lynch's film, the collection featured a figure of Baron Harkonnen, as well as other characters.[35][36] In 2006, SOTA Toys produced a Baron Harkonnen action figure for their "Now Playing Presents" line.[36]
H. R. Giger's Harkonnen Chair is a chair originally designed by the artist as set dressing for an unrealized 1970s adaptation of Dune by Alejandro Jodorowsky.[37][38]
Analysis
Thomas West of Screen Rant writes that "there are few science fiction villains quite as compelling and darkly charismatic as the Baron".[39] William Hughes of The A.V. Club calls the Baron "one of the most iconically awful villains in all of science fiction",[16] and Stuart Conover of ScienceFiction.com describes him as "one of the most insidious villains".[10] Maude Campbell of Popular Mechanics writes that the Baron is "one of the most evil characters ever put to paper (including Darth Vader)",[40] and Jon Michaud of The New Yorker compares "Herbert's scheming, backstabbing villain, the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen" to the villainous Lannister family of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series.[41] Emmet Asher-Perrin suggests that "what makes the Baron truly monstrous [is] the fact that he spends all of his time plotting murder, sowing discord, and destroying populations of people to get his way".[25] Hughes writes that the evil Harkonnen is "specifically designed to make the noble Atreides family seem that extra bit more dignified and pure",[16] with Jesse Schedeen of IGN agreeing that the Baron is "as cruel and vindictive as Leto is noble and just."[14] Hughes goes on to say that Herbert "successfully made [the Baron] so vampirically vile that he casts a (sometimes literal) shadow over the entire series."[16] Sandy Schaefer of Screen Rant calls the Baron "a deliciously despicable antagonist".[11]
While the novel suggests that the Baron's obesity might be the result of a genetic disease, the
Family tree
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Notes:
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Notes
- ghola of Baron Harkonnen is created in Hunters of Dune (2006) and also appears in Sandworms of Dune(2007); these may or may not be considered appearances of the original character.
- ^ According to the authors, the revelation that Mohiam is Jessica's mother was pulled directly from Frank Herbert's working notes for the original Dune series.[23]
References
- ^ Prelude to Dune.
- ^ "Audio excerpts from a reading of Dune by Frank Herbert". Retrieved October 6, 2010 – via Usul.net.
- ISBN 9781429958448.
- ^ Herbert, Brian; Anderson, Kevin J. (2005). "Spice Planet". The Road to Dune. London, England: Hodder & Stoughton.
- ISBN 978-0441172719.
- ^ Whitbrook, James (January 9, 2019). "Denis Villeneuve's Dune Has Found Its Baron Harkonnen". io9. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
- ^ Sharf, Zack (February 8, 2019). "Dune: Everything to Know About Denis Villeneuve and Timothée Chalamet's Sci-Fi Epic". IndieWire. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
- ^ Martin, Clare (January 9, 2019). "Stellan Skarsgård Is the Villain of Denis Villeneuve's Dune". Paste. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
- ^ Amaya, Erik (January 9, 2019). "Stellan Skarsgard Accepts His Destiny As Dune's Baron Vladimir Harkonnen". Comicon.com. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
- ^ a b c Conover, Stuart (January 12, 2019). "Stellan Skarsgård Will Play Baron Vladimir Harkonnen In Dune". ScienceFiction.com. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
- ^ a b c Schaefer, Sandy (January 9, 2019). "Dune Movie Reboot Casts Stellan Skarsgård As Its Villain". Screen Rant. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
- ISBN 978-0441172719.
As [Baron Vladimir Harkonnen] emerged from the shadows, his figure took on dimension — grossly and immensely fat. And with subtle bulges beneath folds of his dark robes to reveal that all this fat was sustained partly by portable suspensors harnessed to his flesh. He might weigh two hundred Standard kilos in actuality, but his feet would carry no more than fifty of them.
- ^ a b c Schedeen, Jesse (March 18, 2019). "Dune Remake Movie Explained: What to Know About the Classic Sci-Fi Novel". IGN. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
- ^ a b Schedeen, Jesse (February 14, 2019). "Dune Movie: Every Actor in the Sci-Fi Reboot". IGN. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
- ^ Lovett, Jamie (January 9, 2019). "Stellan Skarsgard to Play Baron Harkonnen in Dune Reboot". Comicbook.com. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Hughes, William (January 9, 2019). "Ladies and gentlemen, Stellan Skarsgård is your new Baron Harkonnen". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
- ^ Romain, Lindsey (February 13, 2019). "Who's Playing Who in Denis Villeneuve's Dune". Nerdist. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
- ^ a b Johnson, Travis (February 13, 2019). "Why Denis Villenueve's upcoming version of Dune has us crazy excited". Flicks.com.au. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
- ^ Herbert, Frank (1965). Dune.
'I'll be in my sleeping chambers,' the Baron said. 'Bring me that young fellow we bought on Gamont, the one with the lovely eyes. Drug him well. I don't feel like wrestling.'
- ^ Herbert, Frank (1965). Dune.
'Why haven't you ever bought a Bene Gesserit, Uncle?' Feyd-Rautha asked. 'With a Truthsayer at your side—'
'You know my tastes!' the Baron snapped. - ^ Herbert, Frank (1965). Dune.
Baron to Feyd: 'This old fool saw through the shielded needle you'd planted in that slave boy's thigh. Right where I'd put my hand on it, eh?'
- ^ a b Herbert, Frank (1965). Dune.
Paul to Jessica: 'There's a thing you don't know and should—we are Harkonnens...You're the Baron's own daughter...The Baron sampled many pleasures in his youth, and once permitted himself to be seduced. But it was for the genetic purposes of the Bene Gesserit'.
- Sci-Fi Channel. 2000. Archived from the originalon November 5, 2007. Retrieved February 7, 2019 – via SciFi.com.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (December 14, 1984). "Movie Review: Dune (1984)". The New York Times. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
- ^ Tor.com. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ^ Stasio, Marilyn (December 3, 2000). "Cover Story: Future Myths, Adrift in the Sands of Time". The New York Times. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
- ^ Wertheimer, Ron (March 15, 2003). "Television Review: A Stormy Family on a Sandy Planet". The New York Times. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
- ^ Asher-Perrin, Emmet (May 9, 2017). "Syfy's Dune Miniseries is the Most Okay Adaptation of the Book to Date". Tor.com. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ Jones, Austin (November 5, 2021). "TV Rewind: How Syfy's Forgotten Dune Miniseries Made the Most of Herbert's Complex Story". Paste. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
- ^ Kit, Borys (January 9, 2019). "Stellan Skarsgård to Play Villain in Legendary's Dune". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
- ^ McNary, Dave (January 9, 2019). "Stellan Skarsgard to Play Villain in Dune Movie". Variety. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
- ^ El-Mahmoud, Sarah (February 23, 2019). "Stellan Skarsgård Compares the Dune Cast to the Avengers". CinemaBlend. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
- ^ Nemiroff, Perri (September 16, 2019). "Stellan Skarsgard Says Denis Villeneuve Had 'Pretty Free Hands' Directing Dune". Collider. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- ^ Chitwood, Adam (April 14, 2020). "Denis Villeneuve Explains Why Dune Will Be Split into Two Movies". Collider. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
- ^ Daniels, James (January 12, 2014). "Toys We Miss: The Long Forgotten Figures From Frank Herbert's Dune". Nerd Bastards. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- ^ a b "Toys". Collectors of Dune. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
- ISBN 9781852867195.
- ^ "H.R. Giger's Harkonnen Chairs". HRGiger.com. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ^ West, Thomas (October 21, 2021). "10 Most Powerful Quotes in Dune 2021". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
- ^ Campbell, Maude (February 15, 2019). "Everything We Know So Far About Denis Villeneuve's Dune". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
- ^ Michaud, Jon (July 12, 2013). "Dune Endures". The New Yorker. Retrieved August 18, 2015.