Legendary science fiction author Frank Herbert published his masterpiece “Dune” in 1965 — which went on to influence George Lucas’ “Star Wars” and is a landmark in epic science fiction and fantasy literature.

Prior to all that, Herbert was doing what I’m doing.

As an Oregon journalist, Herbert was inspired to write his seminal work after researching the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area on the coast.

Having read the original “Dune,” I did enjoy the silly yet engrossing 1984 David Lynch adaptation and I’ve occasionally caught the made-for-TV Dune miniseries on cable. I’ve pondered with fascination the planned but never-produced 1970s Alejandro Jodorowsky “Dune” movie (that reportedly would have used concept art by Moebius and H.R. Giger, a score by Pink Floyd and would have starred Orson Welles and Mick Jagger).

With his “Dune” adaptations, director Denis Villeneuve is a cinema nerd who gets to play with the greatest of all toy chests. He’s actively channeling some of the greatest camera shots and sequences in cinema history and there are nice tonal and visual homages and callouts to his influences scattered throughout the first and second film. Villeneuve’s “Dune” is “Star Wars” by way of Ridley Scott, Andrei Tarkovsky, David Lean and Francis Ford Coppola.

The new “Dune” films include all the heady world-building elements of culture, anthropology, ecology, economics, trade, politics, history, mysticism and mythology that Herbert invested so deeply in his “Dune” books. There’s no pandering to younger audiences here or explaining how all the pieces work. He trusts and respects the audience’s intelligence.

Visually, the films deliver pure eye-candy in the sweeping wide-angle shots of thousands of warriors in battle, hulking leviathan war machines spewing artillery, swooping dragonfly ornithopters, the Fremen’s Petra-like carved temples on Arrakis, and those iconic, massive sandworms menacingly traversing the vast expanses of Arrakis.

Villeneuve also manages to channel the striking expressionist cinema of Weimar Germany whenever we’re taken to the Harkonnen homeworld — a fantastic black and white Nosferatu nightmare of brutal darkness and evil.

Villeneuve’s first “Dune” movie is as visually stunning as the sequel, but its proceedings were merely the exposition to set up the more interesting second and third acts of the novel’s story, which we finally get to in 2024’s “Dune: Part Two.” Villenuve’s sequel is now more entertaining and satisfying than the first.

“Dune: Part Two” mirrors the epic grandeur of Lean’s breathtaking desert landscape visuals in the 1962 classic “Lawrence of Arabia.” A fantastic, scene-stealing Javier Bardem gives off strong Anthony Quinn vibes as the Fremen leader Stilgar on the desert planet of Arrakis (aka Dune). His co-star Josh Brolin from “No Country for Old Men” is also charismatic as the grizzled Atreides ally Gurney Halleck.

The young actors in the production more than rise to the occasion, with Timothée Chalamet navigating the complexity of the lead character’s messiah complex. Chalamet convincingly delivers his Paul Atreides from an earnest innocence to the corruption of absolute power — no doubt echoing Al Pacino’s task of navigating Michael Corleone’s tragedy in “The Godfather.” The movie refreshingly subverts the typical hero tropes.

Zendaya’s Fremen heroine Chani takes on a more significant presence from the first film, poignantly handling the Shakespearean twists of the third act. Similarly, Florence Pugh’s Princess Irulan, though given minimal screen time here, is spellbinding and commanding.

Austin Butler, who famously held on to his Elvis accent for a while after playing the rock legend, skillfully imitates Baron Harkonnen’s (Stellan Skarsgård’s) gruff Scandinavian accent as the psychotic young Harkonnen antagonist Feyd-Rautha to Chalamet’s Atreides. Despite being a one-dimensional monster, Butler’s fearless screen presence is undeniable.

Cinema and movie audiences win when studios decide great movies should be made by a brilliant singular artistic vision, making the decision not to pander to kids, with each piece of talent in the production (actors, costumes, sound, effects, production design, etc.) demonstrating the highest level of artistic chops. Contrast that with productions brought to you by committee and audience algorithm designed to please the lowest common denominator — as has seemed to have been the case in the tentpole movies the past decade or so.

Movies like “Dune” and “Oppenheimer” prove that audiences still adore and reward the smart, singular artistic vision steeped in cinema history. I’m hoping this trend of industry investment and focus continues onward.