No spoilers! Just checking who else is a fan of the books. The first film was very well done but it wasn’t perfect by any means… I’ve had friends who were disappointed (!) by the minimalist / brutalist set designs.
5 Likes
Planning to see it this weekend
1 Like
Personally I loved the cinematography of the first movie, just hated how vague and confusing everything was after not reading the books in a while.
1 Like
The first Dune movie from 1984 was so bizarre for its time. It was a box-office flop. They even anticipated that viewers would be confused with all of the naming of the planetary systems, humanoid species, and the driving conflict, that they made basic pamphlets that were handed out. The more elaborate ones had to be bought, costing more than the ticket price.
I grew to like that movie, despite a number of flaws. The artistry of the set designs were amazing, although it was shocking how some of the space SFX was done in such a 2 dimensional fashion.
For the reboot, I was expecting to be disappointed. The earlier Dune series was such an example. But Dune Part 1 from 2022 was actually nicely done. I’m probably not going to see Part 2 in the theaters. I’d rather wait for streaming. But if word gets out that the movie is terrific, perhaps even better than Part 1, I might change my mind.
2 Likes
Reading the first book as a teenager… wow! The sophistication of the prose was unlike anything else I’d encountered. I even remember when Herbert’s son started making prequel novels with KJ Anderson, and the short ‘literary / bibliographic’ introductions to major chapters felt underwhelming and even shallow compared to the orginal books.
1 Like
Lynch’s DUNE is actually pretty amazing. I actually owned the Laser Disc at one time! So over the top and quotable… It was probably the first film that made me re-read the book just to figure out what had been changed. And Lynch being Lynch, he had to inject some elements of weirdness… Thufir and cat comes to mind.
Watching the new Dune Part 1, I really appreciated the way the Sardaukar were given more lore, especially their semi religious fanaticism. The gender swap for Keynes… not a biggie either. I’m hoping for more Thufir in Part 2… and of course, Alia.
1 Like
Indeed. The original Dune movie by David Lynch was a spectacular feat. Tackling Frank Herbert’s work is no small task! I was very young when I first saw it… and on the heels of spectacular SFX/VFX laden sci-fi movies like Star Wars and Star Trek that came out previously, Dune felt rather dated. As I mentioned before, the space scenes with 2D cutouts floating about the stars, no dimensionality presented… was maddening. I can’t recall the interview I’d seen… if it was Lynch or someone else who worked on the production… but he’d said this was intentional. It was supposed to feel like an old-world movie, from another time and another galaxy. But I suspect it was a budgetary thing. The sets were so elaborate and intricate, soaking up so much of the budget. In that respect… it was phenomenal. The rooms, buildings, devices, costumes… all felt so incredibly real and material.
The original theatrical release was 136 minutes, and for TV it was 177 minutes. But then, the original intent by Lynch was just over 3 hours (not tolerated by the theater franchises). Apparently a total of 5 hours and 14 minutes was originally filmed and edited. That’s obtainable as the “Dune Extended” version. I don’t think I ever saw it.
When I was a teen I tried to read the Dune novel… and I just couldn’t get into it at that time. This was before seeing the movie.
Yes, the Sardaukar given more lore in the reboot is definitely welcomed. I also like how some characters were evolved a bit. The newer portrayal of Thufir is good. I like that he has gotten more time. It’s also good to see Rabban Harkonnen portrayed by Dave Bautista. I thought that was a great choice. Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides was also a smart move. And Josh Brolin makes an excellent Gurney Halleck. And of course, Stellan John Skarsgård as Baron Harkonnen is a great fit too.
1 Like
One thing I liked about the reboot was how they provided a better backstory. A lot of Dune has to do with political intrigue and eons old adversarial interactions between ruling families.
My biggest takeaway from the books was that the Harkonnens were absolute monsters. The Lynch version kind of dropped the ball on this, where the reboot pretty much nailed it for me. I also love the brutalism architecture designed into in most of the sets. Really looking forward to #2. I have purposely had a self-imposed media blackout – I haven’t even seen a trailer for it.
Pls don’t read this as me dumping on the Lynch version. This is a very hard story to tell and I thought he did a great job. His version of this movie is certainly in my top 100 list (another list that really only exists in my head).
2 Likes
Cant wait for it, part one was quite appealing to me.
1 Like
My anticipation is palpable. It CANT disappoint…it can only make up for what the first half “intentionally” didn’t deliver…
Wonderful director, beautiful sets…. The only aspects that the movie lacks(?)
….a well done middle/second third/ conclusion (for book one…)
We shall see…
3 Likes
People still go out for dinner+movie? Haven’t done that in ages. Lisbon used to have 2 or 3 movie theatres in every neighbourhood. On Fridays you couldn’t find tickets anywhere for the 9.30pm sessions unless you drove to the outskirts of the city or a picture really sucked.
I can’t even say how many are left now… There’s maybe 3 or 4 shopping centres with half a dozen viewing rooms each running blockbusters in some secluded part of the shopping, usually the top floor where nobody seems to go…
Or maybe I just don’t go out any more and it slips right past me… 
PS. There’s actually a 300 hundred pages book covering all the movie venues in LX (that’s how we shorten it) since the turn of the 20th century until the nineties… It is an epic volume — how come such a small town in a forgotten country with a small population had so many theatres? By the end you realise we’ve been always looking outside, looking for more, but also that as cities grow and become more identical, and adding the fact that the Internet levelled almost everything in the last few years, that thing, that curiosity, goes away.
It is my belief that we need another planet to carry on with a modicum of interest. That brings us back to Dune and sci-fi. Have a nice weekend-o!
2 Likes
I was lucky enough to watch the fan premiere on Feb 25 (in IMAX!). Absolutely fantastic movie - it’s very rare that a movie like this has lived up to all the hype for me! As a big fan of the book, I really like the changes they made to the story to adapt it better. There are some wonderful easter eggs for book fans as well hidden away in subtle details. I’m sure I didn’t catch them all, so there will be many repeat viewings for sure
3 Likes
I saw it last night in IMAX…absolutely incredible visuals. However - i must be in the vast minority - in the end i was a bit…disappointed? (And i have no doubt i’m going to catch a lot of shit for this opinion).
Denis Villeneuve is one of my favourite directors, and i absolutely loved the first Dune movie, but somehow this one left me lukewarm. I think its primarily down to 3 reasons:
- Book vs. movie: there were significant differences in some of the relationship dynamics between certain characters. This sits worse with me than simply changing plot points.
- I felt like there were several cliché/trope sequences and interactions which felt very unusual for Villeneuve - there’s nothing like that in Sicario, for example.
- In my mind, everything felt extremely rushed towards the end. This film could have been split into 2 movies and i think it would have allowed for a lot more exploration.
That said, It’s still better than half of the big budget bonanzas that hollywood spits out these days.
2 Likes
I’ve seen plenty of critical reviews about the changes made. I’m a big fan of the original books but I also believe that a filmmaker needs their own vision to make a coherent and successful product (and not just ‘art’)… For example: The Shining.
1 Like
I heard a rumor that there’s “room” for a Dune Part III. I’ve not yet seen Part II… and have aimed to avoid running into spoilers. But would you say there’s a fairly definitive ending, unlike with Part I?
Villeneuve apparently wants to do Children of Dune as Dune Part 3.
My wife and I are going to see it tonight in IMAX.
1 Like
Woah woah… shouldn’t it be Dune Messiah? Although, to be sure it felt like the shortest book in the original series.
Yes, Dune Messiah. I misremembered based on the Syfy movies where they combined the two.
Been a while since I read them.
1 Like