Dune (2020)

Bought the movie and watched it with friends yesterday. Enjoyment and entertainment factor did not disappoint.

Great scenery, great visual effects, great music (as exspected after watching Hans Zimmer being interviewed on the making of the film music- sounds as if this has been a dream of his that he'd given to the universe a long time ago and when it finally arrived he gave it everything; even went so far as creating new instruments)!!
As for the story:
Much too much is missing, imo. The real fascination of the immensely complex universe of worlds Herbert has weaved cannot take hold.
I even imagine that without knowlwdge of the books only an entertaining, visually perfect experience can be gained.
After 2,5 hours (that felt like only 1,5 hours) there remains a great emptiness and a horrible cliffhanger for all who don't know the story.
For part 2 not being due before 2023 that's a huge frustration.

But in my slight frustration I just digged up a 3 hour version of David Lynch's Dune from 1984:

Dune: The Complete Saga‘s creator Michael Warren, on the film version he has created:

Off into an evening of 'Dune' retreat. :cool2:

Watch: DUNE (1984): 3 Hour Version - Theater & Extended Cut + Deleted Scenes | FilmBook


This version of David Lynch’s Dune (1984) integrates footage from the original Theatrical Cut, the Extended TV Cut, and deleted scenes to make the most complete version of the film as of 2012. I have done this as a labor of love to give fans of this under-appreciated gem an alternative version to the two flawed cuts currently available on the DVD.
I only acted as a fan editor and did not originate the content of this movie. MCA Universal and its associated parent companies own all rights to this material. They have released a beautiful Blu-Ray and DVD of David Lynch’s classic movie, which I highly recommend you buy to demonstrate to the studio that there is market for this movie to be fully restored one day, ideally with a new master cut of the film to restore as much of the story as possible with the utmost attention to detail that I could never hope to match in this good-spirited fan effort.
Viewers will notice the footage from David Lynch’s Theatrical Cut is expertly edited, color corrected, and sound designed better than the far poorer extended TV Cut, which was originally created without the director’s authorization or oversight when the movie was prepared to air as a reconstructed mini-series for television in the late 1980’s.
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Watched the film twice over the Christmas holiday.
I absolutely loved the film and I'm a little sad we have to wait so long for part 2. Who knows might not even get there. :huh:
I thought the film was a good start to the series and looking forward how they build on the introduction to Paul and his development.
I bought the first film which I also enjoyed though it feels a bit rushed. I do love my sci fi.
Thought the actor who played Paul in the new version was a good. He is believable and I'm looking forward to what they do with his character. Will he be a Messiah we love. Well let's hope I make it to 2023 to find out. 😁
 
If you love cringy humor, watching the 1985 Dino de Laurentis version is a laugh riot. Although the visual vision of it was surprisingly not bad. My daughter and I watched it together amid squeals and shrieks of “OMG Worst “Paul” EVERRR!” “Sting?!?! Are you kidding me?!?! Etc.
 
More than 2 years after the first part I ventured to the cinema again and it was totally worth it.

I liked the first part but this one had much faster pace and more coherent storyline.
They deviated from the book heavily but I guess they didn’t want to water down the story. If i remember the book correctly Chani and Muad’Dib had a child which was murdered and his sister was already born. Also I think it was her who killed the baron Harkonen. But i read it as a teenager.

Other than that the visuals were stunning, and soundtrack awesome. I was so immersed that the ending left me craving for more.
Definitely thumbs up.
 
The key thing is the Bene Gesserit as a central steering factor being described quite well, and this concept being almost certainly applicable to our own world. Frank Herbert had some strange and even questionable ideas but he was a visionary without any doubt. As you probably recall the novels get so weird from 4 and onwards that unfortunately Villeneuve and the team already decided to end this series after book 3 is done.
 
With all that said i love the books and these are among the best adaptations i ever saw, if not the best. This is what you get when a talented crew can do their work on one of the most iconic SF novels ever without any limits. The best part is that millions of people will probably start reading the series too.
 
Z... said:
I liked the first part but this one had much faster pace and more coherent storyline.
They deviated from the book heavily but I guess they didn’t want to water down the story. If i remember the book correctly Chani and Muad’Dib had a child which was murdered and his sister was already born. Also I think it was her who killed the baron Harkonen. But i read it as a teenager.
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The weakness of the first was that it ended abruptly when Paul joins the free men (who are not truly free because of interference in their beliefs etc.). The second is a good adaptation with a few things that were changed from the novel. I felt that the ending and some other events were a little rushed but overall it has a good pacing even if the time spent in the desert of Dune being shortened from a few years to a few months can be a little surprising. However, I understand that this serves to "explain" that Jessica and Paul (after taking the water of life) are not exactly themselves anymore, which Chani could see. It could have been done more subtly, and I would have preferred if she started as a believer, to be disenchanted through close proximity. I also welcomed the idea that the inhabitants of Dune were not completely ideologically homogeneous but the north/south divide was a little too reductive. The ending sounded like a short trailer for part 3: the great houses' response to the emperor's abdication, the holy war, vision of Aria as an adult, etc. Part 3 could be Dune Messiah and Children of Dune and maybe a little bit of god emperor to explain the golden path better but that's speculation. The books and the movies deal with the question of destiny, free will, and inter-generational redemption (like star wars) and it would be nice if part 3 handles these themes with more care.
 
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I loved the first film and had read the book up to where the film ends. I’d managed to avoid anything about the story and was really looking forward to the second film.

We watched it on IMAX, which I think was for the best, but I have to say I was a bit disappointed. I realised after that I’d gone in with certain expectations about what would happen, and really, those expectations would be that I would be blown away.

I don’t know why, but the film/story just didn’t really ‘move’ me, and I was surprised by that. On paper, the kind of film and story that Dune is should tick all the boxes for me in terms of a mythological narrative adventure. I’m going to read the book and see if the problem was the film version itself, or the just the story.

The one part of the film that really did move me was Paul getting the sand worm. As disappointed as I was with the film as a whole, that scene really was jaw-dropping, exciting and moving for me. That was a relief since even though I didn’t know what was going to happen story-wise, I did know that was going to happen and that it’s a hugely significant event. I don’t think it could have been done any better and for that scene alone, I’m glad we saw it on IMAX.
 
Saw this on Sunday. I thought it was a great movie, although it was quite dark. I see in a way some representation of esoteric concepts like multi-generational propaganda campaigns to accept rule over them, and deep level punctuators who are genetically engineered and trained to subvert populations, and so on.
 
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