Dune (2020)

[truepositive]

It's a shame that the weirdness of book 4 and the deepness of the Bene Gesserit in general will not go fully explored, but i suppose it may sound a tad too eugenic (it just is). The folks that brought this topic to you before Frank Herbert did, like the Fabian Society and such, are not supposed to be discussed in public all too much.

 

[meadow_wind]

I just saw Dune 2 yesterday (regular theatre). Wow... I went back today to see it on IMAX before it gets pulled out. I can't wait for 3rd movie!

For both Dune (1 & 2), everything is good: the visuals, the costumes, the actors, the pace. I think the crew did a brilliant job. I never read the books but it sure did raise my interest.
The movie soundtrack/music score is so good; it completely immerses you in the story. I love the melody representing Paul (Herald of the change) and I pulled the piano score from a site and started playing it today.

I disliked the 1984 movie. It was badly done, plus I was too young to understand most of it. It stuck in my mind as being weird, but it did leave its mark from being one of a kind concept. I've always remembered it: Dune, the spice, the worms, and the weird guys riding them!

 

[truepositive]

I feel like Lynch tried to make it 'his own thing' a little too much in 1984.

 

[unkl brws]

I saw the film this weekend. I thought it was the best adaptation of the Dune saga to be put to film. The soundtrack was glorious! The Harkonnen home world was what I think a world populated by psychopaths would look like. There was something about the ending I didn't like. I don't know what it was and I can't put my finger on it. As others have said, it deviated a bit from the original story but hopefully there will be a third installment and more of this calibre of film in the future.

 

[Wandering Star]

I saw the film this weekend. I thought it was the best adaptation of the Dune saga to be put to film. The soundtrack was glorious! The Harkonnen home world was what I think a world populated by psychopaths would look like. There was something about the ending I didn't like. I don't know what it was and I can't put my finger on it. As others have said, it deviated a bit from the original story but hopefully there will be a third installment and more of this calibre of film in the future.

Maybe it's next.

When I saw the movie, I knew the approximate duration, so with the book in my memory, when there was just over half an hour left to finish the movie, I was thinking... "There's no time to tell what's left of the first book! Will there be a third part?"

The last half hour is a tight condensation of almost half the book.

If there was an extended five-hour version with the same pacing as the beginning of the film, it could be epic.

 

[BHelmet]

I loved it. Really!!. The first 45 minutes I felt thrilled like a kid “Yee Haw!!!” Saw it in one of those deluxe lazyboy recliner theaters. …..however…..

There are plenty of devils in the details. Studying the reactions actually becomes a great exercise in seeing beyond the Brain Bio Eye Candy.

I read Dune when I was a teen and reread it in middle age. Of course I told my kids, “You HAVE to read this.” (Because of the equivalence of the multi-layered machinations, world complexity etc with our “real” world, aside from being just a great story)

My kids can be very nit picky about this sort of stuff (gee wonder who they got that from?!) and I was curious to hear what they saw that I missed or glossed over.

The big one was Chani, of course. While she did some great acting portraying the pouting bitter jilted lover, that really wasn’t who Chani was in the book. It’s possible Zendaya was incapable, as an actress, of anything deeper. IOW, some actors are archetypes in and of themselves albeit one-trick ponies, Zendaya perhaps being one. In short, Chani was a let down.

I am surprised that in movie #2, the importance and real meaning of the spice as well as the guild and its navigators was basically left out. A lot of the story was left out in favor of an audio visual tour de force hammering at the lower chakra energy centers.

Lacking the cerebral storyline Details, IOW.

My one “oh c’mon” moment while watching was when they were heading South and Paul goes into petulant child mode and says he is not going, It felt like a weak cliche versus a deeper exploration of the inner conflict. So instead we got repeated shots of the hokey gaping mouth meme.

Whatevs. I loved it. But like any love, the flaws show up over time wherein lie the lessons.

 

[Persej]

In her talk about Paul, Laura was wondering what was Paul telling his compatriots to convince them that he is preaching a higher truth:

This description of Paul reminded me of another Paul and his convincing of people that he is "the true voice from another world":

 

[Carl]

Bit late on this one but just watched both movies after finally reading the book. I enjoyed them as action movies, but if I hadn't just read the book I would've had absolutely no idea what was happening. Perhaps having just read the book has made me too harshly critical also, but there was just too much missing IMO.

There is no Hawatt, the plots and intrigue are largely missing, the visions are not elaborated on. Understanding of the planet such as the water, the Makers and the vision of Liet-Kynes is not really fleshed out (seems like a missed opportunity to throw in some climate change/environmentalist propaganda). Little of what is going on in Paul's spice-enhanced, prescient mind is shown properly. Why does he have to go Jihad again? Motivations of many characters are not clear. Little is explained of the spice or the connection with the guild and space travel. The antagonists are made to seem too foolish, like cartoon villains, and lack the cunning they possessed in the book.

The second movie in particular just seems like an action movie, one that spends so much time bashing religion and fluffing up Paul's relationship with Cheni that there was just too little time left for the plot to really make sense.

All in all they're fun if you've read the books, but if not then I wouldn't bother.

 

[broken.english]

Bit late on this one but just watched both movies after finally reading the book.

I have the German version. It is actually five big, fat paperbacks.

 

[Beau]

The antagonists are made to seem too foolish, like cartoon villains, and lack the cunning they possessed in the book.

This was a quibble of mine from the second film. I was pretty underwhelmed by the antagonists in the end. I thought they were more interesting in the first film, even if underused.

I've never read the books but overall found them to be enjoyable and as far as big Hollywood spectacles go, a big step up from anything that's been produced in recent years. Didn't have much trouble understanding the plot, but maybe that's because so much of Dune has been sprinkled into popular culture. We wouldn't have Star Wars without it IMO.

 

[Carl]

This was a quibble of mine from the second film. I was pretty underwhelmed by the antagonists in the end. I thought they were more interesting in the first film, even if underused.

I've never read the books but overall found them to be enjoyable and as far as big Hollywood spectacles go, a big step up from anything that's been produced in recent years. Didn't have much trouble understanding the plot, but maybe that's because so much of Dune has been sprinkled into popular culture. We wouldn't have Star Wars without it IMO.

Probably watching it on a laptop was the killer for me.. I struggled to understand the dialogue as most of it was whispered for some reason, and struggled to see many scenes due to the intense filters they used. So I amend my statement: They're probably worth a watch if you have a good home cinema setup

 

[mkrnhr]

Even with a good sound, the whispering is drowned in the big noises. The only solution I found to follow the dialogues in modern movies without being bothered by the loud booming sounds is to reduce the volume and activate the subtitles.

 

[Z...]

Probably watching it on a laptop was the killer for me.. I struggled to understand the dialogue as most of it was whispered for some reason, and struggled to see many scenes due to the intense filters they used. So I amend my statement: They're probably worth a watch if you have a good home cinema setup

Should be watched in cinema - biggest screen possible and surround sound system.

 

[Jacques]

Bit late on this one but just watched both movies after finally reading the book. I enjoyed them as action movies, but if I hadn't just read the book I would've had absolutely no idea what was happening. Perhaps having just read the book has made me too harshly critical also, but there was just too much missing IMO.

Geez, I will have to read the books.

I have the German version. It is actually five big, fat paperbacks.

It seems there are six books in French and in English.

Edited: After some research, the two parts of Denis Villeneuve movies are for the first book only.

 

[meadow_wind]

They're probably worth a watch if you have a good home cinema setup

Should be watched in cinema - biggest screen possible and surround sound system.

I went to the movie theatre 3 times to see it, twice in IMAX, for that reason. Denis Villeneuve says in an interview the movie was made specially to be an audio-visual experience, and to experience it fully one needs to see it on IMAX. He says that Hanz Zimmer was the first artist that joined him on this project. He also says the movie is about a tragic love story, hence why he might have skipped on some more important details from the book. I wish he would add 1-2h to the 2nd part in order to fix that.
It was impressive to see those worm scenes and feel the whole cinema shake, I loved it.

I really like his comment at the end of this interview (it's a cut 3min version): "I strongly believe that, as humans, we need more than ever communal experience. We are meant to be together, and I think cinema represents a beautiful moment to share stories together, and it's the most powerful way to enjoy cinema."

The only solution I found to follow the dialogues in modern movies without being bothered by the loud booming sounds is to reduce the volume and activate the subtitles.

same here.

I never read the book but I intend to. My only critique would be about the costume design of the emperor's daughter last 2 outfits. They were utterly unpleasant to look at and did not seem in line with the rest of the concept.