I revere the source material but have many misgivings about Denis Villeneuve. Will I hate it it? (By the way, I like the uneven imperfect Lynch version)
shareIt was fine. It's definitely one of his weakest films.
shareI liked it, not loved it. Best adaptation so far, although greatly lacking in storytelling
shareIt is absolutely amazing. It looks exactly like you'd envision the book coming to life. But it's either too long or too short for the story. It should've ended at the death of Leto or should have gone on until the end of the book.
shareMovie definitely needs more colors. It's basically almost in sepia / cyanotype all the time.
Looked good in trailers, but not for the entire length.
I noticed that too. Also there are a lot of scenes with almost nothing on screen. One character talking and a background that is so dark/empty as to just be bland. Watch something like Blade Runner (1982) and almost every shot is beautiful. I also noticed this in a few scenes from Villeneuve's other movies (Arrival for one) and it is the cinematic equivalent of dead air.
shareI would recommend watching it as a movie. The characters, music and props were all good. Very Grand Scale. Good action scenes.
As a Dune fan, the story really sucked. Too many omissions and changes.
I like it but because I read dune a while back and I could fill the missing points.
Although it does miss some parts of the story ... but it had to be streamlined to fit the time.
Although with a different cut could had been "only" 2h long.
I feel I only got it because I read the book. My partner who hasn't couldn't keep up with what was going on. And I couldn't blame her. Just take a look at the amount of terminologies thrown about that the movie expects you to keep up with.
Kwisatz Haderach
Bene Gesserit
Harkonnen
Atreides
Sardaukar
Shai-hulud
Lisan-al gaib
And that's without even getting into the names of the characters.
Thank you. You are indeed the Kwisatz Haderach.
shareI have no idea what those last 3 are, and had no problem keeping up. You think that having two families, one of which is the bad guys, and one of which is the good guys is difficult for people to to keep up with? Hmmm....OK.
shareWell if you boil the movie down to "patriarch of good family is murdered by evil family, but the son escapes and joins the locals", then that's basically Lion King. But who wants to come away from a movie thinking "ok it's good guys vs bad guys and I'm so smart for getting it"?
shareI'm usually hit or miss with these kinda stuff. But with Villeneuve's slow burn approach & the fact that the characters kept repeating that stuff over & over again, I honestly didn't have any problem following any of that.
shareI really wanted to like this new version, but it's sorta bland compared to the 1984 version. For example, the hunter seeker looked more realistic in the 1984 version, and the costumes in the 1984 are better as well. The 1984 version shows the folding of space, and starts with the princess and her two different eyes. 1984 is just better. In the new one, they never even said "The Spice Extends Life, The Spice Expands Consciousness, The Spice Is Vital To Space Travel". You can't have Dune without that statement! I could go on, but I don't want to rub it in. At least they tried. :-)
shareWell the 1984 version is camp. So a serious film is "bland" in comparison. I guess.
shareYou're saying this isn't serious?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv87NJ2xX0k
You don't know Dune!
The real camp parts in the 1984 version of Dune were so camp they permeated the rest of the movie.
The infected disgusting Baron, and his son Sting ... ugh.
But no one can deny the special effects and the feeling of the movie, and even the casting of most of the characters was great in the 1984 version. Kyle McLaughlin really seemed to have a noble bearing, whereas Timothy Chalumet looked like an American kid plucked out of a shopping mall. The reverend mother played by Sian Phillips was just perfect.
The Royal Hall, and the Guild Navigators ... even the spaceships had never been visualized like that before.
It had its moments, but it severely and irredeemably undercut itself with its campiness shall I say.
The first knife fight in 2021 with Paul vs the Fremen black guy was absolutely pathetic. Both knife fights in 1984 and SyFy version are bad ass. Sting did really well imo. I agree 1984 had some over the top scenes/characters, but that was how the 80s did most movies. I wouldn't call it camp, i would just call it a parlance of the times. I've seen Dune 1984 over 10 times, and am able to appreciate those characters more over time. I think it's an acquired taste.
The SyFy miniseries is best for satisfying my very serious Dune watching appetite, but 1984 satisfies my taste for an immersive epic goosebumps giving experience.
2021 just didn't have any magic for me. No goosebumps, and very bland. It's like watching a short version of the SyFy miniseries with much of the story missing.
> I agree 1984 had some over the top scenes/characters, but that was how the 80s did most movies. I wouldn't call it camp
Oh ... sorry, but most people would. That is the thing that, much as I liked the movie otherwise, when people asked me about it I had to not recommend it.
Just because it was common doesn't mean it was good. That movie died an ignominious death. The miniseries was a good try, and some others have attempted and then given up.
I don't think anyone will make a really acceptable version of Dune because it's baroque in all its dimensions, and so fantastical that it really spreads outside the purview of science fiction. As a kid, I loved it, so did everyone who read it ... it was a real phenomenon, but then came the sequels as well and interest just dropped off.
I appreciate the effort taken in this version, and some aspects of it are good, even better than the 1984 version, but it is dull and dusty, and we're talking about house of an empire that are really ornate and ... much more like they were portrayed in the 1984 version.
In terms of "magic" .. I'd have to agree with you. It's just an impossible task.
Have you seen this 4k 3 hour "fan edit" version of 1984's Dune yet?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faHQA_0d9Mo
Absolutely MUST SEE for anyone who wants to feel the real magic of Dune. I'm actually watching it again tonight! :-)
I think I watched that once ... or skimmed through it. Visually I don't think no matter how many times Dune gets remade it will never equal the rich alien imagery in the 1984 movie.
shareIt literally says 5 minutes into the movie "For the Fremen, the spice is the sacred hallucinogen which preserves life and brings enormous health benefits, for the imperium spice is used by the navigators of the spacing guild to find paths between the stars. Without spice, interstellar travel is impossible, making it bar far the most valuable substance in the universe"
shareno, NO, NO, that is all WRONG! :-) it has to be done like this:
'The spice extends life, the spice expands consciousness. The spice is vital to space travel. Travel without moving'
Jam to this, and tell me it can be any other way!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFLI4zUKi38
Also, with all that CGI potential, they never even showed the Guild folding space!!!!
Traveling without moving! THAT IS DUNE!
[deleted]
“ they never even said "The Spice Extends Life, The Spice Expands Consciousness, The Spice Is Vital To Space Travel"
They most certainly did. It’s in the stuff Paul watched to learn about the planet.
Yes, but they said it like this:
"Spice is the sacred hallucinogen which preserves life, and brings enormous health benefits. For the Imperium, spice is used by the Spacing Guild to navigate paths between the stars. Without spice, interstellar travel is impossible making it by far the most valuable substance in the universe."
I wanted them to say it like how the books says it, and the 1984 version does as well:
"The Spice Extends Life, The Spice Expands Consciousness, The Spice Is Vital To Space Travel"
https://youtu.be/k1h3UjbuOtc?t=33
Notice how the 1984 version does it justice by making it very impactful, and almost magical. The spice is shrouded in magic properties, and deserves that sort of grand introduction. Similarly, the 2021 version is more lifeless and bland in many other ways as well. For example, in the book, the Atreides' costumes are very ornate. But, in 2021's version, they are the complete opposite.
Along with that awesome statement, in the 2021 version they ripped out many of the awesome Dune one liners contained in the book:
"The Sleeper must awaken"
"Folding space...Traveling without moving"
"The first step in avoiding a trap is knowing of it's existence"
"They tried and failed? They tried and died"
"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion"
To feel the magic, and goosebumps, check out this 4k version of the 1984 Dune. Measure the costumes and hair styles of the Atreides and others. See how much more colorful the characters are, and how their subsequent actions are just more impactful. Unlike the 2021 version, you will witness how the Spacing Guild folds space time. How could you NOT show such a thing in a Dune movie? It would be like not showing warp speed in Star Trek! And you would especially want to show it if you have 2021 special effects capabilities! Yes, the 2021 missed a huge opportunity to polish up the 1984 version, but instead chose to make a drab, dumbed down version of Dune.
1984 Dune - Full 3 hour cut in 4k quality:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faHQA_0d9Mo