Villeneuve's Dune: Part One (2019)

[ctg]

Another new trailer.

Spoiler

Paul's Voice has got oomph. I just would a bit more into it.

 

[Toby Frost]

I realise that I'm very much in the minority here, but I marvel at how Villeneuve has managed to make such a rich book look so drab.

 

[ctg]

David Lynch’s 1984 sci-fi epic Dune is—in many ways—a misbegotten botch job. Still, as with more than a few ineffectively ambitious films before it, the artistic flourishes Lynch grafted onto Frank Herbert’s sprawling Machiavellian narrative of warring space dynasties have earned it true cult classic status. Today, fans of the film, which earned a paltry $30 million at the box office and truly bruising reviews upon its release, still wonder what Lynch would have done if given the opportunity to adapt the next two novels in Herbert’s cycle: Dune Messiah and Children of Dune.

I found David Lynch’s lost Dune II script

The unfinished script, found in an archive, shows Lynch's enthusiasm for Dune.

arstechnica.com

 

[Baldanders]

make such a rich book look so drab

After watching the TV serial Silo I became disappointed with Dune even more. It appears Rebecca Ferguson (who played Jessica in Dune and the main character in Silo) can play a strong woman character, but instead in Dune she's kinda always shaking and smothered nun. Doesn't feel like Herbert's Jessica at all

 

[Dave]

I just watched this again. I thought I hadn't seen it yet (easy when you've seen other versions and read the book) but of course I had. I have to say that I like this version and refute some of the complaints:
For

• I don't think it is drab at all. There are some great locations chosen for a story set largely within a desert wasteland.
• Rebecca Ferguson plays Jessica, just as Jessica ought to be. Jessica is a capable fighter who beat the Stilgar the Freman, but she is a subject of the Duke of House Atreides (first her husband and then her son) and is only a minor member of the powerful Bene Gesserit. She is not of high standing.
• In fact, I think the casting in this is good. If I had only read the book I could identify the characters from their actors instantly. However, no Sting as Feyd-Rautha Hakonnen, and less well-known names.
• It is difficult to write a screenplay from this book. This achieves it without a great deal of info-dumping. There is also a lot of dream foreboding which could be boring in a film, but is achieved quite well.
• The depictions of the ornithopters, sandworms, Fremen, the hunter-seeker, and the spacecraft, are all much more like those my mind had created from reading the book than any other version.

Against

• Too long, and story-wise it still only scratches the surface. This is great news if we will get a second part, but I'd like to see the other books filmed. We'd still need a TV adaptation to do that.

 

[Swank]

Rebecca Ferguson plays Jessica, just as Jessica ought to be. Jessica is a capable fighter who beat the Stilgar the Freman, but she is a subject of the Duke of House Atreides (first her husband and then her son) and is only a minor member of the powerful Bene Gesserit. She is not of high standing.

The gripe isn't with Ferguson's acting or Jessica's standing, but that she comes off as emotional and indecisive compared to the text. Even a fairly minor BG has enormous self control.

 

[Toby Frost]

I agree: it felt like a fundamental misunderstanding of the character.

 

[Dave]

Okay, I'll accept that. She shouldn't be emotional and she should have faith in the BG to accept her fate.

 

[paeng]

It was at best banal; the 1980s version was at least quirky, with the mini-series solid.

 

[ctg]

The excitement over Dune: Part Two’s March 1 arrival is building—so much so that other movies are trying to capitalize on it. Christopher Nolan’s Tenet is returning to theaters accompanied by a special tease of Denis Villeneuve’s sequel—but first, David Lynch’s take on Dune will be getting its due.

Fathom Events, known for its limited-run special engagements of older films, is teaming with Universal to bring the 1984 adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic back to the big screen on February 18 and 19. Though Lynch’s Dune was not met with anything resembling the critical acclaim or box-office numbers of Villeneuve’s 2021 take, it has since grown to occupy a place of honor on the “this is so weird, how did it ever get made, much less released on an unsuspecting public?” list of cult-beloved classics.

Starring Kyle MacLachlan (as Paul Atreides), as well as Max Von Sydow, Linda Hunt, José Ferrer, Sting, Francesca Annis, Brad Dourif, Virginia Madsen, Sean Young, Dean Stockwell, and Patrick Stewart, Dune also features creatures by three-time Oscar winner Carlo Rambaldi (King Kong, Alien, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial). As part of this limited release, Fathom Events will also be showing a vintage behind-the-scenes clip detailing the creation of Dune’s models, described by a press release as “model unit supervisor Brian Smithies explains the unique challenges of bringing the models to life on Dune, from the uncomfortable weather conditions to the crude motion control ships.”

The spice flows on the Dune re-release Sunday, February 18 at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. local time, and Monday, February 19 at 7 p.m. local time. Find advance tickets and theater locations at the Fathom Events website.

David Lynch's Dune Is Bringing Its Glorious Weirdness Back to Theaters

Fathom Events and Universal Pictures are holding special screening of the sci-fi oddity February 18 and 19.

gizmodo.com

 

[ctg]

Exclusive popcorn buckets commemorating big new theatrical releases are par for the course these days, but nothing could prepare us for Dune 2‘s take on the container, which is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. Frankly, we’re a bit uneasy about the idea of eating popcorn out of a sandworm, but others on the internet have had a different reaction to the snack vessel. Some folks are very hot and bothered over the toothy (and, to their minds, NSFW) bucket.

The bucket, designed to look like an Arrakis sandworm is sticking out of it and ready to chomp down on your appendages, has become the butt of a few…unsavory jokes on social media, with more than a few references to a certain kind of sex toy as well as one particular Barry Keoghan scene in Saltburn…

The NSFW Dune 2 Popcorn Bucket Is a Toothy Nightmare You Can't Unsee

This Dune 2 popcorn bucket has the internet very hot and bothered...

www.denofgeek.com

 

[Le Panda du Mal]

The drabness doesn't come from the locations but from the "hey look, I'm a serious scifi movie so let's mute those colors" photography. The designs are all over the place. There are some good costumes and sets but overall they are very forgettable. The ships look like apple products that got dropped in the sand. The Sardaukar uniforms are unforgivably bad. I wouldn't say the black hazmat suits of the Lynch film were the best choice but at least they were vaguely threatening. For the Harkonnens it looks like Villeneuve took Lynch's Harkonnens, jettisoned the funky S&M elements, leaving just the industrial hellscape and brutality. Herbert's Harkonnens were more cultured. Villeneuve makes them look just stupid and violent. The Baron's plan to have Rabban terrorize the Fremen so that Feyd can be introduced as their savior is reduced to... "Kill them all." Mwahahaha. It's kind of dumb. The Harkonnens are one thing the mini-series did very well, as I recall.

 

[Matteo]

We saw this last night - on the last day that it was available on Netflix (at least in Belgium). Not that we knew that before selecting it - just a happy coincidence.

And I should say a couple of things from the start.

(1) I quite like the David Lynch film. It's a bit silly and it feels like there's some story missing but I've seen it several times and enjoy it.
(2) Despite the book, and the following two, having sat on my shelf since the early 90s I only read Dune a few years ago. Yes...I know, I know.. And I liked it but didn't think it was outstanding. So, I don't have an in-depth knowledge of all the characters and events or any strong opinion on what the film version should be like.

As for the film. My first thought was that it looked incredible - which matters for a film on this scale. The visuals seemed to match what I remember from the book better than the Lynch film and I I also thought there were some great performances and good character development. I liked that it was, for the most part, slow moving - not total action. All things considered we really enjoyed it and are looking forward to Part II (including the wife who vaguely remembers the Lynch film and has not, nor will, read the book).

Of course, I saw scenes that I remember from the Lynch film but I couldn't say how closely it follows the book. Having only just now skimmed through all the above posts (I managed to go into this film "cold") I see that it has polarised views - particularly on the look and how faithful it is to the book - but knowing what a dedicated fanbase the book has this is no surprise.

 

[ctg]

 

[ctg]

Villeneuve has confirmed to Vanity Fair that Dune: Part Two does indeed set up an adaptation of Dune Messiah: “The Dune book ends with the beginning of something that is out of control, and I thought this was a very powerful ending. I feel that both movies complete the adaptation of the book, and I feel very good about that. When people ask me, is there a world where I could do Messiah? Yes…”

According to Variety, Villeneuve told South Korean press last December that he does have plans to adapt Dune Messiah. “The screenplay is almost finished but it is not finished,” Villeneuve revealed. “It will take a little time.”

Anyone who knows Dune Messiah understands why Villeneuve cannot jump directly into the next movie. The first Dune is a (relatively) straightforward story about a rising hero, complete with the freeing of an oppressed people and the overthrow of a disgusting tyrant. Although Villeneuve’s take does hint at the dark side of Paul’s ascension as described by Herbert, they remain hints and allusions.

In Dune Messiah, those issues come to the fore and Paul becomes a more morally ambiguous figure. Moreover, much of the book involves palace intrigue, related through internal monologue and finger-speech, rather than action. David Lynch had hopes of adapting the book but couldn’t bring it to screen, despite having a script that better fit his idiosyncratic style.

Obviously, Villeneuve has already been far more successful in visualizing Hebert’s work, and Dune: Part Two remains one of the most highly anticipated films of the year. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if Dune: Part Two does very well in theaters and Warner Bros. green lights a third entry as soon as possible.

That said, Villeneuve is very clear about wanting to take his time before leaping to Dune Messiah. “I don’t know exactly when I will go back to Arrakis,” Villeneuve told the South Korean press. “I might make a detour before just to go away from the sun. For my mental sanity I might do something in between, but my dream would be to go a last time on this planet that I love.”

That potential return won’t play exactly like the first two films, though.

“I want to make sure that if we go back there a third time that it’ll be worth it, and that it would make something even better than Part Two,” Villeneuve told Vanity Fair. “It needs to be different. I don’t want to fall into dogmas. I don’t want to fall into a vocabulary that has been predefined by the first two movies. I would love to make something different. We are figuring that out right now.”

Dune 3 Update Is the Best News Yet About a Dune Messiah Adaptation

Dune: Part Two isn't even in theaters yet, but director Denis Villeneuve already has Dune Messiah in mind.

www.denofgeek.com

I feel kind of excited because the Messiah never made it to screen, not even a small one, while the Children part was done by SyFy as a miniseries.

 

[Dave]

I've created a thread to discuss the second film here: Villeneuve's Dune: Part Two (2024)