Dune

[Magmoormaster]

Anyone see it yet?

I saw it last night with a buddy from school. I'm a huge fan of Denis Villeneuve and his style, and this is him through and through. I haven't read the books, but my buddy has and he said it did a good job at staying faithful to the source material.

Curious what y'all's thoughts are.

[cfos00]

I watched it and liked it, but am concerned that it won't do well enough to get the sequels. I hope that it does. It reminds me a ton of the Fellowship of the Rings---does a good job with setting up the world, but isn't really a complete story in it's own right. The movie was very well done, and the cinematography is gorgeous.

[fullofpaint]

Had a 40mm opening weekend which should be good enough to secure a sequel. Villeneuve is one of WB's best directors so I'd be surprised if they passed on the sequel and risked losing him to someone else. The sticking point might be same day release though as he was SUPER against it and lost the battle on this one.

Loved the film, going to see it again in IMAX this week.

[Hp_lovecraft]

I thought it was beautiful.

But I also loved the original movie. I'm mentally capable of viewing it separate from the books, and can appreciate the style and scope.... except for the navigator fx.. that should have been cut.

I went in not realizing the movie was going to end the way it was. I loved it all, and its more like the books.... but just ends suddenly.

[MrBarraclough]

Haven't seen it yet, but was a bit disappointed to learn that splitting the book into two movies would mean a long wait before getting to see it all. On the other hand, trying to fit such a truly epic story into a single film of watchable length would cause too much to be cut or compressed...or turned into voice-activated "weirding modules."

[gabe]

I watched it a couple days ago and really liked it. After reading the books, the movie didn't disappoint in how the world looked and felt. I liked the uniqueness of the world and it's politics as compared to other sci-fi movies.

[Siress]

I remember hearing about it a year or two ago. Tried not to get hyped up. Got hyped up on my own - no tolerance for hearing anything more about it, or watching a trailer, nothing...just waited patiently. I think I was chanting "please be good" as it buffered.

And it was good. It was actually good. Throw all the rotten fruit you want, but I think this was better than the original - which I also like a lot. I'm going to see it again in the theater after the crowds die down. There was something in the HBO ads or previews or something quoting someone saying 'the next lord of the rings,' and praise be if that becomes true. I would love a 12hr box set that completes the story.

[MrBarraclough]

So long as "the story" we're talking about is just the core Frank Herbert stuff, and only roughly the first half of that, even. Things really start to come off the rails after Dune Messiah, I think.

[Crimson Death]

In a move so unsurprising there is literally an eons-old galactic prophecy about it, powerful, horny men are unable to peacefully share a planet made of cocaine.

[MrBarraclough]

I haven't read the books, but my buddy has and he said it did a good job at staying faithful to the source material.

I highly, highly recommend reading at least Dune, if not the whole six-book original series. Both Dune and the second book, Dune Messiah, are excellent and accessible.* Further in, the series starts to get a little wrapped up in its own mythology, as such things are wont to do. But the first one really does live up to its reputation as one of the truly great sci-fi epics.

The David Lynch directed 1984 movie is also worth seeing, but I think is more enjoyable if you have already read the novel. Some of the compromises made in order to fit the story into a managable runtime are...interesting. In all seriousness, the Honest Trailers YouTube channel does a good job of both summarizing and lovingly lampooning the 1984 film.

I also highly recommend NOT reading any of the later Dune books written by Frank Herbert's son Brian, based off of some of Frank's unfinished notes. They just don't live up to the standards of Frank Herberts original work.

*I expect a good portion of fans would also recommend Children of Dune, though it does start to lean heavily into the established mythology of the series by then.

[Cunha]

I like the books and both of the other films.

I found the new film lacking in a lot of areas and I was really wanting to love it. I was pretty disappointed. I didn't read about it or investigate the movie at all until after I saw it but I think this reviewer does a pretty good jobs. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/th...ed-to-dullness

For me I am surprised at how little they cover while still removing so much of the substance of earlier films. It was like the director was intent on avoiding re-shooting totally necessary scenes from earlier films because he didn't want to make his movie feel too similar, but in doing so there is just a lot of lack.

Barely any relationship between Paul and anyone in his family, no indication about pauls skills or training or his knowledge about anything.

Leto helicopter rescue scene - > paul and jessica helicopter escape scene - > paul and jessica helicoptor escape scene AGAIN after briefly saying hi to Duncan

Then I kept thinking "man they have a lot of stuff to cover and it feels like the film has already been 10 hours long" and it ends all of a sudden.

Probably the worst part is just having no time spent inside the castle on arrakis and getting established. It felt like they were on planet for about 5 minutes before they were attacked and when the assassination attempt happens in what I presume was pauls room it pretty much just looked like he was walking around the desert somewhere and then killed a mosquito.

I'm hoping for a super duper undirectors cut with a ton of footage and actual backgrounds added back in. In my dreams.

[wunderbarsafari]

I streamed it on release night with my wife. She’s a voracious reader of sci-fi and has read most of the Dune books. I read that homeboy who wrote them was inspired by TE Lawrence and Seven Pillars of Wisdom is one of my favorite books of all time. We were both excited and enjoyed it cinematically. Tryng to discuss the story ended with us going to bed angry. She told me not to talk to her friends (they’re all scientists) about Dune. I told her not to ask me questions about baseball. Looking forward to the sequel.

[Siress]

I feel this in my bones. Peace be with you.

[Sharkpocalypse]

Visually I thought it was fantastic. As someone who read the first few novels, though, I was annoyed at some of the world-building they skipped over. No description of what mentats were or their role, so Thufir and Piter came off as henchmen. The uses of spice were mostly glossed over, so it's importance was never really felt. The Holtzman generators/effect was never described, so while we know that shields, interstellar travel and suspensors exist, we don't get any sense of how they are tied together or why people don't just run around going 'pew! pew!' with lasers. No mention of the Butlerian Jihad, et cetera, et cetera. Just a lot of details about how the universe functioned were missing.

That said, I was still thoroughly entertained throughout and don't regret spending my money or my time watching it. Denis stayed pretty faithful to the novel, and the design of everything was fantastic. It was also pretty novel to see a big-budget, Hollywood, far-future, sci-fi flick that's set in a world which puts so little emphasis on technology. If you're a fan of Dune or are interested in it, I'd say go watch it. If you're luke-warm about it, then maybe wait for part 2 and binge both so you aren't left feeling unfulfilled with half a story. I'd still give it a solid 8/10.

[MrBarraclough]

So what you're saying is that this movie could have benefited from . . . voiceover exposition delivered by Princess Irulan? ;-P

[Sharkpocalypse]

Easy there, bud. Let's not take it that far...

Joking aside, I still have a little bit of a soft spot for the David Lynch version since my step-dad renting it is what introduced me to the series. The main problem was that it sloppily murdered the point of Herbert's story in the third act and turned Paul into 'Jesus in Spaaaaaaacccceeee'.

[MrBarraclough]

Once in college we tried making a drinking game out of the 1984 Dune by taking a drink every time someone says "spice."

That was inadvisable.

[Magmoormaster]

Just saw that WB greenlit part 2 for Oct 2023.

[gabe]

Kinda mad it's going to take 2 whole years. I guess the spoiled consumer in me just assumed series movies came out a year apart.

[ford]

I read the first book, loved it. Then read the others... and forgot them.

I saw the David Lynch Dune in the early 2000's and woof! I don't think I've disliked a movie more in my life.

This movie is fine. I think Dune, like Watchmen is just one of those things which are always going to be better on the page than the screen.

[The Inflicted]

I read the first book, loved it. Then read the others... and forgot them.

I saw the David Lynch Dune in the early 2000's and woof! I don't think I've disliked a movie more in my life.

This movie is fine. I think Dune, like Watchmen is just one of those things which are always going to be better on the page than the screen.

Have you seen any of the HBO watchmen series?