Villeneuve's Dune: Part One (2019)

[BAYLOR]

From what ive been reading, It looks like Part 2 might happen after all.

 

[AlexH]

I saw Dune while on holiday in Scotland on Thursday and booked my seat last-minute.

The opening seemed promising, but I barely knew what was going on for an hour or maybe more. It seemed I was told stuff I didn't need to be, but there wasn't enough information about the different houses and their motivations (aside from the spice) or who was who and why. I rarely felt any tension and some of the character's about-turns felt odd, as did a couple of other things that happened. I got more and more bored and couldn't wait for the film to end at one point.

I'm not sure Dune looked all that great either. It did in a way, but I can't put my finger on why it didn't. Maybe it was overdone. The worms were meh.

I generally enjoy Denis Villeneuve films (Incendies being one of my all-time favourites). I've also seen Dune comparisons to 2001: A Space Odyssey, which I loved.

I'm a Hans Zimmer fan too but didn't think much of his soundtrack.

5/10

This is the review I've read that's closest to my thoughts, and I liked the reference to Nausicaa: ‘Dune’ Review: Denis Villeneuve’s Epic Spice Opera Is a Massive Disappointment

Saying that, I do hope there's a sequel and that I enjoy it. It does seem like a story that's better suited to a TV series (I know there was one in the early 2000s) and The Golden Compass (average film) vs His Dark Materials (excellent TV series) comes to mind.

 

[Mon0Zer0]

They were, as witnesses at the ceremony. Only disguised, so you didn't actually see them..

The guys in the space suits?

 

[Elckerlyc]

Yes, at least I think that was implied.
When the herald mentioned the witnesses ("members of the imperial court, Navigators, and a sister of the Bene Gesserit"), there was this shot with the guys in suits. But there were 2 kinds of suits. The other suits 'contained' members of the imperial court, I presume. You didn't actually got to see them either. Only the herald and the sister of the BG were recognizable.
No, please don't ask me why.

 

[Toby Frost]

I just like the idea of a big-budget SF film that isn't about superheroes*.


*Yeah, the kwisatz haderach and all that sort of thing, but you know what I mean.

 

[ctg]

Deadline’s reported that the new adaptation of Frank Herbert’s acclaimed novel has earned $40.1 million for the first weekend, also making it the highest domestic opening of Villeneuve’s career. Previously tracked for a range of $30-35 million, it’s ahead of expectations and is now the 8th film from WB. this year to open #1 at the box office. It’s been out internationally for weeks now—this weekend has earned the film $87.5 million, and it’s now at $220.7 million overall. Much of it, according to the Hollywood Reporter, can be attributed to IMAX and other large format screens, apparently accounting for 50% of the opening weekend.

Dune Is Dune Pretty Good at the Box Office

Timothee Chalamet's sci-fi film has plenty of spice and money to go around.

gizmodo.com

Dune (2021) - Financial Information

Financial analysis of Dune (2021) including budget, domestic and international box office gross, DVD and Blu-ray sales reports, total earnings and profitability.

www.the-numbers.com

165 million budget. So it's already on the profit and all the articles point out that it's a hit. Will it reach Titanic's numbers, I doubt it will but it has the potential. But so far, it seems that the number 2 is confirmed. We just have to see what will become of that HBO series and what that leaves for the number 2.

 

[BAYLOR]

Dune Is Dune Pretty Good at the Box Office

Timothee Chalamet's sci-fi film has plenty of spice and money to go around.

gizmodo.com

Dune (2021) - Financial Information

Financial analysis of Dune (2021) including budget, domestic and international box office gross, DVD and Blu-ray sales reports, total earnings and profitability.

www.the-numbers.com

165 million budget. So it's already on the profit and all the articles point out that it's a hit. Will it reach Titanic's numbers, I doubt it will but it has the potential. But so far, it seems that the number 2 is confirmed. We just have to see what will become of that HBO series and what that leaves for the number 2.

At least we'll get part two to complete the first book and that's perfectly fine.

 

[BAYLOR]

I just like the idea of a big-budget SF film that isn't about superheroes*.


*Yeah, the kwisatz haderach and all that sort of thing, but you know what I mean.

The Superhero genre is to this era what the Westerns were to film and television in the 40's 50s 60's and early 70's .

 

[Mon0Zer0]

The Superhero genre is to this era what the Westerns were to film and television in the 40's 50s 60's and early 70's .

I've yet to see a superhero film equal Once upon a time in the west, High Noon, The Searchers, Red River, Fistful of Dollars, Treasure of the sierra madre etc.

 

[BAYLOR]

I've yet to see a superhero film equal Once upon a time in the west, High Noon, The Searchers, Red River, Fistful of Dollars, Treasure of the sierra madre etc.

Hm, good point.

You might also add to that List The Oxbow Incident Book and film are both great.

And Shane as well both Book and movie.

 

[Ursa major]

165 million budget. So it's already on the profit

It's often said that the production budget (well, what was spent to create a film) is half of the total cost of the film.

If so, Dune Part 1 would need to bring in more than US$330 million at the box office to start making a profit.

 

[The Judge]

Well, I'm with AlexH in the Disappointed Corner.

I agree the cinematography was excellent -- the scenes of the desert were especially ravishing -- as were the special effects. Costume design was a bit meh, and I wasn't over-impressed with some of the sets. The long, lingering shots of various characters staring dolefully into the distance must have added a good 15 minutes to the run-time, and the repetitious dream sequences must have doubled that.

Didn't think much of how Jessica was played -- utterly wet for the first two hours and about as sensual as a damp dishcloth -- and the Duke wasn't much better, and it felt like Gurney had most of his scenes left on the cutting room floor. The school lesson thingummies were written like Wikipedia entries for the hard of thinking, and the script as a whole moved from banal to portentous and back again with barely a nod to realistic or intelligent anywhere along the line. Though to be scrupulously fair, there might have been more to it than that but I couldn't bloody well hear half the dialogue, because when the actors weren't mumbling they were drowned out by the sodding music. And the idea of the bagpipes was just just plain daft.

I'd rate it highly as a spectacle, but not for anything else.

 

[BAYLOR]

Well, I'm with AlexH in the Disappointed Corner.

I agree the cinematography was excellent -- the scenes of the desert were especially ravishing -- as were the special effects. Costume design was a bit meh, and I wasn't over-impressed with some of the sets. The long, lingering shots of various characters staring dolefully into the distance must have added a good 15 minutes to the run-time, and the repetitious dream sequences must have doubled that.

Didn't think much of how Jessica was played -- utterly wet for the first two hours and about as sensual as a damp dishcloth -- and the Duke wasn't much better, and it felt like Gurney had most of his scenes left on the cutting room floor. The school lesson thingummies were written like Wikipedia entries for the hard of thinking, and the script as a whole moved from banal to portentous and back again with barely a nod to realistic or intelligent anywhere along the line. Though to be scrupulously fair, there might have been more to it than that but I couldn't bloody well hear half the dialogue, because when the actors weren't mumbling they were drowned out by the sodding music. And the idea of the bagpipes was just just plain daft.

I'd rate it highly as a spectacle, but not for anything else.

At least it will be a hit and, we'll get part 2. So, it will get closure.

 

[ctg]

Didn't think much of how Jessica was played -- utterly wet for the first two hours and about as sensual as a damp dishcloth -- and the Duke wasn't much better, and it felt like Gurney had most of his scenes left on the cutting room floor. The school lesson thingummies were written like Wikipedia entries for the hard of thinking, and the script as a whole moved from banal to portentous and back again with barely a nod to realistic or intelligent anywhere along the line. Though to be scrupulously fair, there might have been more to it than that but I couldn't bloody well hear half the dialogue, because when the actors weren't mumbling they were drowned out by the sodding music. And the idea of the bagpipes was just just plain daft.

Your honour, do you consider yourself as a purist? I'm asking, because earliest reviews pointed out to purist hatred. Was there anything that you liked?

 

[The Judge]

Nope, not at all a purist -- I'm not a Dune fan-girl by any means. I've only read the first two books and really disliked the second, and though I have fond memories of reading the first book as a teenager, I had grave reservations about it on a re-read about 9 years ago. In fact, I'm so far from being a fan that when everyone here was talking about mentats and the rest, I was desperately trying to remember what they were!

The only aspect of my review that relates to my reading of the book is how Jessica is portrayed in the film. I remember her as a strong character, and that wasn't shown here to my mind, a least not at the beginning, and I have memories of Francesca Annis in the Lynch version, and at the time I thought she was perfect, though I can't recall anything of her performance now. It's entirely possible that in fact the characterisation shown in this film is more in keeping with the book than my memory is, but for me the performance felt wrong for a woman who is both BG, requiring strength of mind, and a courtesan, who ought to have some sexual allure.

Everything else I said related to it just as a film, with no reference to the book at all.

As to what I liked, as I said the visuals were stunning, and the ship designs were interesting. The fight scenes were well choreographed (though they went on too long for me) and some small touches were good eg the Harkonnen assassin found in a wall, Jessica with writing over her face, the bull and bullfighter prop. Oh, and Charlotte Rampling was good.

 

[CupofJoe]

Some people just don't have enough real work to do...

Dune: we simulated the desert planet of Arrakis to see if humans could survive there

Is Dune scientifically plausible? We ran a climate model to find out.

theconversation.com

 

[Ursa major]

You may laugh -- and, when the following was noticed by the UK press, this is what they did -- but there was a paper written by an academic examining if the weather pattern in Middle Earth (particular as regards to Mordor during the era in which The Lord of the Rings was being played out) matched the geography of the place. (Apparently, it did.) It also looked to see if there were locations on Earth that had the same weather as Mordor (which there were, one of which could be found in Australia).

A few years back, the author of the paper gave a talk at BristoCon based on his paper. Not only was it interesting in itself** but, as he explained, it provided an introduction into the study of the Earth's climate (include modelling it)... i.e. its use of Mordor was there to entice people to examine what is otherwise (and in spite of all the talk about climate change) a somewhat esoteric subject, one from which most people would run a mile if given the chance.


** - Thankfully so, as I had been wondering... er... whether I should attend it or another talk/panel elsewhere at the Con.

 

[svalbard]

Saw it last night. Cinema was packed. First time all year. I loved every minute of it. I am biased as I am a big fan of the director.

 

[AlexH]

The sequel has been confirmed, which I'm pleased about despite not enjoying the first part. I've never read Dune either, but hopefully the context of the first film has set up the sequel well.

 

[Toby Frost]

It was pretty decent. There seemed to be a lot of dream sequences, but thankfully not too much staring at sand, which I had worried about since watching the Blade Runner sequel.

It's a better film than the Lynch version because it makes more sense, the effects are superior (although, for 1984, the Lynch film's effects are very good) and it has more space and time to tell its complicated story. However, I felt that the royal family were generally better at being stern but likable in Lynch's film (especially Jurgen Prochnow as the duke). Timothee Chalomet is better cast than Kyle MacLachlan.

Jessica is simply done wrong, and resembles a consumptive governess from a Victorian ghost story rather than the courtesan/killer that she is in the book. The Francesca Annis version is much better. Overall, the Harkonnens are well-portrayed - Dave Bautista is very good as Beast Rabban - although the Baron does resemble Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now, and at points it's hard to tell what people are saying (not counting the lines that aren't in English).

There's a certain underwhelming quality to some of the costumes and sets. It feels slightly underplayed and washed-out. I think, with a setting like this, you've got to go for the throat. If you're going to imply that the Sardaukar drink blood, they should be swilling it by the pint. There seemed to be a lot of soldiers dressed like motorcyclists.

But overall, it was good stuff. I liked the big pyrotechnic scenes, especially Duncan Idaho's escape in an ornithopter, and it was remarkably clear in its storytelling. I look forward to seeing the second part.