Dune (film) - 2021

[Neil]

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https://www.unilad.co.uk/film-and-tv/first-look-at-denis-villeneuves-film-adaption-of-legendary-sci-fi-classic-dune

[EvilNed]

Much of the casting is spot on. Oscar Isaac as the Duke is perfect. However if you wanted to be even closer to the book, you could make the argument that the Atreides are actually supposed to be black... Idris Elba would not have been a bad choice either.

Chamalet is much too brooding for my taste, though. He's not interesting at all and I don't think he can carry a film of this level. He couldn't quite carry The King, and this is bigger. They're repeating the mistakes made by previous epics, such as Kingdom of Heaven, by casting a way to low energy actor in their starring role which might risk bringing the film down with it.

I'm on the fence of Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck as well, but it might work out. In the book he's portrayed as a boisterous and flamboyant bard. Not sure if that's how they're going with this character here.

Looking over IMDB I can see they haven't announced the casting of either Feyd Rautha or Count Fenring. I suppose you could write them both out of the film and have Rabban take over Rauthas role in the narrative, but the opposite would be more interesting.

[bassman]

This is easily in my top three most anticipated films. Villenue hasn’t let me down yet, so hopefully he’s being given the freedom to make these two films the way he see fit.

[shootemindehead]

Not mad on Chalamet as Paul Atreides at all, have to say.

And as bad as Lynch's 'Dune' can sink to, this film is going to have a hard time competing with the look that that film has engrained in the minds of viewers. Lynch's Baroque sets were probably the best thing about that film.

[MistressVirus]

Not mad on Chalamet as Paul Atreides at all, have to say.

And as bad as Lynch's 'Dune' can sink to, this film is going to have a hard time competing with the look that that film has engrained in the minds of viewers. Lynch's Baroque sets were probably the best thing about that film.

I loved the old Dune!! I hope this new one is as good?

[Exatreides]

As the resident person with a dune based username for 15 years and counting...

I'm pretty excited. Dune is such a rough project to tackle on film. I'm happy to see that this will be a two part film. Lynch couldn't fit it into one movie. The Sci Fi channel needed a three part mini series to do it any justice. Plus, think of all the new Dune games that are going to come from this. I'm pretty excited on that front as well.

[EvilNed]

As the resident person with a dune based username for 15 years and counting...

I'm pretty excited. Dune is such a rough project to tackle on film. I'm happy to see that this will be a two part film. Lynch couldn't fit it into one movie. The Sci Fi channel needed a three part mini series to do it any justice. Plus, think of all the new Dune games that are going to come from this. I'm pretty excited on that front as well.

I'm glad it's two films as well, because I agree with you - there's no way it can be only one film. Both films should end with the respective attack on Arrakeen.

[shootemindehead]

There's still a lot to like about Lynch's effort though. Even if it's...uneven...to be kind about it.

There's an awful lot in Lynch's film that I just automatically associate with 'Dune' as a story now. Some of his visuals were fantastic.

I'm cautiously optimistic about this version. On the one hand I like the director. On the other, I am not so sure about some of his casting choices. Plus, 'Dune' is an absolute swine to get onto the screen. Nobody from Jodorowsky to Lynch to SYFY have done it well. In the case of Jodorowsky, not at all, despite great effort. Although, we should all be kind of thankful for that. If people thought Lunch's 'Dune' was weird, I have no idea what would have been made of Jodorowsky's.

[Neil]

Sort of think the famous faces risk distracting from it?

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[shootemindehead]

Chamalet is going to mumblecore his way through this, isn't he.

[EvilNed]

I don't mind the famous faces, and I think it'll be an epic ride. Looks like in some ways it's approaching the books in ways the Lynch-film did not - which I appreciate. But there's two aspects I'm not digging, one is Chamelet. He can't carry a film like this. We already saw The King and he looks to put on the exact same performance here. It's underwhelming, lifeless and introverted. I can't relate to that. Why should I care about him?

The other are the aesthetics. It's so dry, polished and cold. The Dune universe is fucking crazy, mutated beings folding space, gelatinous perverts with deformed bodies, drunken bards with lutes and swords etc, etc. It's very fanciful. This adaption does not seem to be doing that aspect of it justice.

[bassman]

I’m on board! Although it’s lengthy, I consider this more of teaser. Especially because they know it likely won’t make it’s release window. So if that’s the case, this may be the very tip of the iceberg.

[Mike70]

I'm going to shit all over this. Dune, as Frank Herbert wrote it, is...not movie material. It's too dense, too complex, too rich, and way too intelligent to be broken down in even a miniseries. This is one of the modern "holy books" to me. It tells about what it means to be human in a way that no other novel has come close to. I'm not a fan of Frank Herbert adaptations. His work was very, very esoteric in nature. Very deep, very dark and not for mass consumption. To me that's the whole point of Dune. Most people are not going to "get it." They are the "animals" of which the Reverend Mother spoke.

[shootemindehead]

Pushed back til October 2021 so I heard.

[MinionZombie]

I'm going to shit all over this.


Pushed back til October 2021 so I heard.

That's a long time for Mike to hold it in ... poor bugger. :lol::D

[shootemindehead]

That's a long time for Mike to hold it in ... poor bugger. :lol::D

He can do it. Ex army. They teach you that...so I've heard.

[Neil]

Some views form a test screening...

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[Mike70]

Not mad on Chalamet as Paul Atreides at all, have to say.


Ditto. He looks too fragile to play Paul. I don't dig the stillsuit look either. Seems they wussed out and left the faces uncovered...probably in pretty boy Chalamet's contract.

I have very, very, very low expectations of anything on film called "Dune." That book is so thick, so deep, and so intricate, that not even a mini-series has been able to really tap into it. I doubt any film ever will. There is simply too much going on in that book for film.

[shootemindehead]

I'd be in that camp as well. I just think it's one of those hard-to-translate-to-the-screen movies. Some of Lynch's movie's design was fantastic and I think he managed to understand it visually. But over all that film is a disaster.

But Villeneuve has a good eye and I like his previous stuff. I was very pleasantly surprised by his Blade Runner effort, I have to say. So, I'll give him a chance.

[Mike70]

I'd be in that camp as well. I just think it's one of those hard-to-translate-to-the-screen movies. Some of Lynch's movie's design was fantastic and I think he managed to understand it visually. But over all that film is a disaster.

But Villeneuve has a good eye and I like his previous stuff. I was very pleasantly surprised by his Blade Runner effort, I have to say. So, I'll give him a chance.

I'll give it a look too. I'm a huge fan of Dune and I really do hope this movie makes me eat my words. I've hoped that about every Dune effort. The mini-series had some decent things going for it but didn't bring it on home. The David Lynch movie....yikes...that's a mess. Death by intro and voice over. That film has like 3 introductions that take up way too much time. Hopefully, this avoids getting bogged down in inner monologues, explanations, and voodoo.

The inner monologues that add so much to the book are out of place in a movie and end up sounding like dreary exposition.

[Neil]

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[paranoid101]

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That look amazing.

[EvilNed]

Looking good!

holy shit only a little more than a month away

[Neil]

Looking good!

holy shit only a little more than a month away

Fingers crossed... A couple of my friends are massive Dune fans so have a lot of interest in this!

[bassman]

I’m so excited for this. Been listening to the Dune audiobook recently to prepare for its release. Hopefully it’s successful and the two parties can cooperate long enough to get the next part of the story produced. It will be a shame if Villineuve pulls out of the second part because of Warner Brothers’ streaming decisions.

[Neil]

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[EvilNed]

Saw it last night. Not great. Very talky and pretentious. The first scene that moved me in any way occurred more than an hour in, and it was only one of two.

It's just not emotional at all. It's all visuals and exposition.

[Neil]

Oh dear!

[EvilNed]

It follows the book very closely, except for the omission of Count Fenring, Feyd Rautha and Liet Kynes is gender-swapped.

But, perhaps, this is also it's greatest weakness.. Paul's visions should perhaps been left in the book. They disrupt the narrative and create a distance from me to the plot.

[JDP]

and Liet Kynes is gender-swapped

Wokeune?

[Neil]

Anyone else here seen it then?

[EvilNed]

Wokeune?

No, nothing like that. Probably just an attempt to inject more female characters in a fairly male cast, and she's not really portrayed as being a superhuman or anything like that. Her fate is more or less the same as in the books, with a slight variation.

In fact, I think the film doesn't go far enough. A perfectly good case can be made for House Atreides being black. The only physical description we get of them in the book is that Paul's grandfather was dark. I think they should have gone down that route, it would have made sense within the lore and not felt shoehorned in at all.

[EvilNed]

Still nobody else seen this?

[shootemindehead]

Seen it last night. It's a very good adaptation and even at 2.5 hours it flies by.

Hope it makes its shillings and we get part 2.

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Wokeune?

Not really, but it was definitely just a box ticking exercise. That being said the actress is decent enough in the role.

The only issue we had with it was the knock on effects it might have with the Femen as a whole. The Fremen are a strict patriarchy where their women (who were few in number) were little more than possessions and Liet Kynes now being a woman puts that into a bit of flux cos in the book he was their leader. So some further changes may need to happen to pave over those potential cracks.

It's just all a bit unnecessary though and rather pointless as the film already boast a pretty diverse cast as it is.

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No, nothing like that. Probably just an attempt to inject more female characters in a fairly male cast, and she's not really portrayed as being a superhuman or anything like that. Her fate is more or less the same as in the books, with a slight variation.

In fact, I think the film doesn't go far enough. A perfectly good case can be made for House Atreides being black. The only physical description we get of them in the book is that Paul's grandfather was dark. I think they should have gone down that route, it would have made sense within the lore and not felt shoehorned in at all.

Aren't the House Atreides descended from Greeks? So no, there's not a case to be made for them to be black, or at least sub Saharan African black.

However, in the movie at least the Fremen are darker skinned which probably is a better reflection of them than the 1984 movie.

[EvilNed]

Aren't the House Atreides descended from Greeks? So no, there's not a case to be made for them to be black, or at least sub Saharan African black.

However, in the movie at least the Fremen are darker skinned which probably is a better reflection of them than the 1984 movie.

This is not mentioned in the book, so no.

[shootemindehead]

It's mentioned in 'God Emperor of Dune', Leto II sees back in time and relates that the Atreides family are the descendents of Agamemnon and Menelaus. The sons of Atreus, hence the family name.

He says "My paternal grandfather was The Atreides, descendant of the House of Atreus and tracing his ancestry directly back to the Greek original"

In 'Children of Dune', Alia (Paul's sister) sees memories of being the descendent of Agamemnon.

So, while it's not mentioned specifically in 'Dune', it is in the books.

In any case, Dune takes place 8000 years into the future. Who knows what the hell they look like.

[EvilNed]

Maybe they're green.

[Neil]

Well, that was a fairly solid flick wasn't it :)

Seems part 2 has been greenlit, and now JUST TWO YEARS TO WAIT :(

HOME THERE'S AN EXTENDED VERSION ON THE WAY!

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[shootemindehead]

Yeah, I thought there might have been alright. Even at 2.5 hours it seemed that there may have been a substantial amount of material left on the cutting room floor. We barely see the Harkonen and there's a lot of fleeting passages in the film. Hopefully the extended blu will add back in some good stuff that had to be cut.

[EvilNed]

On my last film, which wrapped shooting 3 weeks ago, I had the fortune to work with the makeup designers who designed the Baron's... "body suit". We've worked before, but it was really interesting to talk to them after I saw the film and hear stories from the set.

[shootemindehead]

Well, what did they have to say?

[paranoid101]

Looking forward to seeing this, nice to see so many positive reviews.

[Neil]

Looking forward to seeing this, nice to see so many positive reviews.

Definately a thinky slow burner. Which is why I'm hoping there's an extended version to be had...

[EvilNed]

Definately a thinky slow burner. Which is why I'm hoping there's an extended version to be had...

Let's be real, it's slow yes. But it's not that cerebral.

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Well, what did they have to say?

Mostly talked about the mood on set, how huge it was.
We talked a little bit about how easy it is to get fired in that culture. One mistake and you're out.

[Neil]

We talked a little bit about how easy it is to get fired in that culture. One mistake and you're out.

There's an Alex Baldwin joke in there somewhere...

[Neil]

I'm going through the books now...

Book 1 done... On to no. 2.

[Neil]

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