A thread about the Denis Villeneuve-helmed reboot of DUNE

I get that, I just don’t think I’ve ever read that word in criticism and agreed with it as a mark against a film. Like even for a movie I don’t like I generally don’t think the reason it sucks is because “too srs”.

I mean Dune is a story that features dudes riding giant sand worms and it plays it totally straight and it kinda works just fine?

As bad as that Space Captain Hugh Laurie show turned out, I'm still in favor of Iannucci doing Dune.

Realized last night that Chalamet looks like an anime character in this, and his personality is very Shinji from NGE.

Dune's overwhelming seriousness is in itself a bit funny.

What I definitely found funny is my partner spent the whole film thinking Paul belonged to something called "The House of
Trade-ies", so named because they were good at trading.

I love that. Might start using it.

lol

The Lynch Dune is so serious it's funny like when the Doctor starts weeping when he gives up Leto and he's in like a space corner crying at the spice club

Something like Dune (new version) has more in common with a Cecil B DeMille blockbuster, or an Irwin Allen disaster movie, than one-off, idiosyncratic auteur genre exercises like Rosemary's Baby or Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This new Dune is a big, Oscar-aspiring studio product that doesn't WANT laughs, in the same way that the solemn religiosity of Ben-Hur would be undermined by Chuck quipping his way round the chariot track.

peplums! in! spaaaaaaace!

This still needs to happen

Henry James in Space

Saw this last night, came away with the same tepid feeling I had for the previous Villeneuve sci-fi films. It’s fine, but I didn't find much there to be absolutely in love with.

than one-off, idiosyncratic auteur genre exercises like... Texas Chainsaw Massacre

hooper produced a ton of crazy movies that aren't exactly like tcm but eaten alive surely suggests it wasn't a one-off

I can't believe they did it. pic.twitter.com/ORx6iiSuE9

— 🎃 Doomavon "Spooky" Indoscreamo Crawley 🎃 (@hellodonavon) October 27, 2021

eat it or snort it, kids.

I've seen folk suggesting that by Dune Messiah, Paul has been transformed into a blind fascist dictator and embraces death camps and systematic genocide. That will be a good opportunity to inject some running gags 'n' funnies into the franchise!

not so much embraces, more like "oh well, I caused billions of people to be killed, guess I'll go brood on this for a bit"

Gonna see how they handle Paul turning Irulan into his council meeting stenographer.

that 2006 extended cut of Dune 1984 is not good, can see why Lynch disowned it. NTR sounding presenter with intrusive voiceover doing unwanted Dune-splaining, rubbish illustrations while the prologue is read out by the same voice. Lol it even opens up with a closeup of a paperback copy of the book. I reckon there could be something better than the heavily cut theatrical release put together from the 4 hours Lynch apparently shot.

holy shit this fucking movie

That can be read numerous ways (which seems appropriate for Dune)

"smile Gurney"

"I am smiling"

^^^

ffs this is another joke!

I had insomnia last night and went a bit into the book and remembered that Gurney is a warrior/troubadour, lol yeah I forgot about Patrick Stewart's oversized mandolin! And in the book he has a scar on his face from some adventure in a Harkonnen dungeon.

I would struggle to see how it could have been any better, tbh

Gonna read thread now and get furious at any slight criticism

All the humour was condensed in advance into the diana trailer which i fucking pissed myself through and the more so when my brother leaned over and suggested owen wilson a better casting decision than the chosen starlet

I had insomnia last night and went a bit into the book and remembered that Gurney is a warrior/troubadour, lol yeah I forgot about Patrick Stewart's oversized mandolin!

lol It's a not-so-well disguised Chapman Stick!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-zEMitTkaU

they really shouldve had josh brolin play

in the book it's more about baudy shagging songs with Gurney. Paul advises him not to let his mum hear him singing this stuff or parts of him will be mounted on the walls.

Jaysus lads how some of ye upthread follow movies at all bewilders me ye come out of them so clueless of what happened in front of ye

Brad as always otm obv

in the book it's more about baudy shagging songs with Gurney.

I felt it was missing a scene in a rowdy Arrakis pub.

Dune: Messiah adaptation with Kyle Maclachlan as Paul/Muad'Dib

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5Eoek8a500

that 2006 extended cut of Dune 1984 is not good, can see why Lynch disowned it. NTR sounding presenter with intrusive voiceover doing unwanted Dune-splaining, rubbish illustrations while the prologue is read out by the same voice. Lol it even opens up with a closeup of a paperback copy of the book. I reckon there could be something better than the heavily cut theatrical release put together from the 4 hours Lynch apparently shot.

― calzino, Friday, October 29, 2021 10:07 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

There's a couple of versions of that floating round, IMO the good version is the "Alternative Edition Redux" edit which doesn't have the dumb storybook narration tacked on at the beginning (which is from the disowned-by-Lynch TV version)

the good cut can never be made bcz lynch doesnt like sand and didn't film enough

lynch: is that the dune? *films it for a couple of minutes* that'll do, sand sucks, what this movie needs is more pugs and eyebrows

the strange baroque-noir aesthetic and eyebrowed up mentats in Lynch's Dune is good stuff imo!

I would like to see an extended cut with more pugs

a pug's history of maud'dib, by the princess irulan

Sudden desire to own a pug named Irulan

I truly love darragh’s entry into this thread.

truly he is the old man of the desert (ilx)

dunkon idunnos

I have a lot to say about this

but first - does josh brolin die in that attack or...? I mean, that's the last we see of him, right?

also bugged me how Duncan's facial hair changed like 3 times in the first thirty minutes. Like "I'm off to live among the Fremen and study their ways, may not return, see ya, but hey lemme first get rid of this Dimebag Darrell beard, gotta look presentable"

Also something tells me 8000 years from now no one will be using phrases like "we're good to go," and "that was insane" (when seeing a sandworm for the first time) but tbf I could be better with suspension of disbelief, I mean it also bugs me that everyone in this movie speaks english and has product in their conspicuously bedheaded hair

this was very well done. i appreciated that this baron won't give me nightmares, unlike the one in lynch's movie.

― treeship., Monday, October 25, 2021 5:17 AM (four days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Nightmare fuel is seriously what this remake was sorely lacking imo and Baron Brando is largely to blame

I did love that unlike the Lynch version in this they accent the first syllable of 'Harkonnen' so now it sounds like the Finnish surname I always hear in my head when I see the word.

― joygoat, Monday, October 25, 2021 10:02 AM (four days ago) bookmarkflaglink

I dunno if there is a Herbertian consensus on pronunciation but it bugged me that it was pronounced differently

Lynch Dune is 1000x better.

― Jaime Pressly and America (f. hazel), Tuesday, October 26, 2021 1:48 PM (three days ago) bookmarkflaglink

If you remember lynch dune brolin was Patrick Stewart & he bumps into Paul again later during a battle

Right! Guess they're saving that for part 2. Ready for some Alia and Feyd too

I'd just say that the nearly universal rule in modern movies and TV is if you don't see a dead body, there probably isn't one

I’m watching this again, seeing what hits me now that I’m not hyper scrutinizing everything. Chalamet is really good! Someone was scoffing about his performance upthread, but it’s kinda perfect.

Ready for some Alia and Feyd too

Highly doubting the latter.

Meantime, cool interview

https://www.vulture.com/2021/10/stephen-mckinley-henderson-on-dune-lady-bird-and-timothe.html

Did you have any connection to Frank Herbert’s novels before accepting the role?

No. I remembered the book because I had a dear friend who loved it and would often quote from those passages. In each chapter, there’s a verse or an adage — some bit of wisdom. My friend, as he was reading the book, would tell me, “Hey, man, you should hear this one.” Even if you hadn’t read the book, you understood what issues were being dealt with and some of the spiritual nature of it. My buddy knew I had an interest in theology and philosophy. So that was my connection to it. I had started it once, I must admit, and did not finish...

My single favorite image in Dune is you walking with the cute little parasol. Was that detail in the script?

I’m so glad you mentioned that. That’s just delightful. It is a character that’s quite apart from me. The first thing I said was, “I’m playing a Mentat. I consider myself a passionate, feeling person, and this person is a very calculated individual. He’s an alien!” But here’s what happened. We were there in Budapest. [The rest of the cast] had come from Jordan; they’d been in the desert, but I never had to go to the desert. They came back with this incredible spiritual journey they’d been on, and they were sharing it. It was a really hot day when we were shooting. I was sitting off to the side, out in the sun. There’s nothing around, so there’s no shade. I think someone just offered it to me, not to be part of the scene at all but just to protect me. And Denis loved it. He came over and said, “Ah, you like this?” I said, “Yeah, I love it.” And he said, “Well, I think Thufir can have this.” I said, “I would love to do that; that’s fabulous.” It just says so much about where he is at the time and that he’s taking care of himself. He was a young man once. It was one of those wonderful spontaneous things.

It stands out because it’s such a human thing to be carrying a little umbrella to shield yourself from the sun.

Yeah, and it’s something that someone who’s not human would be attracted to. I just think it’s the desire to really be a part of these wonderful people as the alien that he is. It’s a very civilized thing to have.

Whoops, left out more about his reaction to the book:

I think a lot of people can relate to that.

But after I got the call from Denis, I jumped in. I was thoroughly engrossed with it, and it’s become one of my favorite books. I do understand why so many people were motivated by the book. A lot of writers and sci-fi people were inspired to do their own thing because of the elements of that.