A thread about the Denis Villeneuve-helmed reboot of DUNE

AFI Silver, this weekend, on 70mm film. I barely know anything about the Dune-i-verse, but I'm taking my mother.

did you see part 1?

"I'm taking my mother"

for you ARE the kwisatz haderach

taking off of half of work today to see this

same

I barely know anything about the Dune-i-verse

It's very complicated. There are good guys and bad guys as per usual, but they come in a lot of flavors to placate the fans of the 7 or 8 Dune books. The first film was mainly about exposition, but this one will probably opt for atmosphere and spectacle. Have fun!

7 or 8 or 23 or possibly 26 or 28

worms poop drug that lets you see the future

Is this a jump rope?

https://64.media.tumblr.com/8aa046adb99a01fdc11285550fa0492a/tumblr_omcyn3co1s1tpdqt1o1_640.jpg

I have seen and enjoyed part 2

same. incredible atmosphere.

I saw part 1 with my mother. I was largely lost, but she's familiar with the books and told me more in extensive detail.

I’m sure someone dropped this already, but a good catch-up guide before the new film:

https://maxread.substack.com/p/dune-annotated

I was reading it again before sending it to friends and forgot how max put it in terms for people very online

I've read half the book recently (waiting till after the film to read the second half) (iirc I read it maybe 30 years ago, didn't remember anything) and it was less dense than I was expecting. If there's two things the movie skimps on it's that 1) no computers, mentats! and b) paul is atreides AND harkonnen AND bene gesserit AND a mentat and hence the kwisatz haderach. Obviously.

https://c.tenor.com/ce1VXmViNMgAAAAd/tenor.gif

*mentat eyeroll* can't believe they're asking me to do ridiculous computations in my head again

An interview (probably one of many) with Villeneuve here: https://screencrush.com/denis-villeneuve-dune-part-two-interview/

I strongly agree with him: we should have gotten more Thufir Hawat

I watched a torrented cam job of part two last night, some disgusting savage resting their foot on the back of a cinema chair completely ruined some of the desert scenes.

lmao

how hard could it be to synthesize spice

it's like 10,000 balisets when all u need is a synth

It's the worm riding that I don't understand. How can a huge unpredictable creature be relied upon to get from a to b. Like, come on hurry up - the 8.37 to Southern Arakis will soon be arriving at the station, don't leave your baggage too close to its giant anus.

God help you if you ride coach

drink enough of a creature’s vital fluid and you will come to understand the creature. how do you think we figured out horses?

I just want to go to Dune World amusement park and get some spice fries

in the book they explain that you use the hooks separate the chitinous plates of the worm and it turns to avoid getting sand in there, and that functions for steering

Worms need to unionize imo

pail atreides is remy the rat

the way they extract the water of life from the babby worms looks painful and cruel, no wonder the old ones are a bit radge at times

Well, I liked it a lot. Better than the first film even!

there were a number of interesting bits that did or didn’t happen that seemed like Denis read some online comments

I think Paul alludes to the concept once but at no point does anyone say “desert power”

I still am bemused that got a lot of stick because it's in the book!

i was slightly mixed on this, but villeneuve is otherworldly as a creator of images. there are like 20 shots in the movie that feel like things no one has ever done before.

I think he was probably right to collapse the political maneuvering to fewer entities even if it short changes the story. It might seem cheap to collapse things to Chani staring in disappointment and maybe a hint of disgust, but I think it crafts an effective story

especially since zendaya's mad/disappointed face is so effective!

i'm not sure yet what my notes would be other than "adapting only the second half of dune is going to be hard" but to be clear it's at least like 90% successful in doing so

I liked it for spectacle, as story it felt a bit crammed-in even with what it left out. I did like the moral ambiguity of the ending.

Just rewatched 1. Had forgotten how abrupt the ending is.

I think Paul alludes to the concept once but at no point does anyone say “desert power”

yes they should have been saying "desert vibes"

I saw 2 last night, after finally finishing 1 the night before. Bring on 3, like, ASAP please.

I wanna know how much Anya Taylor-Joy got paid for her 22 seconds of screen time.

felt pretty similarly about this one as I did the first, which is that it was fine but overlong and soulless. I just don’t really like villeneuve or (particularly) zimmer honestly.

Well, well.

The follow-up was originally slated to hit the big screen last fall, but it was delayed to spring because of the actors strike, which prevented stars Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh and the rest of the sprawling, buzzy cast from being able to promote the movie. On its new release date, the second “Dune” benefited from pent-up demand; there hasn’t been a blockbuster in weeks.

Opening grosses for “Dune 2,” on the heels of Warner’s fantasy musical “Wonka,” appear to confirm Chalamet as the rarest of species: a bankable leading man. And outsized commercial results might position Villeneuve, with the possible exception of Christopher Nolan, as the filmmaker best able to deliver the types of brainy big-screen spectacles that can appeal to wide audiences.

Being oh so familiar with the story made me impatient during the storytelling, annoyed by the glosses and shortcuts, and a bit baffled by plot changes. One in particular made little sense and also squandered a "big-moment" - in the books Rabban is tanking the spice production, Feyd is never governor. The Emperor is ticked off so comes to Arrakis to hold them to account; Paul leads the Fremen through the shield wall and corners Shaddam and the Baron who are shocked that he's alive, before he takes control. But in the film it's just "Dear Emperor, I'm the heir you thought was dead, why not come and have a fight," which seems pretty stupid since turning up to fight Atreides rather gives away that he had them wiped out in the first place, which he needs to conceal at all costs, and is the lever which unthrones him.

The Hollywood brain trust (shorthand for studio execs, producers, directors, writers, etc.) know that, although the Dune books have a seriously hardcore fan base, the preponderance of their audience will be made up of people who never read the books, don't read much of anything at all, and who just want to watch a movie that entertains them, rather than overloads them with complicated imaginary situations that only confuse their stressed-out brains. This might be sad for the book-loving fan base, but it's also perfectly true.

Yeah I just mean that the choice they made, which wasn't necessary, directly contradicts the motivation which drives the outcome, and robs them of a big reveal moment too.

I liked the adaptive smudges, Alia being “a talking embryo” and Leto Jr. not existing at all. The Feyd-Rautha exposition on Giedi Prime was amazing, like an AI Rick Owens commercial, I loved it. I loved Austin Butler. Denis made a compelling love story! first time for everything. Javier Bardem was great as Prince Faisal. Timothee’s stuntman deserves Best Actor. Good movie can’t wait to watch again.

Yeah I think this is really exceptional, a giant sci fi blockbuster that is well directed, great acting and screenwriting, with genuine emotion.

Further to fgti’s point, the Giedi Prime sequence was remarkable — those smeary fireworks! — and this is worth a read:

https://variety.com/2024/artisans/news/dune-2-shooting-arena-fight-scene-infrared-1235927682/

Definitely enjoyed it, just not as much as the first

Denis made a compelling love story! first time for everything.

i thought the ryan gosling / ana de armas love story in blade runner 2049 was really well-explored fwiw, and perfectly philip k dick