Author Topic: Dune opens Oct 21 ***spoilers***  (Read 2510 times)

Offline alyssa

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Re: Dune opens Oct 21 ***spoilers***
« Reply #15 on: October 22, 2021, 03:39:07 PM »
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While watching it I kept having flashbacks to the Lynch version.  Which I didn't think was bad.  But from what I can tell, I'm in the minority.

Not in the minority as far as i'm concerned. A lot of the dialog is the same - I didn't compare the cinematography but i sure did compare the words
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Offline perc2100

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Re: Dune opens Oct 21 ***spoilers***
« Reply #16 on: October 23, 2021, 05:43:08 PM »
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While watching it I kept having flashbacks to the Lynch version.  Which I didn't think was bad.  But from what I can tell, I'm in the minority.
I...appreciate that movie.  I think adapting that book into one movie was (obviously) incredibly difficult, and the studio recut the snot out of Lynch's film: so much so that some TV cuts had a pseudonym for writer & director instead of Lynch - per his request because he was so upset about their meddling (he didn't do that for the theatrical cut because of his contract).  I too was thinking about his version when watching the film yesterday, as there are obviously similarities since it's adapted from the same novel.
I missed the original film in theaters for some reason (it came out the same year A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET did, and oddly I saw that one in theaters, though I was only 8), but I remember renting it on VHS and sitting through that opening narration and thinking "this is so NOT Star Wars...." and I was captivated at how different and "adult" it felt to me at that time: I always felt reverence towards it.  Nowadays, I appreciate it for what Lynch was trying to do, and while it's pretty darn problematic it has a great look to it.

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Re: Dune opens Oct 21 ***spoilers***
« Reply #17 on: Today at 06:59:42 AM »

Offline Miclpea

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Re: Dune opens Oct 21 ***spoilers***
« Reply #17 on: October 23, 2021, 05:51:57 PM »
Has anyone seen the SYFY channel version? I liked that they tried.


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Offline alyssa

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Re: Dune opens Oct 21 ***spoilers***
« Reply #18 on: October 23, 2021, 05:58:16 PM »
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Has anyone seen the SYFY channel version? I liked that they tried.


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it was forgettable. I think i have it on dvd someplace

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Offline alyssa

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Re: Dune opens Oct 21 ***spoilers***
« Reply #19 on: October 24, 2021, 07:29:55 AM »
dune 2 was green lit

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Offline perc2100

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Re: Dune opens Oct 21 ***spoilers***
« Reply #20 on: October 27, 2021, 09:35:15 AM »
I was finally able to see DUNE part 1 Tuesday.  First, seeing that title screen with "part 1" was the first I've seen it 'revealed' as a part 1.  I know at this point part 2 has been greenlit (and was announced as greenlit before I saw part 1), but from all the trailers and advertising the was the first I've seen an official studio acknowledgement that the official plan was a multi-part saga.  I know director Denis Villeneuve has said often in interviews and presentations that he _hopes_ to do a part 2, and this film is really just the first half of the book, etc. but with the way Hollywood rolls I kind of presumed Villeneuve was more hoping/wishing/praying the film would do well enough to garner a part 2.  With the date announced for LESS than two years until release, part 2 would've likely had to have been fairly far along in development for such a big, VFX-heavy film.
Other October 2023 movies officially announced:
* 10/6 untitled Sony Marvel film (Venom 3, perhaps?  Maybe another Spidey villain spinoff?)
* 10/13 Exorcist (sequel to the original early 1970's film by David Gordon Green of the most recent HALLOWEEN films that brings back Ellen Burstyn, the mom from the original; Leslie Odom Jr. from MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK, ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI, and of course Aaron Burr from the original "Hamilton" Broadway cast is attached as a star)

October 2023 is gonna be LIT, which likely means Comic-Con 2023 will have some great panels with plenty of footage opportunities with three films alone!!

Offline perc2100

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Re: Dune opens Oct 21 ***spoilers***
« Reply #21 on: October 27, 2021, 12:10:49 PM »
DUNE part 1 is a really well done science fiction film adaptation of an incredibly complex and dense novel.  The film delves in themes of aristocracy and colonialism, as well as religion and freewill vs destiny.  While part 1 absolutely feels like only half a story, it does have a good climax that makes the film mostly work on its own, while also enticing viewers with what's to come.

While we do only get 'half' of the full story in DUNE part 1, we still get a dense one rich with compelling characters and excellent acting performances throughout.  Oscar Isaac is excellent as Duke Leto, head of the family Atreides: one of the ruling families of the galaxy, one that has ruled for seemingly countless generations.  Timothee Chalamet plays Leto's son Paul: not just the heir apparent to the Atreides empire, but also _potentially_ the figure of a long-standing prophecy of a great leader that may unite the entire galaxy.  His mom is Lady Jessica, played with nuance by Rebecca Ferguson; she comes from a line of Bene Gesserit, "space nuns" who are a key political force in the Dune galaxy.  Lady Jessica was instructed by the head Priest space nun (the character Gaius Helen Mohiam) of Bene Gesserit to sire a daughter for Leto, but intentionally births a son whom Mohiam has interest.  She can see, via visions, the promise Paul has.
Other members of the Artreides empire include Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin), a trusted leader who helps train Paul in weapons fighting, and the incredibly awesomed named Duncan Idaho (Jason Mamoa, in a role that seemed to require his beard to radically change length and girth throughout the film) as Leto's most trusted warrior and tactition: the one trusted to oversee Leto's most challenging endeavor of ruling over the planet Arrakis after the galactic Emperor decrees the Artreides family is now to control the planet and its spice production, taking that reign away from the House Harkonnen.

The House Atreides are set up as the good guys of the story: the peaceful House from an oceanic planet who is commanded to take of Arrakis from the bad guy House Harkonnen who rule with an iron fist, to put it lightly.

And how about that House Harkonnen.  Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (played with menace in a glorious fat suit by Stellan Skarsgard) can levitate and seems to murder with glee.  He has zero cares about the Freman people, the people that inhabit Arrakis and are the only ones who have adapted and thrived on the desert planet.  Vladimir's 2nd in command/commander of the army/brute squad (in part 1, at least) is Beast Rabban Harkonnen (played by Dave Bautista).  All of the House Harkonnen appear pale and bald, and wear black: as all bad guys typically do.  They want nothing more than to profit off of spice, both a drug AND means of space travel.  The Emperor has taken away their means of harvesting the spice, but House Harkonnen schemes to take it back from force from House Atreides, wiping out the entire family to eliminate their threat permanently.  Even when the head space nun tells the Baron to not kill Paul or Lady Jessica and Baron confirms he won't, the plan is still to dump the two in the desert to die of exposure: thus eliminating the bloodline.

A large portion of the film set ups not only all of these characters and more: the situation of the warring Houses, the galactic structure of the Empire, delving into religion and prophecy (complete with Paul having visions of his seeming destiny - some of which he interprets as fulfilling in the 3rd act of this film), and House Artreides taking over spice production, striving to build an alliance with the Arrakis Fremen people, House Harkonnen sneak-attacking House Atreides on Arrakis, finding out the galactic Emperor sanctioned said sneak-attack (in order to cut-down the power 'threat' of Leto and his House), etc.

And we haven't even really talked about/delved into the Fremen situation!  They're led by Stilgar (played by Javier Bardem, utilizing yet another great though unidentifiable accent) who is a just leader looking for little more than for his people to be left alone, and kept out of any war.  Harkonnens mistreated them, and looked upon the Fremen as savages to be put to work or killed entirely; Leto vows to respect the Fremen, wanting to coexist together.  There's also Chani (Zendaya), a Fremen whom Paul has visions of; she seemingly at the center of marketing for DUNE part 1, yet doesn't appear 'in person' until the last minutes of the film - albeit integral last minutes.  Liet Kynes (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) is a sort of liaison between the Fremen and Artreides, helping teach them the lay of the land, about the sand worms on the planet, how to extract the spice efficiently, etc.

That's a lot of words just to _set up_ the story of one half of a two-movie saga!  The film is 280 minutes, but didn't feel dragging to me: in fact, when the words "this is only the beginning" are uttered to finish part 1 I was legit bummed to realize this part of the story was over.  The look is gorgrous!  I'm a fan of Denis Villeneuve's other films, and it can be surmised that all of his previous output has led him to DUNE. Not only are the futuristic production designs unique, they're rendered quite beautifully: same with the cinematography by Greig Fraser (who did the same work on ROGUE ONE, as well as setting the visual tone w/the first episode of "Mandalorian," among many others - his next film is THE BATMAN which has some great looking shots in the trailers).  The blue and green hues of Artreides home world  has a wonderful contrast to the earth tones of Arrakis; and the black darkness of Harkonnen's environment is a wonderful contrast.  I mostly liked Hans Zimmer's score, which has some really interesting soundscapes to set the otherworldly musical tone: it sometimes delves into "middle eastern-as-exotic" motifs that some may be critical of. 
I think the themes of anti-colonialism (especially as it pertains to "mostly white guys vs mostly brown guys") is as pertinent nowadays as it was when Frank Herbert first published the novel in the 1960's (and I'd maybe argue Zimmer's middle eastern motifs play into that theme enough to avoid the easy criticism).  There's also a heavy religious theme/motif involved that feels REALLY out there, but also pointed and maybe apt for our modern times: so much of some characters' actions and decisions is driven by some sense of religious destiny of prophecy.

I was excited for this film initially, but more for the art than the story: I've struggled finishing the novel in HS, and have zero intention of either revisiting or reading any sequel novels.  But Villeneuve has delivered such a great take of this story, that I'm elated to "only"  have to wait slightly less than 2 years to see how it turns out!  I can't wait to revisit the remaining characters, and be introduced to more characters we haven't seen yet.  I REALLY can't wait to see who plays Feyd Rautha, played fairly bonkers by Sting in the 1984 David Lynch version: a character who is almost in every way the antithesis of Paul!  There is still so much story to go, the least of which being Paul's experience with The Fremen; I'm glad at how much time Villeneuve afforded to setting everything up, and it will hopefully pay off in spades in 2023

Offline alyssa

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Re: Dune opens Oct 21 ***spoilers***
« Reply #22 on: March 15, 2022, 04:57:38 PM »
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yay!! more imax fliming
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Offline alyssa

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Re: Dune opens Oct 21 ***spoilers***
« Reply #23 on: March 17, 2022, 02:41:25 PM »
in my humble opinion, one of the best Dune posters is on sale
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and the GitD
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Offline Imagery

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Re: Dune opens Oct 21 ***spoilers***
« Reply #24 on: March 18, 2022, 08:24:55 PM »
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in my humble opinion, one of the best Dune posters is on sale
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These are awesome. And thanks for the introduction — I just signed up for their newsletter because I liked some of the other art on the page too
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