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Inmates,There's no question that Frank Herbert's 1965 430+ page scifi novel Dune (which I've never read) must be very difficult to adapt to film as David Lynch's 1984 version is whatever, three hours long, and difficult to follow. However, it does have wonderfully lush production design though, Max von Sydow, and at least has an ending.
Set in the year 10192, on the planet Caladan, the Emperor of the known universe, ol' what's his name, Padthai Emperor Saddam decrees that the control of Arrakis, that has a valuable resource called spice hitherto exploited by House Harkonnen will in future be exploited by House Atradies. Think along the lines that if in 1965 for no particular reason the PM of Britain- good ol' Harold Wilson, proclaimed that the US could have all the oil in Iraq. Arrakis = Iraq, get it?
Now, cut to the Denis Villeneuve version:
In 10192, House Atreides takes over the oil, I mean spice, and it appears that house Harkkonen did this with the sly expectation that Atradies would fail due to the indigenous people, the Fremen objecting after a few hundred years of exploitation, think Russia and then the US in Afghanistan.
Anyway, the leader of house Atreides is very soon Paul, who is young, weedy, and speaks a bit like a Canadian teenager whose like really into Dungeons and Dragons and all that mystical stuff like the magic power of the Bennyjesuits, who can, wow, like, make things do things by asking them.
After a lot of things happen with complicated jargon and names in many dark shadowy, beautifully photographed places, and Paul reluctantly assumes the task of making friends with the desert dwelling Fremens. I won't spoil the ending as this tedious movie doesn't have an end, and as I didn't care about any of the characters anyway, it didn't really matter. We must assume that Paul Atredies gets some very high position in Caladonian Oil, I mean Caladanian SpiceCo.
There were so many illogicalities: shacecraft that could "fold space"- faster than light?, hand-held devices that , when screamed at: "Ka-Pow" could shatter things with sound, weapons that could send individual missiles to each person, but just for the sport of it, still fought hand to hand with swords and daggers. Also, if the Fremens, will kill someone to harvest the water from their body and the entire planet is bare sand- what did they eat? Even if they were cannibalistic, that would not be a sustainable, long-tern situation.
Beautiful imagery, production values, some excellent acting of extremely dull dialogue, and terrific special effects, but has only a couple of step of satisfaction level as Harry Potter, which is to say, not much. It's just beautiful and tedious and does not have a conclusion.
By the way, the actor that plays Beast Rabban Harkonnen in Dune, Dave Bautista, also plays Sapper Morton, the replicant "retired" by Officer K Ryan Gosling)in Blade Runner 2049. To clear the sour taste of the disappointment of Dune 2021, as soon as possible, I watched Blade Runner 2049 again.
Yours in controllable insanity,Bambi_B
PS: I wonder if vinyl will still be as popular in 10192? Will DVD's be in 32000K resolution by then? Would we see tube gear fusion powered to achieve the 170,000 Watt 144-channel sound? I don't think I can wait!
Edits: 10/21/21Follow Ups:
Thanks! for sharing.
No, thank you for sharing!
part two is the real meal." -- Villeneuve
Lots of pyros headed our way.
or should I say DOOM. It was so bad I could hardly watch it. In 1984 it may have had some WOW factor but the shine has come off. The "CGI" was mostly laughable. The art direction was pre-Steam Punk. The acting as lifeless as cardboard. It is best forgotten.
Hey BW!
-Surely you cannot forget the Worm coming for you under the Sand--you are dreaming and you cannot outrun it!
Agree on the rest Meh total Meh!
Des
Well, until now...
But, yeah, I enjoyed Bladerunner 2049.
Gonna leave it there.
Hope you are well!
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination" -Michael McClure
musetap,
Yes, likewise. Still staying loose in Fogberg?
I'd be a regular poster- and I started I think in 2000, but as soon as the sour taste of the old Outside fades into memory, there's a thread like the one above where someone's tragic, accidental death is an opportunity to gloat politically. And, it's so petulantly forced into a film forum.
This may the end.
Bambi_B
As the great (well...effective) actor Kris Kristofferson advised Ms. O'Connor.
There's always some detritus around these boards, it still being populated by
humans and not replicants ( I don't think they are anyway, replicants are probably
better behaved).
Life in SF is deteriorating at a noticeable though slow pace, the glory days in the past.
Yet still good. Enough.
You were moving I believe last you posted, maybe doing an audio equipment reduction?
I MAY watch Dune (free on HBO streaming for a time so the price is right in that regard)
if I can only afford any other associated costs.
Anyway, hope you are good and well in these trying times!
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination" -Michael McClure
that takes some serious talent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination" -Michael McClure
Nt
If you were compelled to watch Blade Runner 2049 again! I still am furious that I wasted my time and money going to the theater to see it! As for the re-boot of Dune, it's not surprising that you found the ending to be less than satisfactory... I believe the intention was all along to have at least one follow-up movie and possibly more. AFAIAC Oscar Issac and Timothee Chalamet would normally be reason enough to go to see it, but seeing that I found the first Dune boring and a waste of time I doubt that I will go to the theater to see it and will wait for its appearance on Netflix or Prime which from the sound of things will be soon.....
TWB,
Well, to each his own, but I thought Blade Runner 2049 was far more emotionally subtle, had a better narrative arc, and more refined production design than the original. Of course, special FX has come a long while in that time as well. Blade Runner is complex as it concerns which group gets to set the definition of humanity and the relative value of its constituents.
As for Dune, I was not terribly excited by the first one, but the look was good, and it less cartoonish (and also less fun) than Star Wars. It was also an irresistible challenge to work out what it was about; the exploitation and repression by economic empires of foreign cultures. Remember the time it was written -1965. New Dune seems to only have the look going for it, geared for the fantasy gamers set.
I've noticed over the years that the better the movie, the better I remember it and the less often I watch it. I can say a lot of the dialogue in Apocolypse Now just before the character although I've seen it three times since it was new in 1979. Same with the Third Man, Seven Samurai, Being There, Chinatown, Das Boot, Casino, Dr. Strangelove, Pulp Fiction, and a few others. I couldn't repeat three words from either of the Dunes that I saw two days ago.
Yes, I learned a couple of hours ago that there's a Dune Part 2. I will not be seeing it.
Bambi_B
Both the original Dune and Blade Runner later released a directors cut, which helped both films. I happen to like both of those movies, but I did read the books first.
One was Blade Runner 2049 and the other was Mad Max: Fury Road. Both were boring, and IMO SUCKED beyond belief! It is unfortunate too because both films have competent actors in them as well as directors who have had successful past films. To each their own...
Nt
I am generally a fan of Spielberg's work, but there are certainly some to avoid. ROP being one of those...
Some (but not all!) of the memorable lines from the Lynch incarnation:
"In the past, you have been called Paul Atreides - but now, you shall be known as. . . Paul. . . MUAD'DIB(uh)" (Note the extra syllable intoned by the actor!)
"Usul has called a big one - again it is the Legend!"
"Muad'Dib!"
"For he IS the Kwisatz Haderach!"
"Without change, something sleeps inside us."
"And we will teach you the weirding ways!"
See? You can remember lots of lines if you try - I know you can!
Anyway. . . a further assignment for you: here's another version of Dune for your delectation - a fan edit of the Lynch version. Sorry! ;-)
View YouTube Video
Chris from Layfayette,
It's interesting you bring up these particular quotes as I remember them as:
"In the past, you have been called Paul Atreides - but now, you shall be known as. . . Paul. . . MUD'DAUB"
"Usul has called a big one - again it is the Acura Legend!"
"Mud'Daub! You need to move your Acura!"
"For he IS the Kwikimart Haberdasher!"
"Without change, the toll booth guy will keep us from going through."
"And we will teach you the welding ways!"
Bambi_B
"And, against all better judgement, I LIKE this Duke!"
So MANY great lines!
a very influential series on Frank Herbert.
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination" -Michael McClure
"In the past, you have been called Paul Atreides - but now, you shall be known as. . . Paul. . . MUAD'DIB(uh)" (Note the extra syllable intoned by the actor!)
"Usul has called a big one - again it is the Legend!"
"Muad'Dib!"
"For he IS the Kwisatz Haderach!"
"Without change, something sleeps inside us."
"And we will teach you the weirding ways!"
Stupid fights is all I remember.The original? Rutger Hauer. Daryll Hannah. Sean Young. Edward J Olmos. Unforgettable characters.
A great steak dinner of a film. The follow up? A greasy little burger in sopping white bread.
Edits: 10/21/21
tinear,
It's certainly the case that the two BL's are very different. I like them both tremendously precisely because of their variance in emphases. The first had a kind of magic realism about that's very involving while 2049 seemed more grounded and greyer, with more subtle, subterranean undercurrents, and also more evocative of the atmosphere I would expect of 2049 Los Angeles. I lived there for 35 years, knew a few people in the biz and LA felt like 2049 in 2009. -It was already difficult then to tell the Humans from the replicants. The replicants were a bit more outgoing,..
It's interesting that Blade Runner has always evoked strong opinions. I suppose it's proper given the underlying theme of slavery.
Bambi_B
Ana de Armas.
I'd have to see the original again, haven't for many years. I don't remember liking it as much as I liked 2049 TBH. Needs a new viewing.
You really need to read the series. The Dune trilogy has a very large following, so it is quite popular with fans of SF. The books have been the best selling SF novel ever, staying in print since its first printing in 1965. I think the movies were made for fans of the series.
Hornlover,
Yes, most SF benefits from having a good movie made of it, but Dune is so complex- willfully it seems sometimes- that reading is good idea.
I listened to a bit of the audiobook on youtube a couple of days ago and it's apparent comprehension would benefit from the slower progression of reading, especially when all the history, mythology, bizarre names, titles, and jargon in thrown in.
Knwoing what else happns in the other books is interesting as well.
Someday, based on seeing the UK TV productions of: Going Postal, Hogfather, and The Colour of Magic,I'd like to dig into Terry Prachett's Discworld series.
Bambi_B
Lynch's version difficult to follow? That's an understatement. It was clearly made for people who read the book. I saw it when it first came out. I had read the books not too long before hand so I could follow it fairly easily, but my friends (none of which read the book) didn't have a clue what was going on. I'm not a big fan of that version, and I don't know if I'll like the new version either. FWIW, there was a Dune mini-series a while back. Low budget, and by definition lengthy, but it was easier to follow and somewhat close to the book.
Jack
Jack G,
Yes, I needed to watch the Lynch version twice with some rewind /repeats to understand it. That version was, in my view, worth some effort. For example, the actor portraying Paul Atradies projected a sense of maturity, focus, and destiny, whereas GameBoy Playstation IV Jr., was only waiting for his next energy drink to rejoin his video game.
Bambi_B
It's been too long since I've seen it, but I've never really wanted to watch it again.
BTW, the new one is one of two, which might explain the lack of ending.
Jack
...based on that alone I'm gonna try and get a decent seat at tonite's premier showing. Big decision: IMAX or Dolby Atmos? Btw, regarding Fremen survival on Arakis: don't the Fremen have a big secret that doesn't get revealed till near the end. Since you reference the Lynch attempt, I assume you saw that so you know.
P.S. I fully expect vinyl to be massively popular in 10192. Fremen is a historical variation of Fremer . The rest is future history.
Steve O,
As mentioned, the movie is just beautiful looking and from that standpoint worth seeing. The problem may be staying awake,..
Yes, I'm aware of the Fremens' secret, but be aware that their secret does not appear in this version. The rate Dune 2021 moved, I think that's going to be revealed in Dune IV (2030): The Return of the Fremen.
Bambi_B
Steve O,
Nt
which is great. When I saw Lynch's version I was lost, it was like watching a David Lynch film.
I grew up across the street from David Lynch so I am never lost in his movies. Lol
on Rotten Tomatoes--- and I'd say that's about 65 points too high. Critics, btw, gave it a 47%. That's about as bad a combo as one can find for a major release. I made it through 1/2, mostly because of all the pre-release hype years ago. Not even being stoned could help...
Nt
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