As soon as I saw the Baron fly, my first thought was, "Oh, Dom's gonna hate that." Though, if I may defend that choice, I like how they incorporated it into his survival of Leto's poison breath. They made Leto's last breath seem like a genuinely effective attempt, and not as futile as it usually comes off.
This. I don't know why more book fans bring this up. Making the baron float actually props up Leto as an heroic character all while propping up the Baron as an indestructable opponent.
Agreed, it was put to use to pay homage to the older movie, it's not OVERDONE either. It's more of a 'baron is trying to be intimidating' moments and as you mentioned, incorporated to his survival.
I think the Baron flying in adaptations is a good thing. It's a lot more visually interesting than just having him basically float-walk, and makes him seem a lot more powerful, rich and grand like a literal Baron should be.
It also gives more purpose to /at least distracts from what is essentially just fat-phobia in the book. It’s just lots of, “ugh, he’s so fat and detestable”, and used as a reason to be repulsed by the Baron in all his villainy. At least when flying he’s shot the moon into strange and uncanny and even powerful/competent (in using it in escaping the gas attack).
Personally, I really loved the throat singing during the Saurdakar scene. The sound itself really drove home the unnatural, terrifying feeling of what was going on.
Yeah, I don't get how he found that one element distracting over everything else that was going on in that scene and could be deemed as much distracting as that was. I guess he wanted the scene to be just silent?
@@Kumagoro42 I can understand that, honestly. Seeing men be marked in blood with more men laying upside down bleeding out and only an ear-ringing silence going on would have also been beautiful but the throat singing was just perfect for driving home the feeling of "something unnatural is happening".
when i first saw the movie i hadn't read the book so i wasn't completely clear on all the rules and assumed the throatsinger was just constantly using the Voice to condition the Sardaukar into perfectly loyal soldiers.
Oh man, I LOVED the throat singer in that scene with the Sardukar. That felt like the perfect soundtrack for a warrior’s bloody christening. The soundtrack as a whole felt utterly perfect to me.
Yeah I loved how each house kind of had their own signature sound or instrument. Like Sardukar had the throat singing, Atreides had the bagpipes, and Arrakis had the war cry singing. All had connotations of war and so it was really cool to see all of that
It's also refreshing to see something such a distinctly and overtly non-european cultural trope as an influence in a major faction in a hollywood movie.
@@Gstrangeman96 Throat singing is also Scandinavian, which makes sense given their general Scandinavian theme in the movie. But then, there's plenty of non-European cultural stuff in Dune anyway.
As a person who doesn’t know the books, I honestly feel like this movie was made for me. It really centered the whole plot around Paul’s inner turmoil of trying to move forward and decide what he wants and where he fits-so ending after he (finally-the film’s been setting it up as his motive since the beginning) finds some fremen, and then immediately having to take that intense and momentous action of actually having to kill a man-it worked for me as a climax.
Easily my favorite part was seeing how Rebecca Ferguson showed Jessica grappling with her identity as a Bene Gesserit and as a mother of one, because she really made me believe she was afraid of Paul by the end of the film, just as she was in the book.
My wife and I got married in 2005 pre-Netflix and streaming services. We were on food stamps and had only a couple of DVDs, one of which was the two disc Scifi miniseries of Dune. For really fancy date nights we would scrounge money from inside the seats of our cars, split a meal from a fast food place, and watch Dune for 5 hours. Needless to say, we loved this version.
This series has one addect layer for me personaly. It was shot in Czech Republic and waste majority of characters is played by Czech actors which make this show quite surreal!
I liked where they ended it, because it was based around Paul's decision not to run from his visions. The only thing it was missing was him crying over the Fremen he had killed, as the other Fremen see this as him "spending water" over a foe and it wins him their respect.
I think that that Sardaukar scene tells the viewer everything they need to know about them in a very short amount of time. They are a huge army, they are brutal, and they are religious zealots. The chanting just drives home how very alien this whole universe is.
That scene was so cool and a little scary/unsettling. I thought it was super effective (I haven't read the books) I was like oh no these guys seem like bad news!! Reminded me a bit of the urukai from lord of the rings but less pg-13
I absolutely LOVED Jessica in the movie. I thought they went way deeper in the pain it causes her to have the battle between her training and her absolute love for her husband and son. Jessica was a nothing to me in the book but she became one of my favourite characters. Same with Duncan Idaho. I loved Duncan. They sat behind Leto for my favourites. I loved Isaac as Leto. I also appreciated that it had the length. It gave room for the beautiful scenes. It tightened up a lot that needed tightening.
Am glad to hear there will be more of Duncan in this version. In the 1984 He made 1 appearance then he was GONE. It was such a waste of that character and my older sister was screaming at the screen. The actor was a favorite of hers.
@@conniecarroll7222 Duncan definitely has a bigger part. He's definitely got a bit of Momoa's signiture in him now but it made me love him more. I thought his part was really fantastic. Hopefully there's less screaming at screens this time and just a hearty head nod of respect
I'm glad people loved Jessica. Rebecca Ferguson's performance was good. It's just... she seemed like "concerned mother of Paul and diligent wife to Leto" not the "badass uber monk" like I imagined her. That's where me - and Dominic to a certain extent - book adepts, etc. are coming from. The Bene Gesserits weren't written quite right. Her character is a window to this incredible order of women with such incredible physical and emotional control over their bodies they can choose the sex of their child. The "Voice" isn't commands like "Sit down". It's post-hypnotic suggestion-like, e.g. "I have not dismissed you, Thufir" which causes the mentat to sit down, or "now don't you buys start fighting over me" which causes the Harkonnen thugs to start attacking each other. "Bene Gesserit accuracy" is not something that affected my enjoyment of the movie really, which makes it tantamount to a nitpick (I don't care about book accuracy) but I do think it would add personality and weirdness to the film, to its benefit.
And the show of her going 'fear is the mindkiller' by herself outside the door works really well moviewise. It shows that even the Sisterhood she is part of ain't without emotion. They just have the ability to assert control in a very ritualistic 'mantra-esque' fashion. Also it translates well to what is happening in Paul's mind as well during the whole hand-in-box test.
Honestly, I like where the story cut off. It's the first real step that Paul willingly takes towards his "terrible purpose". It's both victorious and ominous enough that the scene encapsulates why and how he's going to rise among the Fremen.
It is the first decision truly made by Paul. His mother is trying to get him off planet but he says "No, my path is here." It is one thing for a normal person to say that but when Paul says his he knows his path he means it in a truly literal sense. He sees the cost of that path and it horrifies him yet he embraces it.
@@mitchellhorton9382 As someone who never read anything about Dune until after the movie, I thought it was really explicit where the story is going from that scene in the tent (with Jessica). I think somewhere else in the movie it's also explicitly stated with voice-overs that him killing Jamis is a huge transition moment for Paul.
@@mitchellhorton9382 I don't think it is appropriate to say it cut off where the story starts. I ends at where the story takes a definitive turn down a new path than the one it started with. The story this film tells is of the fall of the Atreides and Paul's realization of his purpose. They were too subtle with the advertising that it was Part 1 I believe but it tells a complete story. It just doesn't tell the next story which is what happens after the fall of House Atreides.
As someone who hadn't read Dune by the time this came out in my country, the end really hyped up me and my friends and I immediately went to read the book (almost done now) . I adored the details of the world building and the passion you can feel wih every set and scene. (Edit: don't read the responses to this if you don't want spoilers. Just got spoiled. Thanks guys.)
@@katearcher8514 As a fan of both the Book series and All of the adaptions. The faint fever dreams of the future we get are but a single grain of sand to the sheer batshit insanity that is books 2+ I really hope they finish out the books with this crew.
@@katearcher8514 there are juuuust enough differences between his visions and the results that I felt they can even do some different things here and there to still leave stuff unspoiled.
You have no idea how much I love you for understanding Leto's character. Too many people seem to think that he's this perfect man, perfect leader and perfect father. No, while he does try to be a good person, he's a raging dumpster fire of daddy issues, death anxiety and poor anger management and that's precisely what makes him my favourite character.
I didn't get any of that on my (blind) viewing of the film so I imagine part of that understanding requires existing book knowledge, but either way he's still played very well and it's so much more engaging to watch than if he were every other perfect deathflag stoic father character.
@@moonmannd7501 I think Oscar Isaac's Leto was all I could have hoped for. Prochnow played him too naive and innocent, Hurt too emotionless. With Isaac, even if you haven't read the book, I think (and correct me if I'm wrong) that you get this sense of warmth with Paul, but also scary pragmatism and hair-trigger temper.
I was surprised by the ending at first but decided it was actually the perfect choice to end the movie after I rewatched it. The action sequences doesn't really matter that much in Herbert's world - actions and decisions do. So the movie essentially ends when Paul decides to go join the Fremen rather than getting off the planet. The Atreides chapter of his life is over, and the movie is as well, which makes perfect sense.
Please explain any decisions anyone made. The only person I saw make a decisions was the Doctor who was foolish enough to think the Harkonnen are assholes and his wife was already likely dead and certainly wasn't going to be released. He's the entire reason everything happens. Everyone else just had stuff happen to them. Even Paul gets angry at his mother because his whole life and up till then, even his visions is just being told that will happen to him.
@@vixxcelacea2778 In the book, Yueh , the doctor, guesses that his wife is already dead, or that, if she is not, that is what he is buying for her. He cannot bear to risk her being alive and still tortured, and also, this gives him the opportunity to try and kill the Baron for whatever he does to his wife that he would never get otherwise. He knows the Baron is a fucking danger to the universe, and he has a personal vendetta; he knows and cares for Paul and knows he can survive. So he decides that Leto dying is a good enough price to pay for the Baron being gone and that the Atreides house would fall into Paul and "be safe". It makes him a tragic character that befits the complexities of all the plots Herbert lays. Nothing is ever "that simple". While I was reading the book I was on the edge of my seat and so frustrated when the Baron survived!!!
Honestly, the 2000 miniseries has very low production values but it’s quite a faithful adaptation. Children of Dune miniseries from 2003 is also terrific. The curse isn’t as all encompassing as people think.
@@stevenecarrier imo the woodenness and material cheapness of the whole thing presents a pretty sizeable barrier especially if you're not already sold on the world/premise. It's fine but I'd never like flatly recommend it to anyone ever which I think is a sign of it being a 'bad' adaptation in some meaningful respect.
Yeh I like this guy &his enthusiasm but after this review I feel like maybe movies aren't for him.. he complained about multiple things being left out but also thought it should've been half an hour shorter.. when saying if they included even half of the subplots he mentioned in the movie it would be like 8hrs long 🥴
I don't think they were aiming for a Fellowship ending. I think Denis was simply separating the films by the content. Part 1 is everything related to the Fall of House Atreides, Part 2 is going to be all about the Fremen. It felt like a really good cutting point for the story in my opinion. All of the political, Imperial elements are wrapped up for now, though they will of course come back at the end of the story. Now it's all about Paul's journey down the Messiah path, and his transformation into a Fremen.
@@DG-gx4sg He got an almost 'quasi god'/'inhuman' feel to him by doing so. As in gravity has no hold on this man... and you should fear him for it. It's honestly quite effective.
I understand wanting more character development, but I LOVED the pacing and length of the film, and all the scenic shots that let you process information
I disagree. I found this to be the best adaptation of a book I've probably ever seen. The only thing missing was fleshing out Yueh's betrayal. Besides that I found the film to be an incredible masterpiece of spectacle, worldbuilding, grandness and the perfect adaptation for one of my favorite books. I am certain that a Part 2 will make this first film even better.
100% agree. Not perfect, but a great mix Lynch and Sci-Fi versions... I would have liked them to have added 30 mins and added all of that missing characterization, and I'll look forward to the fan edit that changes the end like he mentioned, adding it to the second movie
Off topic, but your earlier content is what made me fall in love with your channel in the first place, and its only gotten better, both in quality and in comedy 💜
I went there blind (not a sci-fi person, so never read the book), but I was accompanied by someone who just finished the books. We both enjoyed the experience a lot, and after talking it out, apparently I understood so much about the details and the rules of the universe from it that there was a single thing that tripped me up.
I couldn't believe it was 2.5 hours because I didn't think it dragged at all. Like some said, the world building done in the show-don't-tell fashion helped avoid exposition dumps, and I still felt betrayed by Dr Yueh when Leto was attacked, and i knew it was coming!
I really loved the movie's aesthetic. The sombre tone, the strange music, the naure porn, the mind-boggling scale. It's a perfect fit for the surreal alien-ness of the future conjured up by the books.
Hang on a sec, wasn't the 'key' to victory in Ender's game summarised as: “In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him.”.. That's explicitly not genes, it's empathy. Additionally the theme in Dune that adversity breeds resilience isn't confined to fighting, it's a common thread through the story from thinking (reliance on machines to think for us made us weak) to personal 'spiritual' growth through adversity.
I think he is talking about what characters in the book believe not what the author believes. Ender isnt chosen for his empathy for example. He is chosen (and even only exists) because the government believes that his family's genes will produce the ultimate military soldier.
@@nbucwa6621 That is what ender believes though.. It's literally a quote from him explaining his success and the author clearly believes that as it is a major theme in the series.
It's been a while since I read Ender's Game, but I believe if empathy alone were the key, Ender wouldn't exist because Valentine would have got the job done. Valentine's problem was that she had the empathy to understand the enemy, but not the ruthlessness necessary to then use that understanding to destroy them. And she didn't have it because genetics.
@@nbucwa6621 Yes, but if the family genes were enough to create the ultimate leader, then Peter would have gone to battle school. He and Val didn't get in not because they weren't smart enough, but because of their character traits - Peter was too cruel to make people follow him and Val was too soft. So with Ender they hoped that he'd have all the inborn intelligence of his siblings plus the character factor - and they spent 6 years monitoring him before they decided that yes, he's got both (and then he still needed years of training, being emotionally manipulated, plus the help of Mazer and other kids).
isn't Atreides boys tossed into the the ocean so they can learn to swim before they reach the age of... what, 4? Learning to swim before they learn to truly run? Cuz ocean-heavy planet.
The Church of the Algorithm gives this video its blessing, and must it stay clear of the blasphemers from The First Algorithmic Temple (and the many people impersonating their members).
The Algorithm isn't the true algorithm. It is a demiurgic algorithm. Only the true gnosis can lead you to the true algorithm! True algorithm from true algorithm!
I always like seeing Stellan Skaarsgard in an antagonists role, he plays a fantastic villain. Hes a big part of the reason I Fincher’s girl with the dragon tattoo film so much
It's hard to look back on early work with fondness, but Dom you had a clear passion and drive from day 1 that hasn't died down - only matured. Many of us enjoy your early videos and we hope one day you will too (with some laughs)! Thanks again for the great vid, educational as always, and you get in costume (my favourite bit)!
"I'm not sure how much I believe harsh environments make for great warriors." The Mongols were the last folks to successfully invade Russia during the winter and has the largest contiguous Empire trophy. I'm not saying Herbert's always right, but there are some real world parallels.
I suspect its because as long as that suffering doesn't leave them stunted/crippled/disabled/uneducated (delete as applicable) they are more willing to endure hardship to win. Psychology and morale is underestimated in importance by most of those who have never fought.
@@daveharrison4697 it's the environment that taught them nomadic skills that they needed to accomplish all of that not some stupid toughness the forest people had much tougher environments {by the fact that when ever they get there hands on a herd they go nomadic} and they never did something impressive
Funny story: I'm a film student, so of course Dune came up when my class met earlier this week. Keep in mind we're an advanced class, so we're all well-versed in the in and outs of film. The majority of us praised it, especially those of us who saw it in IMAX. But to everyone's surprise, our film professor said that he walked out of the theater and found it dull, especially the soundtrack. What's especially surprising is that his speciality is POST-PRODUCTION. So one would think he'd be impressed with the effects and scale. Everyone has their own opinion, I suppose.
I didn't walk out but I totally agree with him that the soundtrack is useless and adds absolutely nothing to the film. And it's a film that very badly needs a good soundtrack to elevate it's rather boring and subdued tone to try and give it a bit more epic feel.
@@wingracer1614 Weird, I kinda felt the opposite sometimes. Like the score was trying to go REALLY hard for something grandiose in moments when suspense would suffice.
I personally adored this adaptation! I really disagree with you about the length, I felt it barrelled by so quickly going from action setpiece to action setpiece SO fast at the end (the scene in the thopter in the storm had us gasping in the cinema) - I felt I could’ve watched at least another 15 minutes of a bit more development of the politics, the traitor intrigue, and certain characters that will become more important later like Gurney and Hawat. 2.34 seemed short to me & I think it could’ve used the time to develop more of the characters & concepts. I’m not a huge fan of where they ended it but I do feel like ending on Duncan Idaho’s death would’ve felt so aborted and strange, personally I’m not sure there was anywhere they could’ve ended that wouldn’t have felt abrupt because it isn’t a complete story. I agree they needed to market it better so people knew it was part 1 of 2 before going in. Also Re: the throat singing, didn’t bother me, but the bagpipes?! That took me straight out of it, they just felt so weirdly out of place in this sci fi universe 😂
The bagpipes existing didn’t take me out, but as a piper myself the fact that they were producing notes that don’t come out of that style of bagpipe was what threw me.
I think the reason why they market this way because the sequel wasn’t guarantee at the time due to BR2049 bombed that made the studio hesitated to greenlit it
Well, the Dune universe is OUR universe, several tens of thousands of years in the future. Humans have spread across the universe & Earth was turned into a National Park. Harkonnen came from a real last name Herbert liked; House Atriedes is supposed to be descended from King Agamemnon. I just learned these things recently; this adaptation has peaked my curiosity more than the David Lynch movie or the mini-series did.
Dominic, please, never EVER feel ashamed of your earlier work. It not only made you the man you are today, but it was also great in its own right. I loved all of it, just as I love your work now.
I read the books years ago and I thought it was a pretty good adaptation overall. As for the runtime, despite being 2 hours and a half, it didn't FEEL long.
I've only ever been aware of dune through cultural proximity. Always meaning to read the books but never getting around to them. I streamed this at home, loved it and now want to go back and read the books. My wife also loved it despite not generally enjoying sci-fi. I think this film for a general audience is a big winner
Watched Dune with my brothers, one who read the book, one who didn’t, and we had to explain to the non-reader about Paul’s parents not being married as part of a… frankly stupid political maneuver. Leto, you want people to think you might marry, maybe take one more concubine just to make Jessica seem less important to you. Ya don’t even have to sleep with the second one, just keep her on staff.
I think that entire plotline was just thrown in to foreshadow the Irulan situation. Though the film touched on it so little I thought they were going to skip it entirely. I think a character even refers to Jessica as Leto's wife several scenes prior.
I don't think the point of not marrying Jessica was to make people think she wasn't important to Leto. The point was to keep the spot of "Wife" open in case Leto needed it in a future political situation. It's just a question of political status.
I'd think Paul would be a bigger obstacle there than Jessica. A Great House giving a princess to be Leto's wife would expect her son to inherit, but Paul is the heir and being treated as such. Probably nobody but the wife herself would care much whether Leto loved her.
See from someone who hasn't read the book, that plot point was incredibly silly. I was like "why isn't she his wife? She is acting as a wife, she is the mother of his only child and heir, and there are no other women to even contend with." Maybe it will be important later, but I wish they had just made them married.
@@LifeUntilLove In a decadent feudal nobility setting, it's exactly what would happen. Very historically appropriate. Herbert may have put it in for that reason alone.
Dom: “If you’re not in the mood for a history lesson and want to skip ahead to the new film talk, that’s fine. It will not hurt my feelings...” Me: * mouse hovers over the timecode * Dom: "...too much." Me: * moves mouse away from the timecode *
Did you notice the massive space ships looked like the shai hulud? Also! With the ending, I THINK what they were trying to do was to end it on the slightly unsettling note of Paul’s first kill, how effective that was, YMMV…
Exactly. Especially as the second film will presumably end with Paul killing Feyd. They're curiously parallel incidents with Paul being compelled to kill someone he doesn't really regard as an enemy in each case. Perhaps the idea is that Paul is both a Messiah and completely under the control of cosmic forces which determine what he has to do.
Given the sardaukar janissary inspiration and overall religious fervor in the Dune world building I thought the throat singing was there as a form of call to prayer. One of my favourite details was the Lycian/Phoenician style tombs of the Atreides on Caladan. In the books they often seem like westerners playing with the middle eastern cultural expectations of their subjects, but these tombs reinforce that they actually are a part of that world themselves.
I'm a huge fan of Frank Herbert's original Dune books. (Not the new one's written by his son.). Part 1 was a long movie that left out a lot of info. I hope that those details are part of Part 2. I walked away from the theater with a positive feeling. I'm looking forward to the second half of the first book.
I have been reading this book once every couple of years since 1984. I have to greatly disagree with you on multiple points. 1. In the book and possibly an 8 - 10 hour miniseries I want to see the complexity of the dinner scene, greater depth to the Yueh betrayal along with his conversations with Jessica, the game Piter and the Baron played with Thufir by trolling Jessica in front of him as a possible spy, all the glorious details that work in those formats. That doesn't work in one or two movies. I want them focusing on the core of the story. Atreides are betrayed by the Emperor with the aid of the Harkonnens who hatch a plot to destroy them using a traitor and driving Paul and his mother into the arms of the Fremen whom he will utilize to gain his revenge. Additionally there is the special place Paul will have in history and the visions he more and more resigns himself to fulfilling. If the side plots aren't needed to tell that main story properly in the cinema then don't bother with them in a movie. 2. Yes, there are many spectacular shots which chew the time up. What we all to quickly forget is the cinema is a VISUAL medium and just as Herbert used words to tell his story Villenueve uses those images to tell his own story. So much of the inner monologue of the characters and workings of the world we are being transported to are told through these shots as opposed to a narrator or dialogue that I think we fail to appreciate this. Telling the story this way is far more difficult and requires the audience to participate by paying attention and thinking more than with standard popcorn media. 3. Feyd is absolutely NOT needed in this first film. Anything he is involved in from the book up to this point can be brought up in the second film. Keeping him off the screen builds anticipation for the second film for many and also avoids introducing another character until others have been... removed. Feyd also provides a good path of development for the second film regarding the Harkonnen plans for Arakis and the Fremen which may further draw in the Emperor. 4. Yes, I really would like to have had more details on Piter and understand there were several shot. They were not needed but I would have enjoyed them. That said I believe there will be an expanded version where scenes talking about how Piter wanted Jessica and how that horrific spider thing was actually Yueh's wife whom had been taken apart and reassembled like a doll will be further discussed. 5. I am sick and tired of people saying the Fremen need to be middle eastern descent. This is 25,000 years in the future and the Fremen are the remnants of the Zensunni Wanderers who have bounced around the galaxy. Half of them were taken from Poritrin long ago and sent to Salusa Secundus, there are your Sardukar. The other half have gone on to be Fremen. Race is MEANINGLESS. 6. What happens with Hawat and Halleck is best left for the second film and should fit in perfectly. I really hope they follow Hawat's story line because it is very interesting. 7. The ending is a perfect point. The first film is the fall of House Atreides and their flight into the desert. It ends with Paul accepting one of the paths he has seen and committing to it. This is the core story which was to be told and it was.
Excellent points, all. And I hate to be this person but the book points out that the Fremen men prefer the city dwellers as wives and visa versa with the women, sooo Also they would have gotten so much shit if they had just cast people as one race as the Fremen. It's in future space people 😂
I finally watched Dune last Sunday, and it was quite amusing when (let's say) half of the audience (including me) were a little surprised when Dr Yueh spoke Mandarin, and had quite shocked faces when we heard Timothee Chalamet speak Mandarin unexpectedly and did it really well.
Something that got a laugh out of me 8n the theater. When the fremen asked Paul "what could you give us?" ... Water... I come from a planet that is 80% covered in it...
What I like about this adaptation in general is that there is so much that could have been goofy, but was subtled-down instead; e.g., even the glowing arrows in the tunnels of the botanical testing station are here normal beams of light. Introducing Feyd-Rautha, or the Corrinos, etc. for that matter, to the story where the book did only to have nothing for him to do for the rest of the film, before reintroducing him in part two, would definitely have been a mistake. Similarly, I hope Thufir gets his characterization together with his interaction with the Harkonnens. As to reorganizing parts of the story to better suit the scene before, during, and after: efficiency - I love it!
10:12 if anyone _does_ want to see what an actual military historian thinks of this trope, I highly recommend the "Fremen Mirage" series on Bret Devereaux A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry. He's got a lot of other good series about military history and pop culture as well.
Aww, I'm quite fond of the old Dune vid! That was one of my early introductions to your work, so it's probably one of my favorites. That and the Vampire Chronicles episodes, I think.
For me the ending was just perfect. It leaves room for speculation how the story could/will continue and it's also a great cliffhanger because it finishes the first part of the movie. Paul is on his way into the desert and begins his new life. The ending couldn't have been any better imo.
For me, the ending made sense after watching it again. It ends when Paul stops being Duke Paul Atreidies and truly becomes the Fremen Muad'Dib, even if he hasn't taken the name yet.
So I think your misinterpreted the fremen’s fighting power. The idea of desert power is vague but the idea is they can fight on the desert as they’ve lived there and can weapon one guerilla war. Remember this was the 60’s when large armies were being killed by smaller guerilla forces. Also, they become a huge fighting force because of lady Jessica’s weirding way training. Also, they’re exposed fully to spice and are fighting for a god they believe in. Also, Fayd isn’t in the book until pretty late in the book. The movie follows the book pretty closely in terms of structure and Fayd isn’t in the book until after Baron has taken over Arrakis. Introducing him in this book would have just been too character overload because he doesn’t have much to do until later in the book
I agree with you but I need to make a small correction. Feyd is introduced with Piter and the Baron in a very early chapter. However he does not really become an active participant in the story until after the timeskip.
I enjoyed this adaptation quite a bit. I think the visuals reminded me of Herbert’s fixation on ecology. I read Rebecca Ferguson’s performance as inner turmoil/ conflicting loyalties. And the incessant whispers as maybe a tease of the inner memories idea that (I hope) will be i! Part 2.The throat singing was weird but I read it more as reinforcing the Sardukar as being that distinct and different from other groups (liked giving them and the Harkonnens different languages did the same reason). Agree that secondary characters deserved better, especially Hawat. Thanks for the awesome content- as a movie nerd and a huge fan of this book I appreciate it!
Never be ashamed of what you've already done, Dom! I've seen that video the other day and apart from a lot of cursing (which was just unusual for today's RU-vid standards) it was quite alright. The differences in quality are only apparent for you, just don't say anything and we won't notice 😉
Honestly the review of the original Dune movie is one of my favourites of all of Dom’s reviews. Watching him loose his mind over the sheer weirdness of that film is… far more amusing that it should be
I think that them not keeping up with the effect the voice had at the start is very intentional, unlike the book that hops around in perspective constantly we're following Paul, Leto or Jessica for almost the entire runtime of the movie, when the voice is used on one of them we get the full effect because they're the ones experiencing it, when they're using it on the harkonnen soldiers we just get the voice effect because that's the only aspect of it that they perceive
I'm not sure finishing on a big epic battle was fitting in Villeneuve's plan...like his vision for Dune goes in a different direction. The movie is very contemplative. Ending when Paul was about to truly enter the desert, right before he gets to know the fremen more, them and their secrets...it's like we're ending right at the threshold of a new important part of his life, right after a big turning point (killing Jamis, the first man he kills - some sort of "kill the boy and become the man you were meant to be" stuff, but also a tragic turn).
I watched it in Imax. I loved how they did pretty much everything. I knew about the casting changes long enough ahead of time that it didn't bother me. I LOVED the Ornithopters! Best adaptation of their tech and how reliant on human reflexes they were. I loved the Muad'Dib mouse running around everywhere. I loved how they integrated Paulus & the Bull as little easter eggs. They only thing I missed was that the Weirding Way wasn't as super human as in the books, and they didn't introduce the Emperor or Feyd. Also the Sarduakar weren't covert. Also, everybody always forgets Paul was also a mentat and male Bene Gesserit as well as prescient. A truly formidable union of breeding and training. And that was before the spice.
Finally seen the movie, I loved the design of the ornis as well. I'm admittedly more familiar with the two pc games (and the practical novel that went along with the second in terms of specs), but seeing the ornis made me so dang excited.
As a french person, I commend you on the prononciation of Villeneuve. Good job ! 👍🏼Also, I liked the movie but found it a little too contemplative at times. It's a long movie, and it shows.
You really, REALLY need to read the other Dune books in Frank Herbert’s original series. Especially Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. A lot of issues you bring up about the characters and themes are lacking in context. You’ll get that context if you read the other books. The line about Duncan Idaho, for example, about him being a throwaway character. He’s NOT a throwaway character. He seems that way if you only read the first book, but if you read the rest of them, you learn he’s one of the most important characters in the whole series. Denis Villeneuve put this film adaptation together with the whole book series in mind, not just the first book. He’s even talking about potentially adapting the second and third after Part 2 releases. If you go into the adaptation with that mindset, a lot of his filmmaking decisions make complete sense, as they relate to the engrossing themes of the series as a whole, not just one book.
When you go into reading Dune knowing that there are sequels, it definitely reads like an elaborate set up for a much larger story. Dune Messiah pretty much immediately deconstructs the tropes that people attach to the first book and God Emperor of Dune is more or less 70% philosophy and 30% plot.
@@sebastianevangelista4921 Yeah Dune is worldbuilding for the larger story You're being generous on the plot in God Emperor if you boil down the actual events of the story it's like Girl runs through woods Leto explains what he's been doing Leto dies That's like, the entire plot lol
While I liked Ian McNeece's "I'm constantly surrounded by idiots" portrayal in the mini-series ("I said, 'temporarily,' you moron!"). Skarsgard was absolutely terrifying as the Baron, fulling in keeping with Herbert's description of a man who devoured whole worlds. A monster totally given over to his appetites.
I think what justifies the runtime, at least from a thousand foot high plot level is that part is about the passing of Paul "Atreides" up until he officially becomes Mua Dib. The central struggle for Paul is deciding who he is going to be. As he begins to attain prescience, he has to decide whether or not to stay on Arrakis, become Paul Mua Dib, leverage the Fremen's fanatical belief that he is their Messiah and take revenge for his father that way or to go back into galactic politics and try to gain support from the Lansrad instead. When he chooses to stay, Jamis confronts Jessica and Paul and in order to secure his place within the Sietch, Paul knows from his visions that he must commit, honor the Fremen's way of life in order to be excepted as one of their own and become their Messiah. Granted I was hoping that they would've made the fight a bit more of a challenge, or least a bit more equal. Paul has never experienced real violence before and (at least I'm presuming) he's never been in a knife fight without a personal shield on. So they could've play into that fact and had Timothee be a bit more cautious at least at the beginning of the fight.
[SPOILERS] While I feel your criticisms of the lack of development of Thufir, Yueh, Piter and Feyd, I think their omission makes sense: Yueh and Piter are both plot cul-du-sacs that are ultimately red herrings for the larger story (Yueh only seeks to illustrate the control a Bene Gesserit asserts on their men, in comparison to Duke Leto; Piter is only to demonstrate the Baron's willingness to associate with more dangerous machinations than Leto, which the "Monster-Pet" illustrates just as well), Thufir doesn't become really important until part 2 of the book where he joins with the Baron, and Feyd is a non-entity parallel protagonist until the finale (just like the Princess). I would say their omission just indicates Denis understands Dune better than most of the interpreters. While I agree that the end was not *emotionally* satisfying, it was thematically appropriate: Paul begins as a naif, and ends with his first killing/murder - he has become the larval form of the man who will destroy the galaxy.
Well, don’t forget, there is a second part to this movie. Hence, the cut-away on the ending of the movie. So, we do have a second part to contend with.
@@wingracer1614 I actually like the atmosphere and visuals of this last adaptation. I just find it a first act with only setting-up and no pay off, therefore we really can't say if the story will be satisfying until the next movie.
When Lynch was good he was great. Was he the best choice to direct? Was the production company helpful? Did Lynch always make the best choices? Maybe not. But he supplied color and rich detail. Nothing wrong with a bit of weirdness...
I hadn’t read Dune before going to see the movie, and I have a different perspective on the runtime. I actually LOVED the slow pacing and slow world building, as well as paired down character development. As someone who had no idea what to expect apart from epic sci fi, the pacing allowed me to really stay with the story. It was a huge risk, since the current advice to sci fi and fantasy writers and directors is that audiences hate world building and slow pacing. Dune deliberately took the risk and flew in the face of that advice. Now I want to read the books enough to rearrange my reading schedule to get this one in sooner. I think the real test is going to be how the filmmakers ramp up the storytelling once their audience is caught up on the world. Since Sanderson’s world building advice is a slow ramp up and, once the audience is invested, then a steep climb. This movie was that slow ramp up, and we’ll see what they do with it from here. I can see how established Dune fans would take issue with some of the things Dom mentioned. It just worked really well for someone like me that’s going in blind. And even knowing nothing about the story before going in I could tell the filmmakers loved and respected the source material. That goes a long way for me at least.
I think Duncan needed this overhaul because his death in the book was just... 'oh, that guy died'. I do think it may have eaten into some of Paul's relationship with Gurney, but it did make Duncan feel more of an actual character, so his death was meaningful. I don't think Kynes had enough explanation though, I think it wasn't clear why they were in this position at all (relating to their father, as explained in the book properly) or why they were so important. Annoying Fayd is not in it, but perhaps he'll be introduced in the next movie. The worst for me was Thufir. One of the big points in the book is that the baron *wants* Thrufir on his side and goes out of his way to recruit him. He also creates that reader distrust with Jessica, which becomes compounded by later revelations. Still. The visuals *were* good, haha. I think that's important because a big component of Dune is the world-building.
I agree about how the Baron is portrayed. I also really appreciate how they handled his weight. Instead of his weight being the main signal to the audience that he is evil (as is so often the case with media unfortunately), we hear him speak easily of committing genocide against a rival and their whole planet, and flexing his power. Only as he’s eating at the table with Leto paralyzed at the other end do we see any indication of his physical gluttony. But at this point, it’s so clearly secondary to his gluttony for power and wealth that his actual weight feels hardly worth mentioning. His mindset and actions speak for themselves, and the storytelling was such that his weight has no part in that equation. 10/10.
Yes, Yes it does. I don't believe we could ever get a better adaptation of this book which many deemed unfilmable. God, imagine an actual God Emperor movie?
Can we talk about the sandworms? There's a lot of mistakes you can do with sandworms but in the 2021 version they look like something that would be considered a god
The Syfy version you mentioned was actually the first one I ever saw, or even knew existed, and of the three that saw the light of day, it is hands down my favorite adaptation of Dune, especially in regards to the portrayal of Lady Jessica. Don't get me wrong, this one was wonderful and beautiful, but most likely, its the Syfy version that I will continue to watch over and over again.
Best adaptation for sure. Its the only one that feels like actual Dune to me. I don't think you need a series of episodes to tell the story, but I hate how watered down the films are. Politics and economics is an important part of Dune!
Just watched it last night! While all the deaths made me super sad, it was the frickin PALM TREES going up in flames that made me actually go “NO!” out loud!
Your main points are mostly well taken, though I am much more impressed by this adaption than you appear the be as yet. The lack of screentime for Theoffir Howatt was hard to take, and I would also have loved to have gotten more of Dastmalchian's Piotr Devries, (along with the fact that Piotr actually kills the doctor rather than the baron), but I guess Denis didn't want to spend excess time explaining what a mentat is. Also, having the Baron cut of the doctor's head helps establish his immorality in the absence of his pedophilia. So be it. The complex back story of the doctor is similarly complex, and not necessary. But, I think you were over critical on the following points: Fayd is not in the book until well over half way through. Same with the emperor. I think the people that feel those two characters were missing are drawing too much from the David Lynch adaptation where they were introduced at the beginning. I think that showing Jessica in more emotional states was a deliberate choice by Denis and Miss Ferguson, and quite justifiable. She is the main female character of this movie, especially part I, with a very complex back story. I personally do not feel that showing her emotions in private moments actually betrays the book. Again, I think that you might have gotten this impression from the more stoic representation in Lynch's adaption, which wasn't wrong, but also didn't give the character much depth. Denis' version made the later scene with Paul and Jessica in the tent much more poignant, (where Paul begins to have more intense visions and yells at his mother for the first time). The fact that Duncan is much more likeable as Momoa is a pure bonus. He's a little flat in the book. Jason kicks ass. And conflating Idaho with Gurney I think is another sign of having those characters impressed upon you by the Lynch adaptation in which they were essentially the same character and where Duncan died off screen. Also, you're distraction with the throat singing is silly. That whole scene was added, (not in the book), to build up the fear and dread of the Sardukkhar, which is actually pretty important to the main plot. The singing was just there to demonstrate that these are ritualistic and rather savage beings. Finally, anyone who missed the opening title which clearly said Part I? That's on them. The cliffhanger, less than satisfying ending should have been expected by all. While Denis might have left some minor plot points out, he stuck to the major thrust of the book and made the characters and the world feel real. It is a masterpiece on that basis. Part II has a leviathan of a moral to thrust upon the audience and Denis has laid a solid foundation for that effort.
Yeah, they even had it in the trailer "Part 1" after the first major trailer. Then again in the movie title drop. Thats literally in the first 5 minutes. Agree with everything said here. There are some bad things but it sounds like Dom was extremely picky about certain things that just made more sense thematically or were done deliberately better than Huberts work. If we nitpicked there are many technologies added that were not in the original Dune. Along with the armor and weapons being dramatically different. And totally agreed on Jason Moma, his screen presence is far more memorable as are all the battle sequences.
I think the only way you do this "justice" without losing a lot of context is to have this kind of budget behind a GoT styled adaptation... This is still beautiful and far more than the Lynch edition, which is still charming in its own Lynchy way...
Three of us. My dad let me watch it as a kid and I absolutely adored it. It's gross and intense and the costumes are stunning. Frankly, I loved it a bit more than Star wars but child me would never have admitted that.
Nah, hopping on board as your Number 4...I loved Lynch's version, and I don't think people generally give it enough credit for being an epic movie for the time it was shot in...he also shot it as a 9ish hour movie, but I don't know if you can find it anymore. I also was epic-impressed when I realized one of the most famous scenes from that movie wasn't even in the book, but felt like it captured the spirit of the book so perfectly it was as if Lynch understood Herbert's creative flow.
I agree with a lot of your critiques of this film, it's even worse when you see how many scenes were filmed that expanded character's stories, but were left on the cutting room floor. Still can't get over the Jessica and Dr. Yueh scene, and especially the banquet scene getting cut. They were the interactions between characters that really got me into the book when I first read it and really got me hooked on the world of Dune.
I'll never understand the way directors have tried to make the Harkonnens gross, we don't need visual visceral horror, or milking cats and drinking crushed bugs, just the implication that the Baron was sleeping with his nephew or slave boys that looked like him did more than any of the adaptations have done to vilify the Baron as a vile piece of garbage. But I'm not surprised at the unwillingness to put paedophilic incest in a movie, even if it's the villain that does it and that it's only implied. Also personally I don't really have any problems with the lack of Mentat "stuff" seeing as in the first novel Mentat's don't really have any importance to the story and can all but be wiped out from the story with no major plot issues. Also surprisngly given that Piter De Vries is played by one of my favourite actors, the lack of screen time didn't bother me, he only has three scenes in the book, what bothered me was that he is given so much more character in just those three scenes in the book than in any of his scenes in the movie. Honestly I think that any good characterization came from David Dastmalchian's acting, not the script.
Uh, mentats are very important to the plot of Dune. Paul's powers are, at least in part, due to his mentat abilities giving him the power of prediction, combined with his latent Bene Gesserit connection to his genetic memory. The Kwisatz Haderach is literally called a "super mentat" in Appendix 3. Paul's powers being explainable by naturalistic processes (however fictionalised) is a core theme of Dune; there are no messiahs, just people with the good fortune to have access to training and privilege.
As a general rule I agree with Orson Welles: the optimal length for a movie is two hours. You can go shorter or you can go longer but you do it at your peril, so if you take that chance you need to have a damn good reason for making it that long. Unfortunately Pirates of the Caribbean started a trend of making A certain kind of film 2 1/2 hours long, which resulted in the Star Wars prequel's all being 2 1/2 hours long despite having not enough story to fill two hours, and the first Chronicles of Narnia movie is 2 1/2 hours long despite having a haiku length story that would've been lucky to fill up 90 minutes. I think this movie would've been better at two hours. If you need to make part 23 hours that's fine that's where all of the meat is anyway, 156 minutes for movie in which basically only three or four major events happened it's just too damn long. This was also the problem with blade runner two: blade jogger. Just too damn long for the small amount of stuff that happens it.
Well, ending the movie with Paul becoming a Fremen does make sense. It’s not super spectacular but it’s significant. Ending it on Duncan’s or Liet’s death would have felt weird, honestly.
shadout mapes didn't mention what once draw the crysknife needs to draw blood, even if it's your own. Didnt even need dialogue, just a couple of seconds of her cutting herself before handing it over
The "tough planet = tough people" theme is ALL OVER Herbert's book, which I am.in.the middle of my 13th read of. 2. ANYONE shocked by it being the first of 2 parts COMPLETELY ignored ALL of the following, ALL of which made this Utterly Clear: the pre-press, interview shows, YT fan rumor shows. The movies name, in trailers, adds, posters, and souvenir mugs. Marquis. The movie's OPENING which also made it clear.
I already watched the film twice as in Europe was released early, and I loved it. The bullfighting symbols of House Atreides when Harkonnen means "bull", Duke Leto exposed, paralyzed as a bull that has received the final blow by a "torero" but instead kills before dying... Everybody complains that Zendaya wasn't much in the movie but I reeeeeallly hope more screentime in the second part
As someone who hasn't read the books, the movie's ending actually makes perfect sense. It ends with Paul starting a new chapter of his journey, having lost his previous life completely (ending with Duncan Idaho's death). His duel with a Fremen is a ritual that allows him to start forging a new identity among the Fremen. Well, that and they really wanted to advertise this movie with Zendaya, which I can't blame them for.
Dom don’t put yourself down like that! I’ve been watching your videos for 5 years and I only saw your old video on Dune for the first time the other week, I was in a crowded place yet I actually laughed out loud
Pink Floyd almost made a soundtrack for Dune?! That would be beyond amazing. Now I'll forever be haunted by what could have been. :( Also, great review as always!
Thing is if this film does do well enough to warrant adaptations of the rest of the Herbert books (very unlikely) you'd better REALLY like Jason Mamoa, and one wonders if this was in the back of somebody's head when they cast him.
Does anyone else just want a video of Dom on a greenscreen doing reaction gifs. His famous middle finger video need a follow up of "I can't even!" Is needed.
Please consider an episode on John Milton's Paradise Lost. No film adaptation has yet been made, but there have been several "attempts," so I think it would make a good episode to cover it. Alex Proyas was most recently slated to adapt the poem, but it was canned, and as a result, he made the film "Gods of Egypt." It's obvious he basically turned his script for Paradise Lost into the premise for that film, so that may also provide more context, but Paradise Lost is something I'd love to hear you cover!
Just watched it last night. The funny part is I didn't recognize it until I saw the blue eyes and I was like hey this is Dune right remake, I only heard of it before from your videos.
