Why Dune Works (I'm obsessed) 

Hey guys sorry for the long break (as said at the end of my video) I've been away in Sydney for the past month and then all of February the new place I moved into didnt have internet so I've just fixed that, have a few videos ready to go, so excited to bring some life back to this channel again, huge love to all my patreon pals that have kept this going!!

When Paul says "lead them to paradise" at the end still haunts me

Dune Messiah just being Paul going "Oh shit" is perfect but I really want to see if they have the guts to go full send on Leto II.

Hans Zimmer deciding to do Dune instead of sticking with Nolan just because he was a fanatic of the story should tell us something. Javier Bardem’s favorite character from the book was Stilgar and you can see he loved acting that character out. Timothée also read the books and you can just see that he gets it. Awesome cast, amazing staff, brilliant execution! It is a 10/10 for me, mainly my bias comes through because I never thought we would get a good adaptation and this blew my mind at how well it was done.

I find it interesting and tragic how the last thing Jessica told Paul before she became the Reverend Mother was to not pursue vengeance.

The story isn’t so much about Paul being corrupted by his foresight or leading people astray. If anything, Paul ultimately FAILS to carry out the only way for humanity because of his inability to lose his compassion. He CAN see the true way forward, he just couldn’t follow through. He isn’t corrupted by the Water of Life, he just sees what needs to be done for the ultimate salvation of humanity, despite the short term tragedies. It’s a personal tragedy for Paul because he’s trapped by it.

As a fan of all of the books… This is the most immersive cinematic experience ever made and a literally perfect adaptation

I’ve heard the plan for Messiah is to incorporate parts of the Paul Of Dune novel, which was about the Holy War between the end of Dune and start of Messiah. That way there can be action.

There's something to be said about naturalistic humour in an otherwise very serious film, and Dune pt 2 nails that - you're laughing at a point of view, not its quippy delivery. I think my favourite example besides this is the dialogue between the two detectives in The Terminator, played by Lance Henriksen and Paul Winfield. No gags, no cheese, just two colleagues having a very organic, dryly funny conversation in an otherwise airless, tense, sci-fi slasher movie. It reminds me of Dune pt 2 because of how sparingly it's used.

I guess the real subversion of expectations is that when you read all the books you come to realize that Paul isn’t even the hero of the story of Dune, it’s another character entirely.

I hope they do the other books justice, this could be the Star Wars of the 2020's.

Hayden Christensen as Paul: "From my point of view, the Atreides are evil!"

Im also obsessed, watched Dune 2, 3x at the cinema and now vout the book. DUNE 1 SPARKED IT ALL

The Spice must Flow...

After seeing Dune 2, i got so obsessed with all the lore (i watched Quinn's Ideas 8 hour recap of the OG novels), and for weeks I felt like everything I was experiencing and learning was through the lens of Dune. It felt like real history or anthropology to me, it was bizarre lol. I think Herbert had such a real understanding of humanity, on an individual and societal level, that the series just wraps you up.

Welcome to the obsessed club, I remember the first time I read it in 98’ I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. Then came the miniseries and I knew it would dominate my nerd interests from then on. Messiah is when things really start to change with Dune, going from dark to bonkers.. it’s a wild ride if you choose to go down the rabbit hole.

I loved this movie I’m showing to see it a second time this week! I personally think Messiah could still succeed as a film without having to add a whole lot of action. When GOT was on tv the best and arguably most popular seasons of the show hardly had much for action but audiences were still hooked on the political intrigue and the dialogue between complex and power driven characters so I can see Dune having that same effect

Hey, just want to say, I love this video essay. I tried to watch some other essays on Dune and damn man, some people just can't help but literally doing a play-by-play of the movies. "So in the first scene -blah blah blah-, in the second scene -blah blah blah-" They end up just describing the movie instead of actually critiquing the overall themes of it. You've done a really good job here, I can really see the intro-analysis-supporting data-conclusion structure of your video essay. Good job mate.

I think messiah will divide the fan base just like it did before. alot fans just didnt like paul as a villian and the outcome. Yes dune had parts that was trying to say he was a villian. But there was more good then bad hence why people had there view of it. Messiah was a reaction from herbert and how alotta fans took Dune. As years went on he kinda soften his stance and let people make there own views on it even if he disagreed with most. He stuck to his view and his vision. But he came to like people having conversations on his work and there own views of it.Very talented writer and deep thinker. Very good video and insightful takes. I think they will follow the spirt of messiah for the next movie, yet make a few changes. And they will try really hard to stay true to Herberts vision. But will have to tweak it somewhat also.

They don't really have to age up the actors, don't know if I missed it in the movies, but spice melange keeps it's addict.. I mean users youthful, strong, healthy and alive for a very long time(it's literally how the fremen are able to overpower the sardukar), also the bene gesserit can control their bodies to delay or speed up ageing, but a little makeup here and there will suffice.

I just realized did Dune revert all the hero motif even before the hero motif were popular

Denis is right, the last movie he will do should be Dune Messiah as it's full Paul's story, he might slightly change Dune Messish to make it more cinematic, he might develop it by details from other books

Dune also upends the concept of "Prophecy." The prophecy in Dune is not a true prophecy in the classic sense. Its the result of social and genetic engineering done over thousands of years by the Bene Gesserit. Keep in mind this "prophecy" has been seeded on multiple planets, into multiple cultures, by the Bene Gesserit, so this "prophecy" will never come true on most of these planets. The only reason it does come true at all is because Paul is the result of thousands of years of bloodline manipulation by the Bene Gesserit, combined with thousands of years of developing human abilities to the point that they seem like magic to outsiders, and then mixed with the power of the Spice to increase human brainpower. Nothing about the prophecy is magic. Everything has a scientific and sociological explanation, because this "prophecy" is political manipulation plain and simple.

Please do a video on how a possible part 3 Dune Messiah will be made. Elements of story structure, main characters present/past, even the visual colour palette like part 1 had a turquoise-grey, part 2 had a red-orange-yellow, and part 3 (maybe) deep blue-grey-yellow highlights? Also, (my own thoughts), part 2 was a straight up adrenaline rush of cinema & storytelling greatness I just wanted the movie to stretch on for just an extra 2 hours; I hope they do a director's cut of a longer version on blu-ray! This movie needs to be remembered for generations!!

I’d hope it becomes a 6 part series. Part 3: dune messiah. Part 4: children of dune. Parts 5 and 6: God emperor of dune. But if they aren’t going to even show you how disfigured the navigators are, it’s unlikely they would even attempt to portray Leto II 3500 years into his transformation.

I love how everyone is obsessed right now with dune, just as was I when I was like 16 and read that ~900 pages book over a couple of days. Every time I read it and Messiah, something new clicked in my head; it's funny that it also prevented me from enjoying star wars and every other bland SciFi and Fantasy franchise. My guess it that the change on the ending suggests that messiah will be paul's story getting more dark while at the same time showing the Jihad in all it's glorious (and probably action packed, you know, for the enjoyment of the masses) horror, as opposed to the book which puts the events on the aftermath.

I'm so glad you found your way out from under the rock to find one of the coolest Scifi stories we have.

If Messiah is light on action and heavy on political intrigue, I certainly won't be disappointed. That's the most interesting stuff to me. If you want explosions and fighting, there are thousands of movies that give you that.

We'll see how Denis and company handle the apparent major changes they've made to the Chani character, and also which children are present in the next movie(s). I've listened to a lot of discussion about the Dune Messiah and Children books, and so far the story of the Dune movies have veered off this path in a way that could be cause for concern.

Imagine knowing 61 billion have to die in order for the rest of humanity to avoid extinction because of the incoming threat thousands of years into the future. Paul wasn't preborn unlike his child who is basically the amalgamation of hundreds of years of his ancestors' ego. What sucks is you can only lead humanity to salvation if you can discard your own humanity. The Great Scattering and instilling fear of a central figure is the only way to prevent humanity's stagnation and extinction.

"Power attracts the corruptible". It's so true.

I think that the third book is a thin book, so that Denis Villeneuve can pack some missing worldbuilding about the Butlerian Jihad, in comparison with Paul's Jihad, and then introduce the guild naviagators, tleilaxians and (maybe) the mentat as a consequence of the machine ban. I really hope that he touches the machine ban, it is a hot topic for today and will be in a couple of years. There is no way that he can make this movie without visiting other books (revisiting the original Dune book) or it will really lack substance.

Denis Villeneuve is the Lisan al Gaib and he has brought us to paradise.

Dune was Star Wars before Star Wars but better

"Power does not corrupt - it attracts the corruptible." - Frank Herbert "Power does not corrupt, weakness corrupts." - Friedrich Nietzsche

I love dune it’s really awesome and badass.

10:18 I don't have much issue with that. I'm not against romance in films however it feels like they happen in film just bc it's some kind of rule that the main character needs to end up in a relationship with someone, even when their stories have nothing to do with this At least in films like Dune (with Paul and Chani) or SW (Anakin and Padme) the romance is important for the story move forward but other cases like Hulk and Natasha in Avenger AoU it comes off as forcefull and uncessary.

I am truly obsessed, this must feel like when Star Wars came out back in the 70s

Good to see you make full lenth videos again. Hopefully X-Men 2 and EMH are up next 🤞🤞🤞

Cult of personality. Take it all with a grain of sand.

Same, bro!! I am literally OBSESSED with Dune. Im watching Dune 2 for the 3rd time this weekend. lol

I enjoy watching a well-edited video analysis, so thanks for making this! I do have some counterpoints, though: 1. At 1:31, I'm like 99% confident we are NOT supposed to think Paul's vengeance is a just cause to begin with. The movie has Jessica warn Paul that his father would have valued the billions of lives in collateral damage above getting revenge, and wouldn't be so selfish as to push for war. This is further reinforced by the fact that... 2. At 2:40, the book makes it clear that Paul has the option to live out the rest of his days with his mom and sister amongst the Fremen as equals, without any war needed. In the movie, this seems to be made more vague, but when he tells his mother that "there is a narrow path" he seems to be referring to the paths available once he filters by seeking revenge. So on the whole, I agree with your analysis, but I think in the books at least, Paul's decision to commit allow genocide for the sake of getting revenge on a handful of people are heavily foreshadowed -- the Atreides family is unflinchingly machiavellian from the start, and they view the Fremen as pawns rather than allies. So in a sense, the books aren't about the terrible consequences of fanatics following compassionate leaders, but rather the consequences of fanaticism and religion blinding the followers from being able to tell the difference between what kind of leader they are following. And Paul happens to not be the good kind.

Lads, we are witnessing the birth of a cinema classic.

Great analysis, I've been anticipating Part Two for years now and I'm so glad that's it's doing as well as it as. If Denis decides to continue to helm the series, we could genuinely get the greatest sci fi trilogy of all time.

"A great man doesn't seek to lead. He is called to it."

People are always impressed by savior stories. Deep down inside everybody expects a savior, someone to save them from the struggles. It is father syndrome i think, we are like a child who is waiting father to save us from bad guys. Thats why mssiah, savior, the chosen one stories always works

The number of people who think this is just another hero story is concerning. I have seen so many videos, shorts, and tiktoks talking about how paul is gonna be an awesome leader and how he is a good guy. I genuinely dont know how much more obvious it could have been that this is a warning about chosen ones and messias. A warning about our need for them instead of ditching the consept of a leader and forging our own destiny as a group. The Fremen possessed the ability to overthrow and hault apice production, but so many of them blindly saught out the comfort of prophecy instead of banding together and doing it themselves, and it was ultimately their downfall as a result as we will see in later movies if the movies continue with Herbert's message

There was no "North and South," Just Fremen and Towns people... Chani was Fremen, and Sayyadina. She was the "Desert Spring" to Paul...

Always a good day when Mitch makes a post😊

A superb presentation. I'm also captivated with Dune, there's so much to grasp. Thanks for clarifying some elements I was unsure about.

DUNE: PART TWO is exquisite. It will be remembered at OSCAR time!

Hello Mitch, greetings from Costa Rica. I am so glad that Mr. Villeneuve made the movie adaptation of Dune since it will introduce it to a new generation. I think that, had it not been presented so masterfully, many would have missed the many relevant messages and warnings that Frank Herbert gave us. Of course I have been a die hard fan since 1973, I practically learned English with it. The one thing I am missing is the Butlerian Jihad, an interesting reflection on AI and its danger. In todays context, I think that people should be aware that not all solutions can be found in Technology, and mankind also needs to continue its natural development. Great video, by the way, concise and to the point. Trhanks.

by far the best dune video essay I've seen!

Can’t lie I can’t blame your obsession it was great

I say they just have the first 3rd of messiah be the holy war and the last of the film be the aftermath leading into the tragedy of Paul and his downfall.

Wow great movie. I’m obsessed too. Star Wars and Stargate junky here, so I have to have the dvd of Dune also. All the actors preformed brilliantly in their characters. The cinematography is beautiful and so realistic. Paul was thrust into the do or die life caused by the evilness of others to help his new found friends the Fremen. It goes to show that even now in our world that power, corruption, and religion can be the upheaval of all.

Because of this video, I have subscribed. Loved how you did this dive.

I dislike when people compare game of thrones and dune. They’re completely different. Only similarity is the houses.

I instantly became a fan of Dune when i watched part 1, then the david lynch version, then the 2000 miniseries (with children of Dune), then part 2 just last month. I so love the story of dune. It becomes weirder as it goes, as what many people would say. If i have the same vibe for star wars and lord of the rings, then i would do the same for dune. 😊

Great Dune review

brilliant essay!!! Im also obsessed with Dun 2

Wonderful job

This was the best dune review

I simply like sci-fi, brutalist architecture/design

6:35, i was anticipating the worm sound. why did you stop. Anyways, very neat video essay. Excellent summary of the main point of the movie and book.

Best review I've heard.

When you said that Dune might be the Star Wars of this generation, I think it is! My father in law was telling us the other day how blown away he was when he saw the first Star Wars at the theatre, how he had never seen something like that before. That was the exact same feeling I had when I went to see Dune Part One at the theatre. It haunted me for months and so is part two!

Honestly Messiah works less as an ending than the original book did, If you do Messiah, not doing Children of Dune feels wrong.

Other than zendaya struggling with her lines it was a perfect movie

Welcome brother!

i love how NOW like RIGHT NOW, everyone is realizing Paul is Darth Vader. Good stuff.

I hope the next one will be actually called "Dune Messiah" and not "Dune Part 3".... I just like the title of the book

Thank you for your review and thoughts! Myself i really love this movie. Went 3 times to the Cinema and i am so obsessed! The actors how they play, the music and also the story. The politics that is going on, also the religion etc. Really love the film, and with Dune as the introduction.. oh boy!😍.. Hope they will make Dune Masaisa 🙌🙏

I saw this movie yesterday and I can already say it has changed my life.

I thought Dune 2 did a masterful job of condensing what they could into under 3 hours of screen time, while making it understandable to non book readers. That in itself is quite an accomplishment. It would have been nice to show how important and powerful the Spacing Guild is to the series, and yes, they could have kept some of the characters truer to the story. They could have gone into more depth about the Bene Gesserit and the prophecies of the Kwisatz Haderach, but all that takes time. What Denis Villeneuve most certainly did accomplish is creating a keen interest in the story, which can only be found in the books, for an incredibly large audience. Millions will read the books that would never have considered it before.

I'm so glad everyone has come to my view on dune.

In 2018 I couldn’t even imagine how Dune would have taken over pop culture. And the memes 🫶🏻

Finally, someone like me. I'm obsessed!

love that you have a video about why we NEED heroes and Dune is ostensibly about how we DO NOT need heroes and should extremely wary of anyone who looks and talks and acts like one

Genuinely one of the best sequels ever

I think Denis will add some action to the plot

Power corrupts in inverse proportion to the willingness of its wielder to accept responsibility for the consequences of its application.

Herbert: Here's a cautionary tale about following a leader unquestioningly Me: God I want a leader like Paul. God I wish for a Messiah

Yeah I'm getting the books for my birthday

I first watched Dune part one 4 months ago so my spoiled ass only had to wait three months for the sequel in the theaters God damn it’s like an artillery strike in the theater 💥💣 want to go see it again. For the third time in theater. God I’m a nerd 😂

I know it’s really fresh but the 2 combined might just be my favorite science fiction movies of all time. They are that great!!!

Yo you see the flash today is the day he vanished in Crisis

Nobody who grew up watching movies before 2000 would think Dune 1 and 2 are good movies.

Well said, sir. Very much looking forward to seeing where Denis Villeneuve takes the story in Messiah.

You have to come back to your X-Men movies fanfic, they are absolute perfection. I'd really love to see you continue that series.

Hey Super Frame! Great to see another review from you! 😊 I’ve also watched your DC Cinematic Universe videos. I actually used your template to make my version of a DC Cinematic Universe. Would you like to hear it? I’d love to hear your honest feedback. 😀

Let’s be real here, the first Dune book doesn’t include all that much action so Villeneuve created a number of scenes in part 1 and 2 to amp this up a little. Could very be easily done for part 3 if that’s what people are worried about. The could also use the princess Irulan chronicling as a story telling device into the past.

Sometimes when I am reading and seeing commentary of this film, I feel like I am watching the crowds going wild at Feyd's birthday celebration / knife fight where the stadium announcer specifically tells the audience that this spectacle is a new form of horror and terror for their pleasure. Granted, the entire presentation is compelling and captivating through technical achievement and the "message" of the film is a warning against the content that most of its characters embrace... but the warning seems to get lost in the overwhelming sights and sounds of the spectacle. The way that eugenics and social darwinism function in this story world is reminiscent of fallacies that added to the conflagration of WWII in our own history... yet it frequently is allowed to pass by the viewer as acceptable and without comment. Are "bloodlines" truly fate in this adaptation of Herbert's world? Are power and revenge the only value in this world?... I don't have answers here, but this adaptation suggests so many frightening possibilities regarding essentialisms, and sometimes I am not sure if the film is questioning them through art in our world, or if it is asserting them. I tend to believe the former, but I am surprised that these questions aren't being addressed more broadly, but I am very glad that you do here. Cheers.

We saw it 70mm, OmnIMAX, Dolby, and 4D. Can't wait to see it a 5th time...

so glad to see Dune crossover to mainstream appeal and eclipse Star Wars.

I have been seeing a lot of videos buzzing on RU-vid about how Paul Atreides is not a hero, and Frank Herbert's original intent for writing the book, to warn about charismatic leaders. What's far worse, is that I have recently come to the realization that the only character in the Bible he resembles is the Anti-Christ from the book of Revelation. Paul Atreides is no Jesus, he is not Christ-like, in fact he is kinda the antithesis of that. It's really depressing because this was indeed my favorite novel and story.

Probably the best subversion of the hero’s journey. Paul isn’t even the hero in this massive story. 😂😂😂

'I am the one your mothers warned you about!'

Fairly certain George Martin borrowed or was inspired by Dune even though he never mentions Dune as an inspiration

Are we not doing the Golden Path anymore?