Yes, Dune again.

Post by **Avatar** » Tue May 19, 2020 3:01 pm

Wow, I might (I hope) have to eat my words afterall...this is looking very promising.

Behold Dune: An Exclusive Look...

Cast looks good, he's breaking it into 2 movies, seems respectful of the subject matter...I feel a little flutter of hope we might see a good Dune movie in my lifetime.

--A

Post by **Cagliostro** » Tue May 19, 2020 6:06 pm

I was discussing this with someone else the other day, and I think the reason I like the Lynch version of Dune is a bit of the campiness of it, and the casting. I know it isn't good, but I suspect even if it is a good coherent version of the movie, it still won't make me fully happy, especially since I am not married to the material.

Post by **wayfriend** » Wed May 20, 2020 12:26 pm

I saw the Vanity Fair piece on Dune. I didn't think it really said anything substantive about the movie, nor were the photos particularly revealing. It left me feeling that it was all very vanilla. Except for the part about the casting of Liet Kynes ... an obvious bid to stir up some controversy, unless it's just trying to get the controversy out of the way early on.

Lynch's Dune has it's moments. I recently tried to rewatch it, and couldn't. But I think everyone would agree that 80% of the success it does have was made by the score. Hans Zimmer is the guy who can repeat that success - he did it for the Pirates franchise.

To succeed, I think the new Dune has to deliver these things: action that involves the audience, the ecological message, a GoT type of political-feudal intrigue, and big scary worms. Of these, the first one is the hardest to extract from the material, so I expect some non-cannon material here. Even more so, the director needs to stay away from the morass of internal dialog and express the story visually. (This is where Lynch failed most.) The ecological message might just turn some people off in these divided times, so that's tricky as well. The more it's like Game of Thrones the better, of course. And big scary worms needs no explanation.

Post by **Wosbald** » Wed May 20, 2020 11:22 pm

+JMJ+

Woot!

Post by **Avatar** » Thu May 21, 2020 5:20 am

I found it quite heartening. I really couldn't care about Liet Kynes, he wasn't a central enough figure in the book for it to make a difference.

Possibly the biggest plus I took from it, (since I haven't been following otherwise) was the cast. Lynch's movie was so badly miscast (with perhaps the exception of Feyd) that it almost killed it from the get-go for me. I've never felt his version has any moments.

Damn killing words.

This cast looks much better. And the fact that he insisted on 2 movies was good for me too...while I don't see any point in making The Hobbit a trilogy, Dune is too big for a single movie to do it justice.

Jason Momoa is maybe a bit big for Duncan, but I think they got the selection down pretty well for the most part.

--A

Post by **Skyweir** » Fri May 22, 2020 9:10 am

Im excite

Post by **wayfriend** » Fri May 22, 2020 12:41 pm

Well, I feel like there are some gems in the weeds.

Sandworm Attack

Yes, the special effects are a bit lame, and there is that damn "whispering" of internal dialog. But this scene is perfectly done in many ways - story, characters, tone, and setting.

Post by **Wosbald** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 12:49 am

+JMJ+

Dune Official Trailer [YouTube: 3 min]

Post by **wayfriend** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 12:25 pm

I was not overly impressed.

Why is it so hard to make Dune interesting?

Post by **Avatar** » Thu Sep 10, 2020 12:54 pm

Hmmm, I didn't hate it. But perhaps a touch over-dramatic. Not enough to make me decide not to watch it.

--A

Post by **Wosbald** » Sat Jul 31, 2021 4:30 am

+JMJ+

DUNE Trailer 2 (2021) [Video: 3.5 min]

Post by **Avatar** » Fri Aug 06, 2021 1:44 pm

Damn, still looking pretty promising.

I see they have the elaborate headboard, suggesting the hunter-seeker scene will be in.

Gurney looks great, and so do the shields and ornithopters.

Dr Yueh looks good, and while Jason Momoa is maybe a bit hefty for Duncan Idaho, overall I think it has potential.

--A

Post by **Skyweir** » Fri Aug 06, 2021 9:10 pm

Avatar wrote:Hmmm, I didn't hate it. … Not enough to make me decide not to watch it.

--A

Yup

Post by **peter** » Tue Oct 05, 2021 7:39 am

One problem not being made clear in the trailer is that it is not the whole book. The story - and it is a long one - is being broken into two halves of which this is the first offering. This by all accounts, makes the film very inclusive of all of the books story elements, but somewhat slow to watch. I love the book so I think I'd handle this okay, but many may struggle - and as with many film projects before, the funders are not completionist by nature. They won't throw good money after bad, so if the first film is not commercially successful, the chances are that the second will never be made.

Post by **wayfriend** » Tue Oct 05, 2021 11:48 am

Splitting it into two movies can be both good and bad, as you have said.

What bothers me is that they are not really mentioning this too much. You can find out, but you have to look.

They did this with LOTR back in 1979. Everyone came out of that movie stunned that it ended halfway through.

And then they never did make the second part. Certainly the decision to do so wasn't helped by the disappointed reviews.

Will it be slow? That's okay by me, as long as it is gripping. Which means we need to care about the characters. But I understand that the Tiktok generation may not tolerate a slow pace that lacks constant stimulation.

I may go to a theatre to see this, if it is empty enough. I am still hoping for something good. But I think this has Ender's Game written all over it.

Post by **peter** » Tue Oct 05, 2021 5:57 pm

Can you just amplify the last comment wayfriend; I vaguely remember the film but not sufficiently to get your meaning. Was it that the film fell way short of the book or something?

(I also remember the first Dune film - with Sting in it iirc. It was okay I seem to recall, but not good enough to complete with Herbert's telling of the tale. Jackson is one of the few who have pulled that off - or at least you believe so until you actually read the book/s again and then you realise that it/they are in a different universe really.)

Post by **wayfriend** » Wed Oct 06, 2021 12:15 pm

Amplification: Bakshi's 1979 Film "The Lord of the Rings" ended right after the battle of Helm's Deep. However, none of the advertising leading up to the movie ever really mentioned that it was only the first half of the whole story. Most people who saw the movie were surprised that it ended in the middle, with Sam Frodo and Gollum wandering away.

Bakshi's 'Lord Of The Rings' Commercial (1979)

Post by **peter** » Thu Oct 07, 2021 5:19 am

Apologies my friend - I wasn't specific enough!

I saw the original LOTR film all those years ago (in the cinema as it happens) and yes, was surprised when it ended half way through the story just as you say.

No - what I was confused by was your Enders Game comment; I saw the film of this which as I say, was okay, but didn't impress me to the point of having burned itself into my cinematic memories. Was this what you meant by the forthcoming release of Dune having "Enders Game written all over it."?

Post by **wayfriend** » Thu Oct 07, 2021 12:15 pm

That was just an off-hand comment that Ender's Game was a hot mess of a movie. It suffered, IMO, by trying to be a movie for a youthful audience and so was not as profound as it could have been. Another topic.

Post by **peter** » Thu Oct 07, 2021 5:35 pm

Fair comment; I've heard that Ender's Game book(s) leaves the film standing and you would seem to be confirming this.

Kevin's Watch

Kevin's Watch

Yes, Dune again.