Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

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Barkingsparrow
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by Barkingsparrow »

Californiastate wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 2:44 pm I watched it again last night on HBO Max. It was my second time. Nope, still sucks. Too many celebral and slow motion scenes. I still enjoyed the extended Lynch version better. This movie seems to appeal more to people who have read the books. I haven't. I watched the movie to be entertained and it failed. Some movies and directors try to be too artsy and they have their audiences.
As a big fan of the book, I did not think much of the Lynch version. It had it's moments but generally I thought it just a bad movie. And Kyle McLachlan as Paul Atriedes was atrocious casting. If the new Dune movie felt "artsy" - that is because it respected the book, while Lynch got away from it. The book had a number of serious themes running through it, none of which Lynch really bothered to capture.

I like cerebral movies that build up. I like just being dropped into a movie world w/o a ton of exposition. I get bored with these commercialized, formulaic Marvel movies with their dumbed down plots appropriate for the minds of young teens - and the consequential and shameless McDonalds Super-Hero happy meals, toys, and advertising. I tried to watch an Avengers movie of that last trilogy and ended up just fast-forwarding through it. Just really tedious. There has to be some suspension of belief when watching Sci/Fi or Fantasy movies, but in the Marvel movies it gets to the point where it just makes me laugh at the absurdity of it.
Patzer
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by Patzer »

Loved it!
Californiastate
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by Californiastate »

Barkingsparrow wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 3:21 pm
Californiastate wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 2:44 pm I watched it again last night on HBO Max. It was my second time. Nope, still sucks. Too many celebral and slow motion scenes. I still enjoyed the extended Lynch version better. This movie seems to appeal more to people who have read the books. I haven't. I watched the movie to be entertained and it failed. Some movies and directors try to be too artsy and they have their audiences.
As a big fan of the book, I did not think much of the Lynch version. It had it's moments but generally I thought it just a bad movie. And Kyle McLachlan as Paul Atriedes was atrocious casting. If the new Dune movie felt "artsy" - that is because it respected the book, while Lynch got away from it. The book had a number of serious themes running through it, none of which Lynch really bothered to capture.

I like cerebral movies that build up. I like just being dropped into a movie world w/o a ton of exposition. I get bored with these commercialized, formulaic Marvel movies with their dumbed down plots appropriate for the minds of young teens - and the consequential and shameless McDonalds Super-Hero happy meals, toys, and advertising. I tried to watch an Avengers movie of that last trilogy and ended up just fast-forwarding through it. Just really tedious. There has to be some suspension of belief when watching Sci/Fi or Fantasy movies, but in the Marvel movies it gets to the point where it just makes me laugh at the absurdity of it.
I'm a simple man. I like to be entertained. This one fell short.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by Starfish »

I did not think it was anything wrong with the slow motion scenes, and if anything the movie was too short.
Slow motions scenes are there because it's all from Paul's head. He has an oneiric obsession with a future girl in the desert also because he is a teenager. The first book it's a coming of age story too (a teenager in a book for teenagers), and the movie followed this path instead of being an exhaustive depiction of characters. I think it was great, not too long, just right for what it had to say.
Movies are not books and have no duty to follow books. It's just a different, independent form of art.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by KFBR392 »

alex_686 wrote: Sat Oct 23, 2021 4:30 pm
arf30 wrote: Sat Oct 23, 2021 4:11 pm Enjoyed it, mostly faithful adaptation of the first half of the book, cinematically impressive, good casting.
I kind of like the David Lynch's 1984 adaptation better. It was a deeply flawed movie but it was audacious. It swung for the fences and took chances.
I agree with this take on the Lynch film. It's clunky, messy, weird, and ultimately a sort of failure. It also has more vision and verve in one scene than the entire Villeneuve feature. His take on the material seems to be akin to Nolan's approach for his Batman films: to make it seem as "real" as possible. But in doing this with science fiction like Dune, I think you end up with something flat and boring. Sandworms, levitating barons, magic spice, interstellar travel -- this should feel fantastical. Treating it like Lawrence of Arabia yields some very impressive visuals but robs it of any excitement.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by Arlington2019 »

Having read all the books and seen all the movies and mini-series, I enjoyed it. An amazing visual spectacle. As of earlier today, part two has been greenlit. It is expected to be in theaters two years from now.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by SgwayMontrose »

I watched it again last night on Hbomax. Was better the second time! This weekend I’ll see it in the theater maybe.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by rockstar »

Meh.

I still rank the SciFi miniseries higher along with the extended David Lynch version.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by hidradenitis »

I just watched it. I enjoyed it immensely and thought it was faithful to the book, for better and worse.

The book is dense, slowly paced, with a complex world milieu that can be difficult to communicate to the uninitiated. So is the movie. The book is at times dull and heavily reliant on symbolic imagery. So is the movie.

The cinematography and score are magnificent. I recommend seeing it in the theater for the full experience.

I used to say (half-joking) that the best screen adaptation of Dune was "Lawrence of Arabia". I think this current production is as good an adaptation of the book that can be made.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by watchnerd »

Slow paced.

They barely explained why spice is important and the role it plays in space navigation.

The mentats were also not explained -- Piter and Thufir are just some random guys with weird tatoos on their lips, no drinking of juice.

The fight scene of Paul vs Jamis didn't really cover the Weirding Way, but at least they did 'kung fu in the sand' instead of the dumb vocal modules that Lynch used.

It wasn't bad, but I had higher expectations from the trailer. Maybe it needed that Pink Floyd soundtrack from the trailer back.
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watchnerd
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by watchnerd »

KFBR392 wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 5:17 pm
alex_686 wrote: Sat Oct 23, 2021 4:30 pm
arf30 wrote: Sat Oct 23, 2021 4:11 pm Enjoyed it, mostly faithful adaptation of the first half of the book, cinematically impressive, good casting.
I kind of like the David Lynch's 1984 adaptation better. It was a deeply flawed movie but it was audacious. It swung for the fences and took chances.
I agree with this take on the Lynch film. It's clunky, messy, weird, and ultimately a sort of failure. It also has more vision and verve in one scene than the entire Villeneuve feature. His take on the material seems to be akin to Nolan's approach for his Batman films: to make it seem as "real" as possible. But in doing this with science fiction like Dune, I think you end up with something flat and boring. Sandworms, levitating barons, magic spice, interstellar travel -- this should feel fantastical. Treating it like Lawrence of Arabia yields some very impressive visuals but robs it of any excitement.
I find the Lynch movie more fun, too.

It's brazen anddefies the book in many ways, but it was fun.

It was also more weirdly psychedlic, which seems to suit the spice theme and Pauls' visions.

The Villeneuve movie is more respectful to the book, but I think Lynch was more entertaining.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by vested1 »

I read the books and loved the story so much that I watched the David Lynch movie almost every time I came across it, enduring the subpar special effects which seemed amazing at the time it was released. I was immediately impressed with the scale of the interstellar ships and the sound track of the new release. I appreciated the abandonment of campy dialogue in the 1984 movie in favor of a greater adherence to the book. I watched it on HBO Max with my wife and BIL, neither of whom had read the book or saw the 1984 adaptation, and who aren't particularly fans of sci fi. I paused it several times to explain the plot progression because they quickly became lost with unfamiliar terms.

I thought it was great, if for nothing else, the cinematography and updated special effects. The casting and performances were excellent in my opinion. Hopefully part two will provide more insight into the spice and the power of the weirding way, the recreation of the weirding modules and their use, as well as a more complete depiction of the worms. The tantalizing glimpse of a freman warrior riding a worm was a great teaser.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by Nivek »

Little conflicted on it. Dune is my favorite novel of all time and the cinematography was amazing. However it was really slow but the first half of the novel is more political intrigue and world building. I wanted the movie to be faithful to the book and in some ways it was almost too faithful. Pretty slow plot but again things don’t really take off until the second half of the book. Some characters are fleshed out and a couple of major characters are just cameos. So sort of meh with hopes the second movie redeems it. It is setup nicely for the action to begin but I heard the collective groan and wtf when the movie ended. Many didn’t realize it was only half the book.

Dennis definitely loves the source material and respectful of it. But I think the movie would have been better served handled like LOTR. Peter Jackson stuck to the overall plot but added a little more action, fleshed out the more interesting characters and didn’t introduce ones that didn’t further the plot (Tom Bombadill). Still I’m reserving final judgement for the finale since it’s been green lit now.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by Tubes »

Kyle McLaughlin was too ... perfect? He makes a better teen in Lynch's next movie and Twin Peaks. In retrospect, Crispin Glover would have been perfect, especially as a late teen. Timothee C. I think was cast right.

As a non-reader, I use Lynch as my base - like it or not. I miss the involvement of the Spacing Guild. I wanted to see what Villeneuve did with the navigators. He did nothing. Lynch may have taken it a bit far (but from what I understand, the book is somewhat vague on their look), but he did establish the fact that these "people" are very different, have incredible power, and are somehow mixed up in the power between the houses and emperor. And Lynch used them to add a bit of twisted humor. As I mentioned earlier, the new movie is absolutely 100% humor free.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by andypanda »

Part 2 = October, 2023
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by watchnerd »

vested1 wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 2:48 am the recreation of the weirding modules and their use
I don't think V. is going to use the weirding modules that Lynch invented.

From the fight scene between Jessica/Stilgar and Paul/Jamis, he seems to be comfortable with the idea that the Weirding Way is a martial art, as it was in the book.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by vested1 »

watchnerd wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:43 am
vested1 wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 2:48 am the recreation of the weirding modules and their use
I don't think V. is going to use the weirding modules that Lynch invented.

From the fight scene between Jessica/Stilgar and Paul/Jamis, he seems to be comfortable with the idea that the Weirding Way is a martial art, as it was in the book.
Thanks. Read the book over 40 years ago. Time to do it again.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by Ramjet »

Another vote for enjoying the movie

Looking forward to part 2
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by Valuethinker »

manatee2005 wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 3:03 am
Valuethinker wrote: Sun Oct 24, 2021 10:37 am
manatee2005 wrote: Sat Oct 23, 2021 3:59 pm It’s horrible. Looks good but empty.
Unfortunately that defines a lot of Hollywood product these days.

With the decline of the aftermarket (DVDs& video rentals) it is (pre Covid) all about the big box office in the early days. Films used to sit for weeks in cinemas whilst people read reviews and heard about them from their friends, building an audience.

To make money, a movie has to do well in international rentals. Generally that means that the story has to be simpler - complex character development or plot lines don't translate as well into the big international markets (Spanish or Chinese, I imagine). It has to meet certain censorship standards (political or adult themes) to even have a chance at the Chinese market, now the world's largest or 2nd largest after USA -- and the number of foreign films each year is restricted there by quota.

(Bollywood is world's largest cinema by ticket sales. But by dollar value, I don't think it is).

(these factors underlie the decline of the typical American mid-list film. For example the sort of Rom-Coms Nora Ephron specialised in writing. I read that if it weren't for Megan Ellison (daughter of Oracle billionaire Larry) a lot of these movies would just not get made).

With the high costs of film making plus the higher risk of not recovering those costs, studios are risk averse. Michael Bay (Transformers franchise) is the most bankable director in Hollywood, I believe I read. JJ Abrams might be another (Avengers. Star Wars?). Sharing common DNA (e.g. Marvel Comics Universe) which has instant recognition w the potential audience.

"Looks good but empty" is how I'd define a very large number of movies. Maybe it was always thus, but it seems the ones that beat that don't get made (or maybe I just don't catch them).
I have a movie channel so I watch a lot of movies in the background and the movies that are made before about 2012-2014 are a lot better. Something happened then, I don’t know if it cos Netflix and everyone else are making movies so it dilutes talent, or CGI or if people just forgot how to make movies, but the movies made before 2010 are so much better.
I’m at the point where when a movie comes on the channel, if it’s made after 2010 I won’t even watch it.
I hadn't particularly clocked that moment.

I am not sure when the bottom fell out of the DVD market (early 2000s?) but that was certainly a pivotal moment for Hollywood.

The one I really raged about (pre Covid) was that films sit in cinemas for only a very few weeks. By the time I have heard through the grapevine that a film is worth seeing... it is gone.

The piracy problem has become so bad that I imagine, along with Covid, that simultaneous releases will be the rule rather than the exception now. Get a streaming service to pay enough money up front and cover more of the cost of the film.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by sureshoe »

watchnerd wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 12:08 am Slow paced.

They barely explained why spice is important and the role it plays in space navigation.

The mentats were also not explained -- Piter and Thufir are just some random guys with weird tatoos on their lips, no drinking of juice.

The fight scene of Paul vs Jamis didn't really cover the Weirding Way, but at least they did 'kung fu in the sand' instead of the dumb vocal modules that Lynch used.

It wasn't bad, but I had higher expectations from the trailer. Maybe it needed that Pink Floyd soundtrack from the trailer back.
I think this is where the movie struggles. I think this only REALLY works as a series. I think 8 episodes that are 45-55 minutes would be perfect. You can flesh out the subplots, etc.

For example, why is Yueh being a traitor such a big deal? Why does the spice make people super-rich? I'm with you, but I don't think it works in a 2 hour film. What surprised me was how long it was, but also incomplete.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by Impatience »

Big big Dune fan here. Read the whole series through 3 times most recently last year in lockdown. Yes I even like the weird final two books.

Really enjoyed the movie, saw it once on HBO max and again in IMAX. Beautiful to look at, great score, great acting, better than I could have hoped for such a difficult adaptation. Definitely not perfect, some of the dialogue choices are real head scratchers, either from content they added which is too much like a Marvel movie or material they kept from the books and leaned too hard on (desert power .. come on!). The added characterization of Duke Leto, his relationship with Jessica, and of course the Baron, all very well done. Beast Rabban too. Duncan Idaho not so much.

Also how about those costumes? And those space ships? Great stuff. Mostly. Let’s ignore the still-suits…
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by watchnerd »

Impatience wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 8:11 am Duncan Idaho not so much.
I liked Captain Picard better as Gurney, too.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by ScubaHogg »

We really enjoyed it. I never could get through the book and tried watching the old movie (maybe it was from 84?) once but didn't like it either.

But we liked this version. The cinematography is great, the score is great. Perhaps the story is a little slow at times, but I didn't think so.

To be fair the whole movie felt like a set up for the sequel, so if you like you stories told quickly this probably isn't for you
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by mhalley »

For anyone considering revisiting or watching the 1984 version, check out the fan edit by spicediver on YouTube. Makes the original mire coherent and gets rid of the ridiculous ending.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by tooluser »

Too loud sound effects. (Though I otherwise liked them.)
Too quiet dialogue.
Too much DarkovisionTM.
(I guess those can all be fixed by spending a lot of money on my TV setup, or as I did, constantly turning volume up and down, and adjusting the backlight near the end.)

Pretty faithful to the book I read 40 years ago. With some interesting differences.
Eliminated most voiceovers of inner thoughts from the novel. (Hurray! - action or dialogue should demonstrate the thoughts).

They left out why the Mentats are awesome.
They did not establish the Harkonnens as being absolutely, terrifyingly corrupt. (Something the 1984 film did quite well, better than the novel.)
Could have explained the mysticism better. It was jarring on too many occasions to not know whether some scenes were real or visionary.

Misleading title - not a complete movie. Unforgiveable.

Extra tidbit: Do any gamers remember the old Avalon Hill board game Dune (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(board_game)), based on the novel? It was simple yet complex, an intriguing interplay of five factions of that universe.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by watchnerd »

tooluser wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:11 pm

Extra tidbit: Do any gamers remember the old Avalon Hill board game Dune (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(board_game)), based on the novel? It was simple yet complex, an intriguing interplay of five factions of that universe.
Yes, I had that game!

I was probably about age 10-12 or so when I played it the most.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by Angst »

As someone who enjoyed the book very much, I had wavering expectations for the new film given some of the tepid reviews here. But I just came back from the theater and I thought this new version was excellent. The original film was a complete failure, from my perspective, but this one really captures the feel of the book and the progression of the story. The SciFi channel series was alright, but still wasn't close to the quality of this film. I certainly look forward to the next film, i.e. the conclusion to the Dune book.

Only complaint was the excessively high-decibel sound fx.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by BalancedJCB19 »

goshenBogle wrote: Sat Oct 23, 2021 3:45 pm I have read several reviews of the movie that rate it only so-so, not very good, which is disappointing since I am a BIG fan of the book.
Have you seen the new Dune movie?
If so, what is your opinion?
Yeah, Blakley was really bleak in the way they designed the desert and the bleakness of the surrounding town which in and of itself is not bad, except Blakley did not cover Duane and they had a falling out over the art and technology of motion-picture photography. It would have been better if they did not reflect the light from objects into a real image. Oh well.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by Freefun »

Got depressed seeing it - didn’t do anything for me.

Then I got triple depressed after finding out I could have seen it on HBO max (which i already have).

Ugh.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by almostretired1965 »

watchnerd wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:14 pm
tooluser wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:11 pm

Extra tidbit: Do any gamers remember the old Avalon Hill board game Dune (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(board_game)), based on the novel? It was simple yet complex, an intriguing interplay of five factions of that universe.
Yes, I had that game!

I was probably about age 10-12 or so when I played it the most.
Still have my copy and the expansions acquired many years later. The core mechanism was based on Cosmic Encounters, but the result was incredibly faithful to the book. My only regret from dozens of plays as a teen with my friends was that no one ever managed to pull off a Bene Gesserit win via the special victory condition. A new edition came out recently so you can relive the magic!
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by bengal22 »

Loved the books and loved this movie. My only recommendation would be to hit the can 20 minutes into the trailers so you can make it through the 155 minute movie. There is no teaser clip during the credits so you can exit as soon as credits roll.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by denovo »

alex_686 wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 8:35 am
denovo wrote: Sat Oct 23, 2021 7:36 pm As someone who knew nothing about the story, never read any of the books or the prior film, it was confusing and plodding. At the same time the cinematography was nice.
I wonder if a second viewing would help. Serious question.

I like complex movies where you are not spoon feed, where you have to work a few things out for yourself. It is a fairly complex story but I think they did a good job telling it.

Of course, I have read (and studied) the book multiple times so things came naturally to me. And many people find the book complex and confusing.

So what do other people think? Would a second viewing help?
I read a few things and talked to a friend who read the book afterwards, and it started to make more sense. But watching it a second time at this time would make it feel like a chore.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by toast0 »

mhalley wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 11:02 am For anyone considering revisiting or watching the 1984 version, check out the fan edit by spicediver on YouTube. Makes the original mire coherent and gets rid of the ridiculous ending.
FYI, the spicediver edit is going to be in the German Ultimate Edition 4k Dune (1984) set, available next February; likely region locked though :annoyed https://shop.kochfilms.de/de/dune-der-w ... films-shop

Personally, I'm not sure the spicediver edit is great for a first viewing though; it's kind of too long for someone who's not even sure if they want to watch it.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by ElJefeDelQueso »

goshenBogle wrote: Sat Oct 23, 2021 3:45 pm I have read several reviews of the movie that rate it only so-so, not very good, which is disappointing since I am a BIG fan of the book.
Have you seen the new Dune movie?
If so, what is your opinion?
Liked it. Upset I have to wait until 2023 for the second half. I've read all the the books.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by rob »

Just watched it... Meh... As a huge scifi fan it's not horrible but it's not good.... Maybe a solid 3 stars. I liked the Lynch version but different from this one. Fans aside, it's somewhere between strange and incoherent.... It's tough source material..... The filming is trying too hard to be dramatic - turn on a damn light :-)
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by Valuethinker »

tooluser wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:11 pm Too loud sound effects. (Though I otherwise liked them.)
Too quiet dialogue.
Too much DarkovisionTM.
(I guess those can all be fixed by spending a lot of money on my TV setup, or as I did, constantly turning volume up and down, and adjusting the backlight near the end.)
This is a constant problem I find with movies - unintelligible dialogue due to background noise (coupled with too loud special effects).

(I was watching the opening scene of The Social Network (about the founding of Facebook) at home, and found the first scene, where he is talking to his girlfriend in a crowded bar, to be excruciating. Missed half of the dialogue. I nearly turned the subtitles on.

I think part of what is going on is that movies are being made for ears 40 years younger than mine (I don't test badly for someone in early 60s). Paradoxically they are both more sensitive to quiet sounds *and* (it seems to me) less pained by loud sounds. That's not entirely smart for filmmakers to do that, at least for "serious" movies that need to attract an older audience to the cinema.
Pretty faithful to the book I read 40 years ago. With some interesting differences.
Eliminated most voiceovers of inner thoughts from the novel. (Hurray! - action or dialogue should demonstrate the thoughts).
That's one of the things Lynch got wrong in the original movie. Although, if you recall the first version of Blade Runner (the cinema version) it had that irksome voiceover by Harrison Ford (which he deliberately did badly, foolishly thinking it would not be used) -- the studio insisted on it. BR The Directors Cut removed it. So maybe Lynch didn't have much choice.

It's a book that relies on exposition (a common problem with science fiction is the need for detailed exposition. I think Robert Heinlein did better than most in his earlier novels in avoiding that, but then in his later ones he was something of the worst). So without that, a filmed version could be incomprehensible to an audience not familiar with the novels.
They left out why the Mentats are awesome.
They did not establish the Harkonnens as being absolutely, terrifyingly corrupt. (Something the 1984 film did quite well, better than the novel.)
Could have explained the mysticism better. It was jarring on too many occasions to not know whether some scenes were real or visionary.
Good to know. Agree re the Lynch film and the Harkonnens.
Misleading title - not a complete movie. Unforgiveable.

Extra tidbit: Do any gamers remember the old Avalon Hill board game Dune (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(board_game)), based on the novel? It was simple yet complex, an intriguing interplay of five factions of that universe.
I never actually played it. Spinoff games were often quite poor (I remember their Starship Troopers as being very uninspiring).
Valuethinker
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by Valuethinker »

rob wrote: Thu Oct 28, 2021 10:15 pm Just watched it... Meh... As a huge scifi fan it's not horrible but it's not good.... Maybe a solid 3 stars. I liked the Lynch version but different from this one. Fans aside, it's somewhere between strange and incoherent.... It's tough source material..... The filming is trying too hard to be dramatic - turn on a damn light :-)
That dark filtering is trademark Villeneuve.

It worked in Arrival (one of my favourite SF movies; up there with Gattacca, say or Forbidden Planet or Escape from New York or Bladerunner The Director's Cut). Risky, but it worked. You could argue in Blade Runner 2049 that it was true to the original movie.

But he seems to be overdoing it. Like a self-conscious effort to make a film "arty" - like just out of film school.
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SagaciousTraveler
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by SagaciousTraveler »

Visually, A+.

I'm not going to give a grade on the plot since this is just part 1 in a series. Who knows, it might turn out to be pretty good when it's all said and done.

I also believe Blade Runner 2049 was an amazing movie. So I know thats causing a bit of bias.
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Tubes
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by Tubes »

Valuethinker wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 5:10 pm That dark filtering is trademark Villeneuve.
I think viewing it on my plasma TV helps. Nothing like plasma.
ElJefeDelQueso
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by ElJefeDelQueso »

andypanda wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:40 am Part 2 = October, 2023
A novel like this cannot reasonably be split into two pieces, the second possibly never to be seen. Something of an injustice to a great piece of literature. They should have made a 6-hour epic and built in bathroom breaks.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by alex_686 »

ElJefeDelQueso wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 10:36 pm
andypanda wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:40 am Part 2 = October, 2023
A novel like this cannot reasonably be split into two pieces, the second possibly never to be seen. Something of an injustice to a great piece of literature. They should have made a 6-hour epic and built in bathroom breaks.
The original novel was split into 2 chunks.

One of my favorite screen adaptations is L.A. Confidential. They stripped out 1/2 the book, yet still kept the central themes in a fast moving tightly woven movie. My favorite is Adaptation, but that is a different story.

Books and film have different strengths. Some aspects of the book are going to be hard to convey on the screen. I am interested in seeing Villeneuve vision. If there are bits that he doesn't film well then I wouldn't want to see them on the screen half baked.
Former brokerage operations & mutual fund accountant. I hate risk, which is why I study and embrace it.
TN_Boy
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by TN_Boy »

alex_686 wrote: Tue Nov 02, 2021 7:55 am
ElJefeDelQueso wrote: Mon Nov 01, 2021 10:36 pm
andypanda wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:40 am Part 2 = October, 2023
A novel like this cannot reasonably be split into two pieces, the second possibly never to be seen. Something of an injustice to a great piece of literature. They should have made a 6-hour epic and built in bathroom breaks.
The original novel was split into 2 chunks.

One of my favorite screen adaptations is L.A. Confidential. They stripped out 1/2 the book, yet still kept the central themes in a fast moving tightly woven movie. My favorite is Adaptation, but that is a different story.

Books and film have different strengths. Some aspects of the book are going to be hard to convey on the screen. I am interested in seeing Villeneuve vision. If there are bits that he doesn't film well then I wouldn't want to see them on the screen half baked.
I don't know why people are complaining about splitting the book into two movies. It was a pretty big book. Splitting seems the right thing to do. And the stopping point for this first movie is quite reasonable. Fortunately part II has been approved.

We liked it a lot. Faithful to the book, visually great. There were a few things that could have been explained better, like the Mentats, why spice was necessary for navigation (versus computers) etc.

I personally thought the movie made it quite clear the Harkonnens were evil and corrupt (a sneak attack wiping out House Atreides and systemic repression of the Fremen before that seems to define their character rather well ...).

Tastes differ. I thought the Lynch Dune movie was terrible.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by scophreak »

tooluser wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:11 pm Misleading title - not a complete movie. Unforgiveable.
To be fair, the on-screen title was Dune: Part One. I think that made it quite clear it wasn't the complete story.
CRJPylote
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by CRJPylote »

I liked it but there was definitely a lot glossed over(Menats was the big one for me) However, I thought the novel was a bit long winded and almost opposite to the movie in that respect, and it's definitely not by favorite novel ever unlike seemingly everyone else. Additionally the movie felt a bit weirdly paced. People have compared it to a TV series type pace and I'd have to agree. The ending also was kinda a out of nowhere type thing that didn't even try to slightly wrap things up.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by TomatoTomahto »

There are two interesting reviews in a recent New Yorker. Google New Yorker Dune and you’ll find them.

I’ll give you the first two sentences of one of the reviews
It’s surprising how cheesy the new “Dune” looks. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel seems less like a C.G.I. spectacle than a production still waiting for its backgrounds to be digitally filled in or its sets to be built.
Both reviews acknowledge the tremendous interest in Dune, and they’re more balanced reviews than the blurb posted above.
I get the FI part but not the RE part of FIRE.
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tooluser
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by tooluser »

TomatoTomahto wrote: Tue Nov 02, 2021 4:22 pm There are two interesting reviews in a recent New Yorker. Google New Yorker Dune and you’ll find them.

I’ll give you the first two sentences of one of the reviews
It’s surprising how cheesy the new “Dune” looks. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel seems less like a C.G.I. spectacle than a production still waiting for its backgrounds to be digitally filled in or its sets to be built.
Both reviews acknowledge the tremendous interest in Dune, and they’re more balanced reviews than the blurb posted above.
A city dweller's view of the desert? I know lots of Angelenos who shudder at the thought of driving to Las Vegas "through all that boring nothing".
The visuals reminded me very positively of this huge work of art, under construction for the last 49 years: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_(artwork)
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tooluser
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by tooluser »

scophreak wrote: Tue Nov 02, 2021 3:33 pm
tooluser wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:11 pm Misleading title - not a complete movie. Unforgiveable.
To be fair, the on-screen title was Dune: Part One. I think that made it quite clear it wasn't the complete story.
To be even fairer, that's the title that should show up on HBO Max and the theater marquees.
And to be even yet more fair: I will very likely watch Part Two! :happy
Angst
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by Angst »

tooluser wrote: Tue Nov 02, 2021 5:52 pm
scophreak wrote: Tue Nov 02, 2021 3:33 pm
tooluser wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:11 pm Misleading title - not a complete movie. Unforgiveable.
To be fair, the on-screen title was Dune: Part One. I think that made it quite clear it wasn't the complete story.
To be even fairer, that's the title that should show up on HBO Max and the theater marquees.
And to be even yet more fair: I will very likely watch Part Two! :happy
No doubt, I too will watch Part Two! When I think of all the movies over the years of books I've loved so much, so often I've been disappointed with the screen versions. But not this time. :happy
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by DVMResident »

I saw it on iMax:

Visuals: A+ Eveything felt huge. The color choices were great and added to the mode. CGI has come a long way, especially for organic beings. If you appreciated Life of Pi, you should appreciate this one

Acting: B+ Good casting (mostly).

Pacing: B- They attempted to cover a huge book. So they rushed through parts while trying to make sure they told the whole story. This felt like jarring combo of slow/rush and failed to muster emotional attachment.

Action: D Too much clipping as some actors clearly couldn’t stage fight. Some fight scenes were passable. This was the biggest disappointment. At least Dune had more going on and it doesn’t make-or-break the movie (unlike most of the Marvel series).

Overall: B+ See if you like SciFi, Dune, visuals, and cinematography.
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Re: Seen new Dune Movie? Your opinion??

Post by andypanda »

I still haven't seen it, but maybe I'll watch it next week. I ordered a 4k-capable box from Xfinity yesterday, a certified modern HDMI cable from Amazon, and a 65" LG C1 from Costco. They should all be delivered on or before Wednesday.
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