FifthView
Vala
I'm not really sure that the spoiler warning needs to be on this thread, given the age of the novel and the other adaptations that have already appeared in the past, but I also don't like being hampered by having to worry about revealing spoilers.
I'm a huge Dune fan. I've been a fan since the 80's, when as a teen I found myself rereading Dune every half year or so. Dune might still be my most-read novel of all time, although Asprin's MythAdventures series of novels might have taken the crown. I've lost track.
I never particularly liked the David Lynch adaptation (1984), but this was mostly for two reasons: Kyle MacLachlan did not come anywhere close to looking like the Paul Atreides I always imagined when I was a teen, and the movie took way too many liberties with the story. (The rain at the end? Gadz.) But the movie was OK. I've watched it a few times, just not in a couple decades or so.
I very much liked the Sci-Fi Channel's 3-part miniseries of Dune. If Lynch's movie was a 6/10 for me, the Sci-Fi miniseries would be a 7.5/10, maybe even an 8. I did not particularly like the Lady Jessica, but Saskia Reeves did OK. A lot of the battles, and some of the CGI was hokey, but it was a miniseries on a B-tier channel (?) so I let that slide.
Children of Dune, the sequel miniseries on Sci-Fi, would be a 9/10 for me, and very close to a 10. I loved it. I've bought it in multiple formats and have probably watched it as many times as I've read the original Dune novel. Maybe not having read any of the other novels helped me out here, I don't know. I still think the soundtrack to Children of Dune is one of the best soundtracks of all time, counting all television programs and movies ever made.
So what about this year's Dune?
Meh.
I do wonder if having seen it on my television first, via HBO Max, might have been a big issue. Too many scenes were very dark. A lot of scenes have only one or two colors, maybe shades of those colors, and action sequences or overhead panoramic shots had jerky camera movements or else were just a blob of indistinct features. I feel this kept me from fully enjoying the movie. The blur bled into other areas, or detracted from other areas. Would an IMAX screen have eliminated this effect? Maybe; I can't know.
Knowing the story so fully, I was let down by many, many omissions. What about the garden in the palace on Arrakis? Gone, and along with it, significant interaction with Liet-kynes—who was unceremoniously erased from the film ASAP. There were hardly any interactions with the Shadout Mapes, or they were cursory. In fact, everything seemed very rushed once the Atreides stepped onto Dune.
I will admit to a few moments when I got serious chills, although after one viewing, I now don't remember exactly when they happened. They were "small" moments, I remember, but superbly acted and shot.
Timothée Chalamet is the best Paul Atreides yet. So far. I'm a fan of his acting, and he does well here. I particularly like the fact that he seems much younger than the other actors who have been cast in the role. It's closer to the novel, that way.
On the whole, the casting in this movie is very good. However, I'm not used to seeing the Baron as some sort of figure from a horror movie, as he's depicted here. Even in the novel, there was a sort of camp, or wordiness at least, however menacing he became.
This Arrakis feels much more like an alien world than any of the other adaptations' depictions. It seems real, and really alien. I like this.
The movie as a whole is a slow burn (even though rushing through or skipping much material I know from the books), so I'm going to need to watch it again and probably watch the sequel before I can settle on an impression. I liked it, but I was not blown away. I don't love it yet, and I might never. It stands at around a 7 for me.
I'm a huge Dune fan. I've been a fan since the 80's, when as a teen I found myself rereading Dune every half year or so. Dune might still be my most-read novel of all time, although Asprin's MythAdventures series of novels might have taken the crown. I've lost track.
I never particularly liked the David Lynch adaptation (1984), but this was mostly for two reasons: Kyle MacLachlan did not come anywhere close to looking like the Paul Atreides I always imagined when I was a teen, and the movie took way too many liberties with the story. (The rain at the end? Gadz.) But the movie was OK. I've watched it a few times, just not in a couple decades or so.
I very much liked the Sci-Fi Channel's 3-part miniseries of Dune. If Lynch's movie was a 6/10 for me, the Sci-Fi miniseries would be a 7.5/10, maybe even an 8. I did not particularly like the Lady Jessica, but Saskia Reeves did OK. A lot of the battles, and some of the CGI was hokey, but it was a miniseries on a B-tier channel (?) so I let that slide.
Children of Dune, the sequel miniseries on Sci-Fi, would be a 9/10 for me, and very close to a 10. I loved it. I've bought it in multiple formats and have probably watched it as many times as I've read the original Dune novel. Maybe not having read any of the other novels helped me out here, I don't know. I still think the soundtrack to Children of Dune is one of the best soundtracks of all time, counting all television programs and movies ever made.
So what about this year's Dune?
Meh.
I do wonder if having seen it on my television first, via HBO Max, might have been a big issue. Too many scenes were very dark. A lot of scenes have only one or two colors, maybe shades of those colors, and action sequences or overhead panoramic shots had jerky camera movements or else were just a blob of indistinct features. I feel this kept me from fully enjoying the movie. The blur bled into other areas, or detracted from other areas. Would an IMAX screen have eliminated this effect? Maybe; I can't know.
Knowing the story so fully, I was let down by many, many omissions. What about the garden in the palace on Arrakis? Gone, and along with it, significant interaction with Liet-kynes—who was unceremoniously erased from the film ASAP. There were hardly any interactions with the Shadout Mapes, or they were cursory. In fact, everything seemed very rushed once the Atreides stepped onto Dune.
I will admit to a few moments when I got serious chills, although after one viewing, I now don't remember exactly when they happened. They were "small" moments, I remember, but superbly acted and shot.
Timothée Chalamet is the best Paul Atreides yet. So far. I'm a fan of his acting, and he does well here. I particularly like the fact that he seems much younger than the other actors who have been cast in the role. It's closer to the novel, that way.
On the whole, the casting in this movie is very good. However, I'm not used to seeing the Baron as some sort of figure from a horror movie, as he's depicted here. Even in the novel, there was a sort of camp, or wordiness at least, however menacing he became.
This Arrakis feels much more like an alien world than any of the other adaptations' depictions. It seems real, and really alien. I like this.
The movie as a whole is a slow burn (even though rushing through or skipping much material I know from the books), so I'm going to need to watch it again and probably watch the sequel before I can settle on an impression. I liked it, but I was not blown away. I don't love it yet, and I might never. It stands at around a 7 for me.
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Sage
The music on the other hand was a bit louder than all the whispering dialogue so I had some hearing issues at times.
Myth Weaver
