Dune

  On 10/27/2021 at 4:07 PM, Rubin Farr said:

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lol, meet the Gurneys

I saw this on Saturday night, I had some concerns during the first 30 minute - this was likely due to the weight of expectations - however, I left the cinema with the feeling I saw something fantastic. Still buzzing today. 

It was one of the best cinema experiences I've had in a very long time. I'm still processing it, I'll be heading to the cinema again for this, would love to experience an IMAX viewing. Hopefully tomorrow night. 

  On 10/24/2021 at 2:13 AM, auxien said:

1. music and visuals were fucking great.
2. Rebecca [Ferguson] did really well [as Lady Jessica] but i wonder if they played up her vulnerability too much.
3. the editing...it occasionally felt rushed
4. Some of the plot points didn't land right...Yueh in particular
5. they did a really surprising job of capturing the feelings of scale...but at times they lost sight of the smaller 'real life' stuff because of that.

1. The visuals were amazing, the first film in a long time where I found myself fully immersed in the world. I was disappointed to find the vocal track from the trailer was in the film, I call it the Lion King track, think it's Gom Jabbar. It just feels a little too on the nose for me. Regardless, I've been caning the album all week. 

2. I had this discussion with my friends after the film, they raised the same concern, I actually liked this approach. Jessica is quite emotional in the book, albeit kept internally. Even the scene with Leto's hand on Jessica's neck when they arrive on Arrakis was welcome, as they didn't get much screen time together. 

3. I had some concerns at the start of the film for this reason. It could be the weight of expectations, and I need to watch again, but the first section felt so compressed. I think after a repeat viewing I may feel different, as I was guessing/waiting on expected scenes 

4. This film was economical with the book's plot. The Yueh reveal did feel a bit hollow. I'd have liked to have seen Paul with both Yueh and Thufir more, to show that his pool of 'influences' was highly restricted to a select group, and that Paul has no peers his own age. Maybe the fact of Yueh's betrayal will become more pronounced in part 2, but as his screen time was so short, I can't really see there'd be much point.

That being said, I think it was wise to omit, or cut the whole Thufir/Jessica thread from the film. Let's see part 2 brings. There's already talk of deleted scenes that missed the cut: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/dune-movie-stephen-mckinley-henderson-1235035496/

5. What would you have liked to have seen? I think that's part of the problem with the book and translating it to film, it's such an epic grand narrative, so the little people do get missed. I think what this film did get right was the concept of the Missionaria Protectiva. I suspect we'll get a chance to see this impact on the Freman when we see Paul as part of Seitch Tabr, with the weight of that prophecy...

  On 10/24/2021 at 2:42 AM, Brisbot said:

scene with the assassin in the wall was confusing. He was in the wall for 6 weeks? 

Aye, there were loads of traps, assassins left behind by the Harkonnen's. 

  On 10/28/2021 at 12:31 PM, Shimon_Shimon said:

would love to experience an IMAX viewing.

i enjoyed mine! loud but not too loud. big screen but with a decent seat it wasn't overwhelming, just nice.

  On 10/28/2021 at 12:31 PM, Shimon_Shimon said:

Regardless, I've been caning the album all week. 

i think there's like 2 or 3 albums worth of stuff released i read? i need to look into all the music this weekend. i think it worked well for the film but that doesn't guarantee i'll enjoy it on its own ofc.

  On 10/28/2021 at 12:31 PM, Shimon_Shimon said:

Jessica is quite emotional in the book, albeit kept internally. Even the scene with Leto's hand on Jessica's neck when they arrive on Arrakis was welcome, as they didn't get much screen time together.

yeah def, i think maybe my issue is that she was so outwardly showing all of that. a Bene Gesserit like her (even with her having been somewhat shunned by the order) would essentially never do so even under duress, unless of course showing emotions outwardly benefitted the situation or something. their insane amounts of self control is what makes them so cool, and she was not showing that much at all in the film. but again, i really liked her performance (thanks for catching my dumb name mixup there lol).

definitely felt Jessica and Leto could've had a bit more time onscreen together...tho iirc they weren't even often together in many scenes of the book.

  On 10/28/2021 at 12:31 PM, Shimon_Shimon said:

the first section felt so compressed. I think after a repeat viewing I may feel different, as I was guessing/waiting on expected scenes 

agreed yeah, looking forward to viewing it again and maybe seeing the longer cut one day.

  On 10/28/2021 at 12:31 PM, Shimon_Shimon said:

I'd have liked to have seen Paul with both Yueh and Thufir more, to show that his pool of 'influences' was highly restricted to a select group, and that Paul has no peers his own age.

with you there, that would've been a help for sure. that may be something they can bring up more in the next film, but they missed the chance here no doubt (again, maybe there's deleted scenes that may show more of this)

  On 10/28/2021 at 12:31 PM, Shimon_Shimon said:

cut the whole Thufir/Jessica thread from the film

oh i don't even remember what that was now. my memory can be shit.

  On 10/28/2021 at 12:31 PM, Shimon_Shimon said:

What would you have liked to have seen? I think that's part of the problem with the book and translating it to film, it's such an epic grand narrative, so the little people do get missed.

true, but even in the Lynch film there's some hints of smaller moments of life of many of the characters...here they could've spent more than 7 seconds scanning past groups of the city Fremen and maybe showed some of....what's her name that came on as Jessica's handmaid? her, some touches of the military/etc (Harkonnen, Atreides, etc.) could've given more weight to things. even most of the 'key' characters felt like they weren't given enough screen time for that matter (again with Yueh, Gurney, etc.)

  On 10/28/2021 at 12:31 PM, Shimon_Shimon said:

I think what this film did get right was the concept of the Missionaria Protectiva. I suspect we'll get a chance to see this impact on the Freman when we see Paul as part of Seitch Tabr, with the weight of that prophecy...

good point on the Missionaria, i did enjoy that it was given clarity onscreen, that was definitely part of the scale in my mind, they really did push that long-term planning idea of things that'll obv be important if there's ever films of the 2nd/3rd books (and will surely be a big part of the Bene Gesserit tv series).

and yeah i hadn't really thought of that... there'll be more time in part 2 to focus on the smaller aspects of life.

I'm sorry but the music fucking sucked.

  On 10/30/2021 at 11:10 PM, Squee said:

I'm sorry but the music fucking sucked.

  On 10/30/2021 at 11:10 PM, Squee said:

I'm sorry but the music fucking sucked.

it was way too loud at least in the theater i was in

  On 10/30/2021 at 11:10 PM, Squee said:

I'm sorry but the music fucking sucked.

It's just instantly forgettable like most of Zimmer's scores. A wasted opportunity.

  On 10/30/2021 at 11:10 PM, Squee said:

I'm sorry but the music fucking sucked.

Though the Lion King track is poor. 

  On 10/30/2021 at 11:10 PM, Squee said:

I'm sorry but the music fucking sucked.

Sound design was lush as fuck to my ears  but that fucking bagpipe tune had me loling. 

There was another unbearable theme that popped up here and there as well now that I think about it. Squee is correct. 

  On 10/30/2021 at 11:10 PM, Squee said:

I'm sorry but the music fucking sucked.

I wouldn't go quite that far, but it was definitely very Hans Zimmery, and very over the top at a lot of points. But I think the whole movie (just saw it tonight) was really trying to hit you over the head. It wasn't subtle at all, and the score matched it.

The bagpipe theme was hilarious though.

All that said, I enjoyed the fuck out of it. They did a good job translating a book that is essentially about intergalactic politics to the big screen. It was a pretty fast 2 hours and 35 minutes!

  On 10/31/2021 at 12:02 AM, nikisoko said:

it was way too loud at least in the theater i was in

Same with Blade Runner 2049

  On 10/31/2021 at 10:22 AM, chenGOD said:

I wouldn't go quite that far, but it was definitely very Hans Zimmery, and very over the top at a lot of points.

Hans Zimmer (very German accent): "Ok, I see sand... it's like the middle east. Let's fucking go."

It almost sounds like Denis Villeneuve asked Hans Zimmer to do his best Johann Johannsson impression, but Zimmer is about as subtle as a bull in a china store. Nothing happens in the movie and the music is constantly screaming you in the face.

Imagine if the music had been more in  the vein of this. Subtle, restrained, and immersive.
 

Anyway, I really loved the production design.

Imagine if the music had been made by Magma and Pink Floyd... 

Haven't seen the movie yet, would love to though and hopefully will super soon.

Re: music 

The music is great but sometimes it felt like it was trying to take protagonism over what was going on on screen:

You see a lush landscape, an awesome spaceship floating about, and the music goes: BWHOOOOOOOOM AILALALALAAAA BWHOOOOM, like, chill down Zimmer nothing's going on right now stop raping my ears please.

  On 11/1/2021 at 2:03 PM, GORDO said:

stop raping my ears please.

I'm going to watch this next week in a 14th century barn that has been lushly converted into a 60 seater cinema.  Like, it wont be IMAX or Void Soundsystem or anything, but it will be lush,

the score is good imo. psychedelic. 

denis is kind of the only person who could pull off dune. i watched it 2 or 3 times and it's hard to imagine a better execution. 

watched this last night. loved it. never read the book, saw Dune '84 a long long time ago, and so didn't really remember much of the story. as mentioned, the production design/visuals were incredible. watched this at home, and so many a time would pause it and just stare at the amazing imagery.

the score was ok, felt very safe, or typical "big hollywood movie" to me. would have loved to hear something a little more electronic/experimental. but I'm guessing the studio were already nervous enough about how this would land with audiences, and didn't want to throw anything else in that might be "too difficult" for people.

speaking of which, the only thing I really remember from Dune '84 was that the plot seemed very hard to follow, and it dragged in many spots. didn't think that was at all the case in this new version. the plot was surprisingly simple to follow. in fact, I thought that more dialogue and backstory should have been added. again, wonder if the studio big wigs had a role in keeping it like that? regardless, it wasn't boring at all, and 2.5 hours flew by. 

  On 10/25/2021 at 1:56 PM, Rubin Farr said:

what was with all the brooding? it was like every character refused to make eye contact, or stared at the ground.

Seriously. i just finished it last night and, aside from the production design and cinematography, I was left feeling kinda blah and empty like everything was archetypal but with no real depth or substance. One thing I liked more about Lynch’s dune was that, even though it was a bit comic-booky at times, the relationships felt a bit more earned. I kinda chalk it up to casting. A lot of great actors, just in the wrong parts, IMO. 

  On 10/31/2021 at 11:38 AM, Squee said:

Hans Zimmer (very German accent): "Ok, I see sand... it's like the middle east. Let's fucking go."

It almost sounds like Denis Villeneuve asked Hans Zimmer to do his best Johann Johannsson impression, but Zimmer is about as subtle as a bull in a china store.

Seriously. JJ would have elevated the whole game. Also, melodically, I felt there were a few too many similarities in the HZ score to the Lynch version and it kept bringing me back to the comparison in my head. I wish it was more based around a “non-musical” theme like the throat voice or the thumper, etc. 

Also, too darn long. I felt like there were too many repetitions of visions and the like. One more thing to be said about the lynch version, it moved and got more information out there. I don’t really give a hoot if it’s more like the book or not. The book is there if you want the whole story. Make the movie tighter. Just me. Last thing about the lynch version, I kinda missed the baron’s oozy acne.
And yeah, definitely Kurtz/10

  On 11/5/2021 at 12:41 AM, J3FF3R00 said:

I kinda missed the baron’s oozy acne.

Beautiful diseases. They really were.

  On 11/5/2021 at 12:41 AM, J3FF3R00 said:

Seriously. i just finished it last night and, aside from the production design and cinematography, I was left feeling kinda blah and empty like everything was archetypal but with no real depth or substance. One thing I liked more about Lynch’s dune was that, even though it was a bit comic-booky at times, the relationships felt a bit more earned. I kinda chalk it up to casting. A lot of great actors, just in the wrong parts, IMO. 

Seriously. JJ would have elevated the whole game. Also, melodically, I felt there were a few too many similarities in the HZ score to the Lynch version and it kept bringing me back to the comparison in my head. I wish it was more based around a “non-musical” theme like the throat voice or the thumper, etc. 

Also, too darn long. I felt like there were too many repetitions of visions and the like. One more thing to be said about the lynch version, it moved and got more information out there. I don’t really give a hoot if it’s more like the book or not. The book is there if you want the whole story. Make the movie tighter. Just me. Last thing about the lynch version, I kinda missed the baron’s oozy acne.
And yeah, definitely Kurtz/10

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I think it’s obvious by the poster, Denis went with butt plugs instead of heart plugs.