2021, d. Denis Villeneuve - in theatre
[Kent] That certainly didn't help. It was late November 2021 when this post was started. Time has no meaning
[Toasty] Perhaps it was being overwhelmed by the novelty of once again having seen a movie in a cinema. Me, not Kent, for he has seen a few, but I hadn't been inside a cinema since mid-2019. Mostly its by choice, as my current limited vision makes watching a movie on a big screen, an act of constantly swinging my head back and forth. Eventually I just get tired, achey and cranky. But I had to see this movie on the screen, as the spectacle that Villeneuve provides is just pure grandeur, and I love it. And I knew I would like this movie, no matter what.
And I did.
The strongest recollection I have, and I said it out loud, when Kent and I had some grub after, is that the core of the movie, in all its 2.5 hours, is the same story as the 1984 David Lynch version. Of course it is, you say, but what I more mean is that the collection of plot points that are the core of the book are all once again used. Sure, there are plenty of differences between book and the movies, but the core elements are there, albeit curtailed in this latest version, as we have only see Pt 1.
[Kent] I wasn't certain myself how I was going to feel about this, particularly knowing that it's the first of two parts. My only familiarity with Dune is the Lynch movie (which I like a lot), it's comic book adaptation, and the mediocre TV mini-series from the early 2000s. But I knew in Denis Villeneuve's hands that it was going to be a spectacle. I really dislike the original Blade Runner but I quite loved Blade Runner 2049, and Arrival was also epic but also so personal...so I knew Villeneuve would deliver something worth seeing, and making a big-screen worthy experience.
I don't think I loved this Dune as much as you Toasty but... yeah, it was good. I think, when it's completed with it's second half, it will be even better.... probably amazing.
But talking of the Lynch version, that is an almost impenetrable movie. It's trying to wrestle with so much plot, story, character, and world building that it really can't hope to juggle it all in its runtime, so it plays kind of fragmented. And yet, it's such an ambitious spectacle, it's worth watching even if it doesn't make complete sense.
But in having watched Lynch's Dune multiple times in the past few decades, I have a shorthand pass into Villeneuve's Dune... yet, there's a cleanliness to Villeneuve's storytelling that doesn't require familiarity. He will immerse you in this world, and I was sucked in, only thinking about Lynch's Dune sporadically, but as a point of comparison, not as, you know, cliff notes.
[Some time passes as Toasty re-watches via download.]
[Kent] I said I was probably not going to watch Dune again until just before Part 2 comes out, and yet I've been finding myself with the inclination of giving Part 1 another go. How did it play at home Toasty?
[Toasty] OK, I have started rewatching again. Sunday morning, rainy outside, laundry to be done, and a pork loin roast in the slow cooker. Marmy is asleep, so I watch with sub-titles on, riding the volume for the dramatic tension filled music and sound.
Part A, or at least what I consider Pt. A, is the intro, the setting, the character introductions, the world building. It all takes place on Caladan, the home of the House Atreides, a water-bound planet full of rocky outcroppings. And a bit of background establishment on Arrakis, or Dune.
The World Building, oh the world building ! The year is 10,000 far flung into a future where the trappings of scifi space opera are overshadowed by culture and the vastness of populating a galaxy, scale of a grand nature. Arrakis is a desert planet with a substance upon it called Spice. This spice allows the Spacing Guild to navigate interplanetary space, though not explicitly stated, but likely by way of folding or some other alternative to FTL method, but still requiring an ability to travel great distances fraught with peril, with speed.
[Kent] I should note that the opening sequence is kind of the first time ever with Dune that I got the sense that this was set in OUR distant future, that there was even something recognizably human or Earth-like in all this. I dug it.
[Toasty] Controlling the production of this Spice means great wealth. House Harkonnen, a brutal militaristic people from a planet corrupted by industrial waste, controlled Dune until the Emperor of All Known Space gave it away, to House Atreides. Why? Because Harkonnen was becoming richer than even the Emperor? For other reasons? We don't know but we instantly get hints of great machinations behind it all.
When we meet all the characters, Duke Leto of House Atreides (Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis, in gloirious bearded mode, contributing to my current man-crush on him) is accepting stewardship of Dune, and his family is preparing for departure. An advanced team, led by Thufir Hawat (Stephen McKinley Henderson, Devs), a human computer and logistics man, and Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa, Game of Thrones), a brash charismatic warrior, will clean out pockets of Harkonnen resistance and any other dangers left behind. We learn that Leto is not sure about all of this but Atreides always steps up when asked, and that his son Paul (Timothée Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name) is not sure of his role in all of it, especially with the possibly prophetic dreams he is having of Dune. Also, it doesn't help that Paul's mother (resplendent Rebecca Ferguson, Doctor Sleep) has betrayed her own mysterious order of witch-priestesses by having Paul, and also training him in their mind-controlling ways. Is he destined to become some sort of galaxy wide saviour, like the Bene Gesserit have been trying to do? All these trappings of culture and religion boiling down to breeding and the manipulation of blood lines to just better control politics and people!
[Kent] Years of watching the Lynch version was good for short-hand on all of these characters, learning the names and roles, but you never feel particularly connected with any of them there, not like you do in Villeneuve's take.
[Toasty] Villeneuve loves his grand visuals and I love Villeneuve's eye. From such things as shape and movements of the large space ships, that must be propelled only by some sort of gravitic control, as they have no flaming engines, no rockets, no plumes of smoke. They just float from space to planet, settling onto massive empty places, and apparently at great cost. The ritual of Dune's transfer to House Atreides is opulent, but short, and Leto comments on how expensive it must have been. And the fact that Paul has never been offworld before tells us that while humans have populated the galaxy, interplanetary travel seems only to be done if it is cost effective, never for leisure.
But also the small things. Caladan must be lush for almost everything in House Atreides is of wood. Even when they pack up all their possessions, everything is packed into overly large wooden boxes that come together like perfect puzzles, fitting tightly and precisely. Again, vast wealth is apparent. And just because Atreides are the "good guys", we do not see them excused from the vulgarity of nobility, as a symbol of Leto's family is the bull that likely slew his father, a bull that the grandfather fought for sport.
But all of this world building is gentle, often in the background, matter of fact and presented as part of an aspect of such spectacular cinematic nature. The story telling is economic, just giving us all we need. I am only 30 minutes into the rewatch and I am once again transported into a story that fills me with awe. I am so glad I saw this in the cinema.
[Kent] You have to believe that Game of Thrones had some impact on how to approach rich, dense, complex prose storytelling and world building as a visual adaptation. But Villeneuve here (with co-screenwriters Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth) seems to have perfected it in terms of simplifying the groundlaying without losing the importance or nuance.
[Kent watches Lynch's Dune Again]
[Kent] I really dig a lot of Lynch's Dune, but I have to freely admit it's also a little boring and quasi-impenetrable. I think it's only been repeated viewings of the film that make it really feel at all understandable. But the aesthetic of the sets, costuming, make-up, effects all please me (and repulse me in a pleasing way) greatly. It's a big movie, about a big story, that just doesn't.have.enough.time to do it justice.
You can't really compare budgets and technological advances between the two productions, one is obviously superior to the other, but what Lynch did in 1984 really felt of another reality, one utterly unfamiliar. Lynch's interest in the grotesque and off-putting make a lot of the designs in his film very alien and unfamiliar, thus continuing to remain very distinct. I think in terms of what Villeneuve's production team did, they hit home on those familiar elements - brutalist architecture, technology influence by nature, that sort of thing - to connect the world of Dune to Earth but far, far removed. It looks great.
What I recalled coming out of Villeneuve's Dune was a sense of incompleteness, that at least Lynch's version was a whole story. But what Villeneuve does in just under 150 minutes, Lynch does a decent job at with 90. But in that time, Lynch really only gives you heaping plops of world building, while Villeneuve really gives you characters and relationships alongisde the world building, and, most importantly, clarity about what is actually happening without hyperexposition.
[Toasty] OK, it took some times, and a few more sittings. What? It's a long movie. But again, totally worth it. And surprisingly, despite the length, this time it felt as if there should have been ... more. I mentioned already that the same beats of the Lynch movie are hit all over again, but I didn't recall how quickly this tune is played, how rapidly it moves the story along. We never learn much of life on Arrakis, not much beyond a reference to sietch and village, but really the only people of Dune the movie focuses on are the Fremen, the desert dwelling warriors who worship the sand worms. Duke Leto believes that where Atreides once ruled over air and water, they now need to rule with "desert power" and to do that, he must align himself with the Fremen. That whole scene, where the Duke and his staff meet with Stilgar (Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men), a leader of the Fremen is all, "Hello. Hello. Oh there's Paul. We will respect your people. OK, that's honourable, gotta go."
And then, BOOM, the Atreides are betrayed and the Harkonnen take back Arrakis, with help from the Emperor, in a single night.
That battle, the scale of destruction, is glorious and horrible, again on the grand visual level that Villeneuve loves. The massive interplanetary vessels being destroyed by the slow-bombs, exploding in fiery plumes amidst fields of soldiers fighting with... sword and dagger. This world bears an impenetrable shield, that only allows the "slow blade" to penetrate, so we don't see any guns other than the self propelling needler, and the thin, beam weapon obviously too large to be used at a personal level. It was as if we had only just been introduced to life on Dune before its all taken away, and we are left with Paul and his mother fleeing into the desert.
[Kent] The battle is the biggest difference between the Lynch and Villeneuve films. It's just so much more epic in scale in the more recent production for so many reasons. Lynch does what he could with 1984 budgets and technology and it's fairly good at conveying scale and threat, but it's no where near as harrowing as the Harkonnen attack Villeneuve presents.
[Toasty] That final act, one of visions and religious over tones, again the power of the Bene Gesserit witches, who have been manipulating not only blood lines, but an entire culture, the entire species, with their plans, creating prophecy and religion that Paul cannot avoid but be swept into. Most of this just tires me out, as to be honest, Paul usually does. I fully admit, to having more than a bit of irritation for everything Timothée Chalamet, including his name. Irrationality acknowledged and I don't let it impact me much, and he does a fine job, but the whole Kwisatz Haderach bit is tiring to me, mainly because there are so many layers and sub-layers to this aspect of the world building, and its depiction always comes with vagaries.
That said, I did like the idea that even when presented with a possible future, one Paul sees through vision, where he is befriended and taught by Jamis the Fremen (Babs Olusanmokun, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds), it all changes with the effortless slash of a blade. Paul makes his own future, one he fears greatly.
[Kent] So where this ends is where Lynch begins his remaining half-hour, which is Paul's journey with the Fremen. Villeneuve is getting a whole other film! The resolution of Dune in Lynch's version is so abrupt, and this time watching it I became excited that someone (especially Villeneuve) is going to get to flesh that part of the story out.
[Toasty] Another thing I noticed in this second viewing is just how utterly reserved everyone is. Every word, every utterance in the movie is quiet, still and focused. The few outbursts, such as the screams and raging of Rabban Hakonnen (Dave Bautista, Bladerunner 2049) or the joyous, boisterous hugs that Duncan Idaho gives Paul, and the barely let out, anguished cries Jessica Atreides (concubines get the family name?) lets loose when Paul is in danger, well they just stand out. Is this Villeneuve's style or commentary on life in this imperium? Even the mad Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård, Thor) is unexpectedly reserved compared to this familiar with the Lynch version.
[Kent] The thing about the world of Dune in Villeneuve's vision is one of tenterhooks. Everyone seems aware that the continued status quo is just on the cusp of exploding and that the shift of Arakkis from Harkonnen to Atreides is the fuze that lights the powderkeg. The unseen emperor of everything is playing a game with the galaxy, for the sole reason that their power is threatened. I think Duke Atreides sees it all pretty clearly but is either being willfully naive or knows he's rather helpless in staving it off, while Baron Harkonnen is all too willing to play into his part, seemingly unaware of his manipulation. I think in this presentation, there just a sombre sobriety to managing the spice trade.
[Toasty] My third viewing will have to be, again, in a single sitting as I think only then again will the awe settle in. I may even buy it for the shelf.
[Kent] I will probably have a second viewing late in the year this year, with a third as the next film dawns Either way, it's safe to say that we're both eager for Part 2, the release of which feels interminably far away.
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