I'm quite an old person. I read the book when it first came out when I was about 18, then read it again when I was about 35. And 35 was a really long time ago.
I absolutely loved Dune Part 1. Beautiful and astonishing! Watched it on Max pre-opening day, (NOT going to a theatre anytime soon because of the virus); watched it again tonight. I think I see a whole lot more re-watching coming so long as I am subscribed to HBO.
My only (small) gripe is that, although I understand (and applaud) the reasoning of screening this film in two parts, I can only hope that I live long enough to see Part II.
Dune is visually spectacular, but strangely bland. It seemed to me that the writers missed all of the key themes so skillfully brought to life in Herbert's novel - Religion, Politics, Vendetta, Ecology, etc. The mentats have been reduced to nothing. Yueh's betrayal is there but it is not shocking because there is no understanding of his conditioning. And his key role in saving Paul and Jessica is not covered well at all (We see his diamond mark in the ornithopter - but if you didn't read the book I'm not sure you would understand the significance). Liet-Kynes is (so far) a throw away character. There is no real understanding of the ongoing vendetta between the two houses. Baron Harkonnen himself is only barely explored. And so it goes.... so many rich characters that are so poorly developed. I also wondered what the poor person who had not read the book would make of the plot and the many little easter eggs strewn throughout the movie. I was really hoping they could do for Dune what Peter Jackson did for LOTR, but sadly they did not achieve that. That being said - I did not hate the movie - I'd rate it 3 stars out of 5.
I originally read Dune in 1970 at the ripe old age of 11. At the time the things I had the most trouble wrapping my head around was the Bene-Gesserit and the Guild Navigators (read wrap/warp) to a lesser extent. I was somewhat annoyed initially by the attention given to Paul as I was mostly interested in the images conjured in my mind and the grand scale. Of course the story revoles around Paul so I had to ground myself in order to actually get anything out of the story.
Anyway, I watched this on Max last night on my 80 inch flat screen with Klipsch Forte (old school) speakers. I agonized over Max or theater but thought the big screen might work. I dont think my mouth closed for 2 1/2 hours! Breathtaking! The theater screen (or even IMAX) would have been much more immersive however but nevertheless I still felt completely immersed like the scene of the Baron in his oily hot bath.
Directors cut? Definitely. But i wonder if BOTH (counting on part 2) releases could be stitched together into one continuous 6 hour (longer? OK!) film......
I have read the first Dune novel around twelve times (but not recently) and needed to buy a second copy. I have also read the other novels in the series. On the basis of this knowledge I was quite excited when I viewed the film today. There were many scenes that were markedly different from what I had imagined but my overall reaction was that the writers and director had achieved something rather special. I also agree with your thoughts on casting, I liked the actors in all the main parts.
I thought the film as a whole stands up very well against other contemporary science fiction films and bearing in mind it’s age 12 category should excite a whole new generation of young readers.
I've read the whole Dune series of books and have watched the 1984 movie many times. Reading your review of this movie really makes me want to watch this version and see how it compares to the others. Overall a awesome review
I'm quite an old person. I read the book when it first came out when I was about 18, then read it again when I was about 35. And 35 was a really long time ago.
I absolutely loved Dune Part 1. Beautiful and astonishing! Watched it on Max pre-opening day, (NOT going to a theatre anytime soon because of the virus); watched it again tonight. I think I see a whole lot more re-watching coming so long as I am subscribed to HBO.
My only (small) gripe is that, although I understand (and applaud) the reasoning of screening this film in two parts, I can only hope that I live long enough to see Part II.
Dune is visually spectacular, but strangely bland. It seemed to me that the writers missed all of the key themes so skillfully brought to life in Herbert's novel - Religion, Politics, Vendetta, Ecology, etc. The mentats have been reduced to nothing. Yueh's betrayal is there but it is not shocking because there is no understanding of his conditioning. And his key role in saving Paul and Jessica is not covered well at all (We see his diamond mark in the ornithopter - but if you didn't read the book I'm not sure you would understand the significance). Liet-Kynes is (so far) a throw away character. There is no real understanding of the ongoing vendetta between the two houses. Baron Harkonnen himself is only barely explored. And so it goes.... so many rich characters that are so poorly developed. I also wondered what the poor person who had not read the book would make of the plot and the many little easter eggs strewn throughout the movie. I was really hoping they could do for Dune what Peter Jackson did for LOTR, but sadly they did not achieve that. That being said - I did not hate the movie - I'd rate it 3 stars out of 5.
I originally read Dune in 1970 at the ripe old age of 11. At the time the things I had the most trouble wrapping my head around was the Bene-Gesserit and the Guild Navigators (read wrap/warp) to a lesser extent. I was somewhat annoyed initially by the attention given to Paul as I was mostly interested in the images conjured in my mind and the grand scale. Of course the story revoles around Paul so I had to ground myself in order to actually get anything out of the story.
Anyway, I watched this on Max last night on my 80 inch flat screen with Klipsch Forte (old school) speakers. I agonized over Max or theater but thought the big screen might work. I dont think my mouth closed for 2 1/2 hours! Breathtaking! The theater screen (or even IMAX) would have been much more immersive however but nevertheless I still felt completely immersed like the scene of the Baron in his oily hot bath.
Directors cut? Definitely. But i wonder if BOTH (counting on part 2) releases could be stitched together into one continuous 6 hour (longer? OK!) film......
I have read the first Dune novel around twelve times (but not recently) and needed to buy a second copy. I have also read the other novels in the series. On the basis of this knowledge I was quite excited when I viewed the film today. There were many scenes that were markedly different from what I had imagined but my overall reaction was that the writers and director had achieved something rather special. I also agree with your thoughts on casting, I liked the actors in all the main parts.
I thought the film as a whole stands up very well against other contemporary science fiction films and bearing in mind it’s age 12 category should excite a whole new generation of young readers.
I've read the whole Dune series of books and have watched the 1984 movie many times. Reading your review of this movie really makes me want to watch this version and see how it compares to the others. Overall a awesome review