Dune (Denis Villeneuve)

Drenk · October 26, 2021, 04:00:03 PM

Maybe Chalamet won't be stoned in the sequel.

HACKANUT · October 26, 2021, 04:08:46 PM

Quote from: Drenk on October 26, 2021, 04:00:03 PM
Maybe Chalamet won't be stoned in the sequel.

If you know the book, I wouldnt count on him being sober

Alma · October 26, 2021, 05:19:32 PM

Just came out of watching this to find out the sequel has been greenlit. I'm so powerful.

I can't believe how much I loved this, just one of the best films I've ever seen at the pictures. Awe-inspiring. I sort of had the idea it would be a bit cold and clinical for some reason but not at all. Genuinely couldn't believe what I was seeing at times.

Jeremy Blackman · October 26, 2021, 08:31:04 PM

Quote from: Alma on October 26, 2021, 05:19:32 PMI can't believe how much I loved this, just one of the best films I've ever seen at the pictures. Awe-inspiring. I sort of had the idea it would be a bit cold and clinical for some reason but not at all. Genuinely couldn't believe what I was seeing at times.

Exactly my reaction.

I'm not exactly sure how Villeneuve was able to evolve so quickly from Blade Runner 2049, but there was so much emotion in this, constantly.

Axolotl · October 27, 2021, 12:30:22 AM

Watching this on IMAX this Friday. First theater experience for me since pre-covid.

Axolotl · October 30, 2021, 09:37:54 AM

This is the perfect adaptation of the novel. I mostly agree with JB about the whole vibe around it. It's an amazing experience, it's worth it as an adaptation just for how they did the ornithopters. I'm so fucking happy that there's going to be a part 2.

Alexandro · October 31, 2021, 08:26:08 AM

Yep, this was solid. Great, even. I have to watch it again to really know for sure how I feel about it. Honestly I was blown away by Blade Runner 2049 and Arrival but in terms of replay value, I don't know. They're still great, but something about the style is like... I guess not enjoyable is the right term for me.

This one takes some time to take off but once it does is pretty much one terrific set piece after another. I was a bit impatient during the first hour, not with exposition or quiet conversation scenes but with what felt like endless shots of spacecrafts landing, taking off, arriving, leaving, and so on.

I didn't feel it was incomplete, the main character's journey clearly starts at one point and ends in another, completing the cycle for the time being. And it's nicely set up for more evolution in the next installment. Which is refreshing actually, in a film of this scale, to feel so centered on the spiritual arch of the character. Total Lawrence of Arabia vibes all around.

HACKANUT · November 01, 2021, 03:11:59 PM

Saw this for a second time in IMAX last night. Fourth viewing in total. Still such a stunner. Really opens up with multiple viewings. Soo much of the storytelling here is visual language in lieu of exposition and I'm so thankful for that. Leaves a lot of meat on the bone to pick at during future viewings but leaves you stuffed with what you're able to gather each time.
I'm a huge fan of the books and it's hard to describe the joy I get from seeing such expert choices being made at every step of the films journey.
The ending has solidified itself as definitely the perfect place to call it for Part One. Any more and it's bloated, any less and it's lacking. Again: expert choices.

There's only a couple moments that irk me on each viewing having to do with awkward sounding line-reads from Mamoa and Duncan-Brewster, but they aren't the worst. Just awkward to the ear.

Now, that being said. (And this may not be the proper place for this, but) I had been holding off on watching the Lynch version until this version was out, so I sat down to watch the 1984 film earlier this week. I don't wish to be offensive here because I LOVE Lynch and I LOVE Dune. But... that film is a complete and utter train wreck. I very quickly went from worrying this film would color my feelings for the new one in a real way, to viewing it as a total joke. I'm astounded that THIS is many peoples first experience with Dune. Big ole yikes for me. I think most of the issue is In the edit tho, and not with Lynch. The sets and costumes are beautiful, but the pacing is a dead sprint through the source material so none of that seems to matter in the end. It's also quite an issue for me that they both gloss over important plot points AND make up some random Sound Guns that in no way fit into the plot. The wonder of the Dune books is how every piece has its purpose. Nothing is wasted. Like an ecosystem, everything is woven together. But those Weirding Modules.... Jesus Christ. Wrong choice guys.

Anyways, here's to Dune: Part Two and finally a proper telling of the whole tale.

Read the books if you haven't.

Jeremy Blackman · November 01, 2021, 06:39:13 PM

Yes, this makes me want to read the books in a way the Lynch Dune certainly never did. Calling the Lynch Dune a "joke" isn't even too harsh. While some of the character design is legendary, everything else is really just phoned in and completely inert compared to what Villeneuve accomplished.

It's nice to see people here are loving this. I've been surprised to see a few critics say it didn't work for them at all. I kind of get that. Dune casts a spell, and if that spell fails to enchant you I'm sure the experience quickly falls apart.

Jeremy Blackman · November 03, 2021, 01:09:15 AM

Saw this again tonight to catch an IMAX screening. Surprisingly packed auditorium for a Tuesday. The word of mouth has worked for sure.

Of course it holds up as a stone-cold masterpiece. I had basically the same experience this time, which was honestly a surprise. I said Ferguson and Chalamet are the beating heart that carries this movie, and I will double down on that. Their performances certainly don't get less rich on second watch. Rebecca Ferguson has this superpower where she can guide us through the entire emotional journey of the story just through her reaction shots. Chalamet's superpower is naturalism; much of his dialogue isn't even good, but he sells it effortlessly and embodies the character with ease. He's just so perfect for the role; I never saw him as anyone except Paul Atreides.

The music. Good God the music. This score reminds me of Magnolia in how shamelessly bombastic it is, but not throughout, just in the moments when you want everything to be so gloriously heightened.

Spoiler: Show

HACKANUT · November 03, 2021, 07:13:39 AM

That scene really is masterful. You might enjoy this breakdown by the man himself, if you haven't seen it already:

[youtube] https://youtu.be/GoAA0sYkLI0

So much insight! I'm gonna need a marker-on-screen commentary of the whole movie now, Denis.

[EDIT] this is a fascinating watch as well

https://youtu.be/jfgZMmoYvdE

Jeremy Blackman · November 03, 2021, 08:07:14 PM

Quote from: HACKANUT on November 03, 2021, 07:13:39 AM
That scene really is masterful. You might enjoy this breakdown by the man himself, if you haven't seen it already:

[youtube] https://youtu.be/GoAA0sYkLI0

So much insight! I'm gonna need a marker-on-screen commentary of the whole movie now, Denis.

That was incredible! Thank you.

I love how Chalamet sort of crosses his eyes at 14:38. What a brilliant performance. Crazy to learn that's the first scene they shot.

HACKANUT · November 07, 2021, 08:18:57 AM

https://twitter.com/joshencinias/status/1457142561575817224?s=20

WorldForgot · November 07, 2021, 10:10:49 PM

Quote from: Alexandro on October 31, 2021, 08:26:08 AM
I was a bit impatient during the first hour, not with exposition or quiet conversation scenes but with what felt like endless shots of spacecrafts landing, taking off, arriving, leaving, and so on.

When I was watching this, the grammar of all those processionals, ceremonies, and culture intros were heavily reminding me of Attack of the Clones. Then this last week I rewatched Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers extended cuts. I think something that Jackson and WETA/the entire SFX team accomplished that sort of falls short for sci-fi is a personality to its mechanics.

In LOTR there's countless shots of departures and arrivals that could feel like landscape photography with add-ons they're each given an illustration that doesn't just establish geography and aesthetic of the culture, it progresses an understanding of how people live & survive under their conditions therein, be it Rivendell or Rohan or even Isengard and in the case of the script these conditions imply the theme. For Fellowship it's the clash and synergy of different species and cultures finding a common banner and in The Two Towers and sort of nostalgic grief.

In Dune, the illustrations are mostly functional. Its script conveys the theme while the visual storytelling remains mainly functional.

Jeremy Blackman · November 07, 2021, 10:49:08 PM

Interesting points. I think the first hour is easily the best part, and the 2049-style shots of landscapes and architecture and spacecrafts are actually somewhat central to my enjoyment of it. For me, there's more than enough meaning in the glances between characters, as they all take deep breaths, plunging into dark territory, knowing what's at stake – not only their lives, but their entire house, legacy, and future. The gargantuan size of the ships and the eerie slowness of things so effectively portend the events that follow. The music adds enormous weight and bridges the gap between a human feeling and an alien feeling. But more than anything, the cinematography is constantly overwhelming. I can't imagine ever being bored or impatient in the first hour; I could barely keep up with the magnitude of the beauty I was witnessing, and that goes for both watches.