DUNE: For Want of Little Makers

[Zorral]

A different sort of review of Dune -- watched at a Toronto IMAX after ingesting edible. Evidently Villeneuve himself was present beforehand to introduce, but maybe, it was the gummies, talking? 

https://www.vulture.com/2021/09/dune-reviewed-by-someone-who-popped-an-edible-beforehand.html

Quote

 

....And then it was time for the movie! There is a complicated space plot that I will get into later, but for the purposes of a high person, this is what Dune is about: SPACESHIP GO WHIRRRR, CANNON GO BOOOOM, ORCHESTRA GO BRRRRAAWWRRRRRR. It takes place on a planet where the rhythmic hum of machinery has become a matter of life and death, which means that, at multiple points, the movie is literally vibing — and my high ass was vibing right there with it....

....Here’s what I knew about Dune going in: It was based on an acclaimed novel, people wear straws up their noses, and at some point, somebody says, “The spice must flow.” But this leaves a lot that I was unprepared for. For instance, one thing they do not tell you about Dune beforehand is just how much of the story is devoted to sci-fi bureaucracy. Which elites have import/export rights in which provinces? What are the specific bylaws governing a leadership transition? If someone wants to lodge a complaint, which regulatory body must they contact? One minor character is introduced as a member of one organizational hierarchy, but turns out to be simultaneously holding an important position in another org chart (a reveal that reminded me of certain sleazy elements of New York politics). I found this all enthralling, but that might be the gummies talking.

Another thing reviews have neglected to mention about Dune is that every few minutes, the movie’s plot stops for a series of perfume commercials featuring Zendaya wandering around the desert. According to Villeneuve, these interstitial segments had been specially filmed on IMAX cameras for the enjoyment of viewers like us. Again, I suspect a more sober-minded viewer could find these moments slow, confusing, repetitive, or even all three. I couldn’t look away — and not just because the screen was big enough that I literally couldn’t....

 

 

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

12 minutes ago, Zorral said:

A different sort of review of Dune -- watched at a Toronto IMAX after ingesting edible. Evidently Villeneuve himself was present beforehand to introduce, but maybe, it was the gummies, talking? 

https://www.vulture.com/2021/09/dune-reviewed-by-someone-who-popped-an-edible-beforehand.html

 

What?

[Zorral]

1 minute ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

What?

?

 

[LongRider]

On 7/27/2021 at 6:52 PM, Fury Resurrected said:

Sting is a terrible actor and his presence is cheap stunt casting. 

Yeah but he did end up with a knife in his throat, so there is that.   

[Zorral]

https://deadline.com/2021/09/dune-opening-weekend-warner-bros-international-box-office-1234838181/

 

[Durckad]

7 hours ago, LongRider said:

Yeah but he did end up with a knife in his throat, so there is that.   

Sounds like he kinda got a message in a battle with that one.

[Zorral]

17 hours ago, Durckad said:

Sounds like he kinda got a message in a battle with that one.

[polishgenius]

On 9/17/2021 at 3:17 AM, Arakan said:

Maybe it’s COVID related but I doubt it. I think Warner Bros doesn’t believe in its own movie and that it can be successful in North America. So they release it first in Europe, where the Movie can build up some serious hype, which it does. I mean it’s crazy, alone in Germany the movie (as the opening sequence to the whole saga) has been called the biggest cinematic thing since LOTR (major TV channel) and was praised as a masterpiece of our times with important messages for us right now (another major TV channel, maybe still shaken by Afghanistan who knows). The biggest German newspaper called it the most important film of the year (remember: we are speaking Sci-Fi Fantasy here). 

The Hype really is real. This movie is basically pushed by reviews and cultural and political commentators alone! 

Yeah, and so Warner Bros uses this to tell its North American audience: see? do not fear! Do not doubt! GO WATCH THE MOVIE.

 

To go back to this point: I think the answer is a combination of something to do with HBO Max - not every country with a delay has it, but many seem to - and Bond. Essentially in the markets it's already out, it's going to smack straight into the Bond release date with its tail-off, and instead this way round Bond is smacking into it. 

[LongRider]

2 hours ago, Zorral said:

“Sounds like he kinda got a message in a battle with that one.”

   D’oh!  Now I get it.     Well done. 

[Zorral]

From 1969, an interview conducted with Frank Herbert about his Dune, by the fellow who compiled the Dune Encyclopedia eventually.  80 minutes long.

It begins with Oregon sand dunes in the 1950's; fluid mechanics and sand.

 

[Luzifer's right hand]

Well I'm going to watch it again(with my mum this time). 

[Veltigar]

Going to see it this week. Finished the book yesterday so I'm fully prepared. I do wonder what you all think of the rest of the series. I have heard conflicting things about the other Dune books, so are they must-reads or did Herbert peak with his first one?

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

40 minutes ago, Veltigar said:

Going to see it this week. Finished the book yesterday so I'm fully prepared. I do wonder what you all think of the rest of the series. I have heard conflicting things about the other Dune books, so are they must-reads or did Herbert peak with his first one?

I like the series.  Dune: Messiah is the weakest in my opinion.  The rest are quite good.

[Deadlines? What Deadlines?]

How is everyone able to see it "next week"? It doesn't debut here until next month. Is it out in Europe already?

Anyone notice that Denis Villeneuve got in some hot water recently for making some pretty tame and utterly obvious comments about the MCU?

Like this human, who utterly misses the point.

 

[Zorral]

1 hour ago, Veltigar said:

Going to see it this week. Finished the book yesterday so I'm fully prepared. I do wonder what you all think of the rest of the series. I have heard conflicting things about the other Dune books, so are they must-reads or did Herbert peak with his first one?

Do not bother with the balderdash that comes after the first three books, and certainly not any of the endless gurges of those ground out by son and others, 'based on'.

Dune itself, the first one, is far and away the best of them alll.

[Corvinus85]

5 hours ago, Veltigar said:

Going to see it this week. Finished the book yesterday so I'm fully prepared. I do wonder what you all think of the rest of the series. I have heard conflicting things about the other Dune books, so are they must-reads or did Herbert peak with his first one?

For now, I dropped Children of Dune, the 3rd book, but I may return. The second one is more philosophy than anything else. So yes, the first book is where it's at, at least for me.

[Veltigar]

11 hours ago, Zorral said:

Do not bother with the balderdash that comes after the first three books, and certainly not any of the endless gurges of those ground out by son and others, 'based on'.

Dune itself, the first one, is far and away the best of them alll.

 

8 hours ago, Corvinus85 said:

For now, I dropped Children of Dune, the 3rd book, but I may return. The second one is more philosophy than anything else. So yes, the first book is where it's at, at least for me.

Ah, that is what I feared. Now that I have read it, I can see why the original Dune novel has so much cult appeal. It does a very good job at drawing you into the world, but I did already feel like the ending of the first novel was a bit weak. If the others are a step down I'm not sure whether I'd place them high on my list.

12 hours ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

I like the series.  Dune: Messiah is the weakest in my opinion.  The rest are quite good.

But is any of them able to hold a candle against the original in your opinion?  

@Deadlines? What Deadlines? They launched Dune in theatre in several European territories on the 15th of September

[Heartofice]

I seem to remember Messiah is not a very long book, but it also wasn’t very good either. Can’t remember children. But I do recall the SyFy mini series covered both and actually did a pretty good job, I think I enjoyed that more than the books themselves. 

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

1 hour ago, Veltigar said:

 

Ah, that is what I feared. Now that I have read it, I can see why the original Dune novel has so much cult appeal. It does a very good job at drawing you into the world, but I did already feel like the ending of the first novel was a bit weak. If the others are a step down I'm not sure whether I'd place them high on my list.

But is any of them able to hold a candle against the original in your opinion?  

@Deadlines? What Deadlines? They launched Dune in theatre in several European territories on the 15th of September

Yes.  God Emperor Of Dune has really grown on me as I’ve gotten older.  I absolutely enjoyed the updated universe created in Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune.

[Werthead]

15 hours ago, Veltigar said:

Going to see it this week. Finished the book yesterday so I'm fully prepared. I do wonder what you all think of the rest of the series. I have heard conflicting things about the other Dune books, so are they must-reads or did Herbert peak with his first one?

The sequels are very different but worthwhile. Dune, read straight, can come across as a typical chosen one/white saviour narrative, which Herbert did not intend. However, the full horror of the consequences of the original novel are not made clear until Dune Messiah (which he had partially written to be included in the original Dune as a Part IV, but had to leave it out due to space reasons) and Children of Dune. The original trilogy, which he had planned when he wrote Dune, is a complete thematic and literary experience.

God-Emperor of Dune is basically a philosophical interrogation of the original trilogy. Like, literally, about 85% of the novel is two people in a room discussing the ethics of the situation, with a bit of action at the start and finish. It's easily the weirdest of the six, which some people hate and some people love (it's the Toll the Hounds/Feast for Crows of the series). Heretics and Chapterhouse are a much more conventional (by Herbert's standards, anyway) action-adventure duology, lacking an ending, because Herbert died before he could finish it or, despite his son's claims, outline it. But still interesting and you can kind of tell where the story is going at the end.

Dune is certainly the outlier in having this heady LotR-style mix of action, adventure, worldbuilding, character-building, factions and some philosophising; the sequels tend to have some of these elements but not all of them, and that can make them pretty divisive.

The sequels/prequels by other people are straight up horseshit and should be ignored.