Hello science guys! I’m curious whether you’ve seen the new movie of Dune, and what you think of it.
From my (literary) perspective, I’ll tell you I think it’s a faithful rendition of the novel, although of course it can’t cover the entire backstory of how we got to this point. Plus I think all the actors look their parts.
But would it stand alone as a movie if you don’t know the novel?
It left me flat; my wife, too. Glad I didn’t pay for it. The original film was much better, IMO.
And you read/liked the book?
Long, long ago, in a nearby galaxy as I recall.
Yeah, me too. I read the synopsis on Wiki just to get back up to speed.
I read Dune and Dune Messiah for the first time a few months ago. The movie was mostly faithful to the novel, but a key character was missing: Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. Perhaps he will appear in Part 2?
Here is Steve Sailer’s review from Taki’s Magazine.
Warning: The film, which is officially Dune: Part One, peters out at some random point in the middle of the novel, so don’t sit through the credits waiting for the real ending, which hasn’t been filmed.
The second half has not been publicly greenlit, which probably reflects studio uncertainty about whether theatrical releases are financially viable at all anymore. This one cost $165 million to make.
Thank you! This confirms my impression of the movie. But I thought Timothée was good, it was ok for him to be kinda enigmatic as an adolescent. And I had forgotten that it was the BGs who planted the idea of the mahdi. I’ll have to read it again; I can’t remember WHY the BGs were breeding the Kwisatz Haderach. Was he supposed to be somebody who could rule all the planets humans had subdued?
Also JW, what do you think about the “Earth Day” connection the review mentions? I mean, here on Arrakis you have a unique ecology with a culture uniquely adapted to it: the Fremen, whose entire way of life, customs, etc is built around conserving every drop, every trickle of human moisture and worship of the sand worm, Maker and Destroyer. Wouldn’t the ecologically correct thing to do be to PRESERVE that? The comparison with Lawrence of Arabia is interesting: Paul “goes native” indeed. And I think I remember that Stilgar remains an advisor even as the rains come. But when they do, the Fremen aren’t going to need the stillsuits and the sietches any more. So why did the Earth Day people want Frank Herbert?
And OMG a stop the presses! I just read that National Theater Live’s production of Pullman’s “The Book of Dust:La Belle Sauvage” Will be in movie theaters in February! It’s kinda the anti-Dune, it’s about a great flood. It’s a prequel to “His Dark Materials”. I cant WAIT!!