Dune (2021) ✦ Reaction & Review ✦ I have a new book series to read...
This is a movie reaction to my first time watching Dune: Part One, released in 2021, and directed by Denis Villeneuve. This won my Josh Brolin poll, but this movie has a STACKED cast! Rebecca Ferguson was my favourite, but everyone did a great job in this film. Paul Atreides is an interesting character and The Baron freaks me out. I'm so excited to see what happens in Dune Part Two! Make sure to stick around to the end of this video for my full thoughts and review and thank you so much for watching! Let me know YOUR thoughts in the comments below!
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#Dune #MovieReaction #FirstTimeWatching
Hey! Adding this comment because I've been asked about a Part Two reaction and there won't be one as I decided to go see Part Two in IMAX when it was showing! And I will likely go see any others to come (if/when) in IMAX as well. My thoughts on Part Two: AHHHHH! It was so good, definitely enjoyed it more than Part One. So many incredible shots, the score was fantastic, the story was surprising but intriguing, and the acting was fantastic as always. I can't wait to rewatch both of these movies back-to-back one day! Cheers.
Yes... Star Wars, Avatar, Game of Thrones, and a seemingly endless number of other sci-fi/fantasy movies and TV shows, were heavily influenced by Dune.
Dune is to SciFi as Lord of the Rings is to Fantasy.
dune, the foundation, the lord of the rings, and many other classics, are the giants on whose shoulders the later authors of the classics stand.
@@boqndimitrov8693 also Azimov and his laws of robotics are foundation for literally all androids in the media and even in real life developments
@@pyrosplicer85 This.
Finding this out brings me so much pride and happiness to know Dune is the big daddy that everyone tried to be. Just watched Part 1 last night knowing nothing about Dune and it’s one of my favorite movies ever. I’m so happy I decided to give this movie a chance. So hyped for Pt2
Just for clarification's sake: at 22:27, when the Duke says to Jessica "I should have married you", it's because they are indeed not married: Jessica is technically his concubine. Even though they love each other, Jessica is not a noblewoman by birth, so the Duke didn't marry her to keep the door open for a political marriage. He dies regretting that decision.
Had he married her, he'd have died a whole lot earlier.
Jessica is actually a bound concubine that was purchased.
But it's important to point out that it was a bluff of his in political negotiations. In practice he was not available for marriage and Lady Jessica was his wife despite not having the title.
but in children of Dune we find out Lady Jessica's lineage
Permita discordar, mas Jéssica é nobre de nascimento sim....um possível casamento no caso deles apenas não é politicamente desejável.....
This isn't a spoiler. The "sign language" that the Atreides use is "battle language" a secret sign language used for brevity and to convey information silently. Only House members know it (basically if you work for the Atreides, you know it). Other Houses might have their own battle languages too.
Although it’s not made clear in the film, in the books it’s made pretty clear that all the houses and the Sardaukar have battle languages. Although they’re not as sophisticated as we see here, modern armies use hand gestures for silent communication. You often see it in TV and film, when they raise a closed fist to indicate stop, a knife hand to show directions to move, point at their eyes and then out in a direction for “eyes on the target” and so on. The gestures might not be right but the idea is. Battle language is that with 8,000 years of development
the sisterhood do as well.
The scale of the ships are insane. I think many people miss out on that small, but neat, fact. It shows a 'tiny' transport orb leaving the Spacing Guild transport only for the orb to land and reveal it's actual size, thereby revealing how absolutely massive the guild ship is. Really neat but of visual story telling. Also, I'm not a huge Dune fan or anything (I havent read any book and my only direct association is i played the really old RTS game a few times) but I've seen this film a dozen times and it still hits like the first time. I absolutely love this film.
Also very easily missed is the partial planet visible through the Guild Heighliner in the scene where the Bene Geserit visit Paul. It's not visible outside the ship but only through the "tunnel" suggesting the ships form some kind of wormhole.
@@Yggdrasil42 oh shit, you're right. thanks so much for that tidbit. I never realized it was a planet...
@@tastyneck I love the first movie to the point of thinking that it is like LotR of sci-fi but recently started the book and I must say that it is even better. I think you should give it a try.
@@demjan96 I have the first few books but I have thing about needing the whole set of novels (from the original story) before I start. But it's deifnitely on the list!
Leia os livros...vale a pena !!....
Villenueves vision is as intoxicating as the spice on arrakis. The novels go hard on the politics and asks uncomfortable questions, something movies have a hard time to convey compellingly.
“A million deaths are not enough for the traitor Yueh.” Doctor Yueh’s role is unfortunately (but necessarily) minimized for the movie. His wife, like Jessica, was a Benne Gesserit, and we have his perspective leading up to the betrayal. Yueh had been “imperially conditioned,” which basically means that he’s undergone training/modification to make his loyalty to his house absolute (and making his betrayal that more invisible to the Atreides). However, when Gurney said, “[the Harkonnens] aren’t human, they’re brutal,” he wasn’t speaking metaphorically. The Harkonnens are known for their unmatched sadism. When Yueh found out his wife was being held captive by the Harkonnens, he broke his unbreakable conditioning out of love for her - not to get her back alive, but to ensure that she was dead, because he knew that was the best possible outcome. Yueh knew that he was dooming himself and (almost) all of House Atreides to die; that price was worth it to him to spare his wife from the torture the Harkonnens are capable of.
Converting her into that bizarre spider pet thing was pretty sadistic, I'll grant.
@@stevetheduck1425 whatttt???
I'm fairly certain this hasn't been confirmed, just that the creature was put together, from human parts, and potentially others. It does convey just how twisted the Harkonnens are, though it may not be them who actually made the creature.
One of the best parts of the cinematography for this movie is anytime there's something huge on screen they put something in the frame we know the size of. Gives everything a proper sense of scale.
Nominated for 10 Oscars including Best Picture, but won for Best Visual Effects Best Sound (Editing, Mixing) Best Original Score Best Production Best Costume Design Best Film Editing.
Regarding the "Year 10191" thing, in the books it's explained that that's 10191 years since the founding of the spacing guild, so it's even further in the future than you would think without that bit of explanation.
Am I crazy or did it say "10191 AG" earlier (AG: after guild)..? I remember watching reactions and noticed that none of them noticed that it's not "AD".
@@OriginalNoober I'd have to rewatch to be sure.
@@OriginalNoober No, it never said AG. I remember because I noticed that AG was conspicuously missing when I saw it in the cinema. I knew the average viewer would assume it was AD.
This dating system starts with the end of the Bulterian Jihad when humanity freed itself from enslavement by Artificial Intelligence and the founding of the Spacing Guild, so indeed, Earth's Christian-based dating system goes back even more. Earth, the original homeworld, is mentioned in the books, as well as some prominent tyrants of our time (as Paul recognizes himself and his rule as despotic in Dune Messiah), and many religions in Dune are an almagation of our current religions and philosophies. Zensunni is a combination of Zen Buddhism and Sunni Islam, for example.
It's 10191 AG (After Guild), which means it's closer to 23,000 years
Of the three incarnations of the story brought to screen, this is far and away the best thus far, followed by the Sci Fy mini series, and the Lynch version.
And the failed Jodorowski project 😲
@@rodentnolastname6612 true, though it never got beyond initial planning stages
The TV miniseries gets extra points for having a superior followup adapting the 2nd and 3rd books. But apples to apples, this movie is the best.
@@dudermcdudeface3674 you make a very valid point
nah i just couldn't get on with the TV version
One of the things I always found interesting and a subtle way of storytelling is the relationship that Paul has with people who hold high positions in his father's house. Paul openly shows affection to them even in the presence of his father and they are not scared to return the sentiment. It goes to show the kind of leader Lehto is and the lessons he has been teaching Paul about being a good ruler. The members of House Atreides would die for them because they feel a part of something that values them.
[12:25] Sign language is known in the Dune universe, and is used by various groups . The Atreides are using a secret sign language system they call "battle language". The Bene Gesserit use a different (but also secret) sign language system. In the books they are described as VERY subtle movements (a finger twitch, a light tug at a sleeve, etc.) that wouldn't be noticed unless you knew what to look for. [25:41] The Harkonnens firing a laser (called a lasgun in the books) at Duncan's shielded ship was ABSOLUTELY SUICIDAL! When a lasgun hits a shield, the explosion is on the scale of an atomic bomb. [35:44] There's an old Bene Gesserit saying: "Do not count a human dead until you've seen his body. And even then you can make a mistake." [36:11] I don't know what they used to make that black liquid in the film. In-universe, I suspect the liquid is similar to perflurohexane; it's a real-life liquid that has enough oxygen and carbon dioxide that you can breathe it instead of air. Considering the poison was airborne, it would make sense that the remedy would be a liquid you breathed in and out. [42:10] In the books, Chani's father is Liet-Kynes (a man who was an Imperial Ecologist who became a Fremen). In the film Liet-Kynes is a woman. It's not spelled out, but I suspect that in the film, Liet-Kynes is Chani's great aunt, and that Chani got the crysknife from her. The Fremen have a spice-rich diet, and spice prolongs life (in some cases 3 times as long). Liet-Kynes is probably A LOT older than she looks. Last word: If you want to read the books: Stick to the Frank Herbert novels. The Brian Herbert/Kevin J Anderson are trash in comparison. When I finished the first BH/KJA novel, I threw it across the room in a rage. Turning a masterpiece of science fiction into an 'effin Hardy Boys novel was something I will never forgive.) If you read the book before Dune part 2 comes out (I think the new release date is March), then stop reading the book when Paul and Jessica first meet Stilgar in the desert. (Although the film ends with Jamis' death, there are things in the book that happen immediately after his death. I think it would be best to wait and see how the film depicts those events before you read them.)
The lore of Dune is extremely deep. I think you’ll like the books
The 1984 movie is a glorious train wreck. It was my first introduction to 'Dune' and inspired me to read the books (at least the first few, haven't read the continuation of the series by Frank Herbert's son, and they get... mixed... reviews). It definitely takes a lot of liberties with the plot, but it's a big budget movie by David Lynch, so... worth a watch for that alone. That said, there would be some spoilers for the book and Dune pt 2. This movie also takes some liberties with the source material, but it's overall far more faithful and they're reasonable changes. Denis Villeneuve, the director of this Dune series, has a couple of other big budget sci-fi movies that are absolutely worth a watch. Arrival and Blade Runner 2049. Blade Runner is a sequel, so you'd have to watch the original Blade Runner as well, but it's also justifiably considered a classic for the visuals alone. ...I think the sequel is actually the better movie, though. Oh, and he's Canadian. Yay.
I've seen Arrival and love it. I haven't seen the 2049 Blade Runner cause I watched the first one and honestly didn't like it all that much. But that was a few years ago now and I kind of want to give that one another chance and then maybe I'll do 2049 for the channel. We'll see!
@@kaiielle If you're a fan of Denis Villeneuve then you have to give Sicario a watch, also starring Josh Brolin.
The biggest problem with this movie is that so much is unexplained. A huge example: The movie never explains that Paul sees POSSIBLE futures, many POSSIBLE futures. What he is challenged with is to try to navigate a narrow path thru those possibilities to the best outcome many years in the future. Paul had visions of Chani (Zendaya) killing him. Paul had visions of Jamis being his trusted mentor, but Paul had to kill Jamis in the last fight - at the conclusion of that fight, Paul felt the full impact of having had to kill his trusted mentor. The Imperial Ecologist Liet Kynes? An extremely important person (which I won't delve into, because Dune Part 2 might address some of it). Etc. The books tell an amazing story. Fitting the story into any series of movies is probably outright impossible. This movie seen cold, with no knowledge of the books and nobody who has read the books to help explain things, would be justifiably judged a confusing mess. On the plus side, this movie's visuals, score, casting, acting, and directing are fantastic. I eagerly await the next installment.
@@dondumitru7093 It's always a challenge to adapt a written work to a visual one. Especially a dense one with a lot of lore like Dune. I think the movie did about as well as it could conveying the idea of Paul's visions without going into an exposition dump. I agree that it's still open to interpretation but these are things that the people who adapt the screenplay and the director have to work out and make compromises on. It's a balancing act.
@@ArmouredPhalanx The movie did a good job, imo, of conveying that they were possible futures. Jamis' death just confirmed it. But, I've been reading SciFi and Fantasy for 45 years, so...
The book, Dune, is the forerunner and inspiration for most of Star Wars, and almost all of G.R.R. Martin's "Song of Fire and Ice," as well as just about every other science fiction movie built on a grand epic scale.
I really appreciate your acknowledgement of Rebecca Ferguson and her depiction of the Lady Jessica. She brought subtle emotional threads to the movie and to me was the outstanding figure of the movie. As to the 'Bene Gesserit witches': well, they brought a dimension to the story that is missing in almost every other sci-fi story from the time. They bring a emotional denial feel that fits in with the 'manipulator of religions' that are core to how the Bene Gesserit relate to the populace. They are also the most dangerous figures in the Duniverse with their millennia of training in mind/body (prana-bindu) control, battle skills that are near-legendary, subtle use of drugs and the Voice. I felt sorry for Jamis. He had no idea Paul had been trained by the two most feared swordsmen of the Imperium, Duncan Idaho and Gurney Halleck and could never defeat Paul. That said, Jamis was Paul's friend (as Paul says in the book) as he brought Paul into the community of the Fremen.
Yes! You should absolutely read the books. They are beyond incredible. I hated the 1984 adaptation of Dune, but I had not read the books then. When I finally did read them, then I *really* hated the movie. LOL. This adaptation, however, is spectacular. They made a wise choice by splitting it into 2 parts so they can tell the complete story.
I think the problem with the 1984 movie was A: the technology limited their ability to make the movie match the scope of the books, and B: The Studio wanted to cash in on the popularity of the series for the lowest possible investment. The best director cannot make a great movie when their budget is iphones for cameras, lol!
I enjoy the 84 more after finally reading the books. Lynch's vision is beyond insane, but when you understand some of the influences pulled from Jodorowsky's failed attempt (which would have been like an acid trip), it's amazing it even got made at all...
It actually won Best Cinematography, not Costume Design. Just a quibble. Part 2 will win a lot.
The book is a masterpiece of science fiction. I highly recommend reading Dune and Dune Messiah.
God Emperor of Dune is my favorite one out of the saga. Epic.
@@swordmonkey6635 to me it honestly feels like Frank Herbert had about two and a third books planned out. From there he started winging it, and it turns out that he was a very, very strange man.
@@wackyvorlon God Emperor is basically a literary masturbatory dialog with Frank as Leto II where he can spout off all his trippy ideas and strange opinions about history, society and culture. I love it because it's so self indulgent and naked in its hubris and pretention. I've always loved the character of Leto II, but he's a bit of a douchebag and would probably be terrifying to try to have a conversation with because he'd want to poniticate all the time. I don't think the Dune Saga is perfect. I've read the prequels and the sequels too. It's entertaining and thought provoking though.
Yes, God Emperor was an excellent book, but I think that Chapterhouse really began coalescing the whole thing together. We begin to understand that the Bene Gesserit were not bent on CONTROLLING the future, their whole goal was to improve the human race, and to make the ULTIMATE human being. I will confess that the identity of the true Kwisatz Haderach caught me completely off guard, but it made sense, once you see all the little hints and setups that Frank Herbert had put in all the preceding books...
@@DannyRayMilligan66 I think the problem was that Frank Herbert died before being able to wrap up the story in a concise way. It "ends" in a way, but he intended to write more and although his son did pick up the fragments, who knows what Frank would've done with the same idea that started back before the Butlerian Jihad in the prequels. The concept of the Honored Matres are my favorite of his universe.
The scene in which Paul confronts the sandworm is actually a recreation of one of the most iconic covers for Dune in paperback.
Nothing short of a masterpiece - epic images with a story to match (and told in a way where you don't feel lost or bored).
I was a friend of Jamis. He taught me that there are limits to Paul's prescience, that his visions can be subverted and the consequences of such are difficult to predict. For real though, I wonder if Paul's visions of Jamis were based on Jessica giving him the crysknife she received from Shadout Mapes. Maybe seeing a crysknife would have silenced Jamis' doubts long enough for him to warm up to Paul. But I guess Paul's premonition of receiving a blade came true anyway, he just got it from Chani instead of his mother.
I was a friend of Jamis. He taught me that even a faithful adaptation can make missteps 😅 Fighting in stillsuits is fine (if inaccurate). If Part 2 skips Jamis' funeral, I will be furious 🤬
I think all Paul's premonitions in the desert were about the possible timeline without the early Harkonnen attack. If House Atreides would have the time to build up the alliance with the Fremen, Duncan would inevitably become one of them, and Paul would also be trained by them (most likely by Jamis).
The sequence where Paul releases the controls of the ornithopter is the precursor to "trust the Force, Luke."
I first read Dune when I was about 12. It was outer space and battles and giant worms. My first year at college I read it again. And I got it. Over the years I've read it 5 times. With each reread I've gotten more out of it. This adaptation is the first time that seems to be living up to the book.
Dune caught my imagination as a boy: it was the first time ecological themes were a deep part of any story I had read and a semi-mystical feel that fits in with the 'manipulator of religions' that are core to how the Bene Gesserit relate to the populace. I had hoped more of the ecological theme would appear in the movie, but that may be in Part 2.
It doesnt live up to the book, not even close. Even that low budget tv series lived up to the book(s) much better than this beautiful but shallow illustration.
Oh make no mistake, there's only one book and Frank Herbert wrote it. The movie is another thing. I can't imagine what it would take to make a movie that everyone liked. Sorry I'm just feeling chatty.
41:57 The actor playing Jamis here is Babs Olusanmokun. He is also an accomplished martial artist in real life. He is currently playing Dr. Joseph M’Benga on the Star Trek prequel Strange New Worlds. His character is a soft spoken medical doctor who is also a deadly hand to hand combatant.
His character on SNW of a great interpretation of a classic character.
First, Paul reminds be about what Black Window said about the Hulk, being a fighter who is scared to fight because he know he'll win. Also, not all his visions came true exactly how he saw them, but Janus did teach him about the flow of life, and Paul the boy did die. The 1984 movie is both good and so bad its good, but I'd hold off until part 2 because it has the whole story. The books are amazing too. Things that are easy to miss in the movie is that there are zero computers, Frank Herbert was scared of AI even in the 60s and it is a pretty big point that they are not there. Frank also was critical of colonization, which is much more obvious from the story. Also, have you seen the Wheel of Time? Season 2 is comimg out in the next couple days.
Thanks for your comments. I haven't seen Wheel of Time!
give it a try @@kaiielle
(No spoilers, everything in this comment is revealed or skipped by the end of the movie) Villeneuve is a master of his craft and I always considered Dune along with LOTR to be impossible to convert to the screen until it was done, and done well. I love the pacing of this film but I also feel that the "punchlines" of various scenes were cut, eg. Paul momentarily doubting Gurney's loyalty during the sparring section and the that fact that Gurney had been a slave of the Harkonnens, the Reverend Mother saying "No woman child ever withstood that much. I must've wanted you to fail" in the gom jabbar scene, "Kynes had gone native", in the spice harvesting scene the bounty for the wormsign and the threat to lasgun the harvester, the intrigue with satellites/weather control and the revelation of Fremen bribes before meeting Stilgar in the desert, etc. It's not that subplots were skipped but that the subplots/plot elements were kept and their payoffs or build-ups were blunted. But I realise that I don't have a billionth of Villeneuve's talent and movie adaptions are often ruined by trying to stick to the source too closely.
I hadn't thought about it until you said it, but that first 20-30 minutes being "different" from the rest of the film is pretty accurate I guess, if only because at the start we're doing the 30,000 foot view of some of the basics: what is Arrakis/Dune, and why is it important? How do the indigenous people feel about the occupying force? Why is spice important? Who are the key players and what are their general politics/styles? I think that once House Atreides lands on Arrakis, the more "normal" version of storytelling really gets underway. Some folks have noted that they feel the film is slow or boring but the reality is that there is a LOT of info that needs to be imparted to the audience so elaborate table-setting is required: Bene Gesserit and the Voice; Spice and intergalactic travel; Paul's visions; politics and houses/factions of the known universe; particular motivations of certain houses and/or characters. Dune part 2 will be a lot more action oriented and will likely be a mix of a war/espionage type story. Set to release Nov. 3, the date has been pushed back to Mar. 2024 due to the strikes (they want to have the actors go out and promote the film, and they can't do that now). This is a rich IP and I think Denis was the one to do it, at least IMO after watching Arrival. He hopes to have a third film, based on the second novel, if Dune Part 2 does well at the box office. Looking forward to it! Oh and as for the Bene Gesserit, HBO is developing a series based on the origin or at least early days of that order, though with the strikes, who knows when we'll see that, but I'd love for Dune Part 2 to spark a real wide-spread interest in this IP so that we can get some more stories and films or series set in this world.
I loved the movie, can't wait for the next part. Have read the first two books so far. It's obvious that the books have influenced a lot of sci fi, it's really insane how much can be traced back to them. Whether they served as inspiration or if similarities are purely coincidental is of course always debatable. Quinn's Ideas is a great channel for Dune lore videos if you just want the info and don't mind having absolutely everything spoiled.
I'll check out that channel in the very far future haha thank you!
Even two 2.5 hour movies cannot fully capture the entire book.
My guess is it would take at least a 12 part series to capture just the first book, with unlimited budget for FX, etc., and NOBODY is going to do that, no matter how much they love the books. It would be wonderful to see, but can't imagine the billions of dollars it would cost.
I love all the different versions of Dune, but this one is the best of the 3. I honestly don't think Dune can be fully adapted for watching completely, but this one does it well. So glad you liked it!
You are the second person who I've watched that noise nothing of the book but is not annoying. And dose not constantly talk every single second you get and misses important details because of that. So thank you I loved your video.
You will find these books to be incredibly complex, be careful to follow the timeline, beginning with the first book, DUNE. There are numerous prequels out there as well, so be aware that those should be accessed AFTER you've gone through the main series. As an aside, I think his BEST book was THE WHITE PLAGUE, and I would LOVE to see that made into a movie. Hope you have no plans for the next few years, lol, Frank Herbert's books tend to take over your life for periods of time, lol
That's why I said that I hope to get to the series this decade. 😂
I love White Plague - it's maybe the only example of an apocalyptic book where I totally believed it depiction of what would happen to society - this is where Herbert has no peer, and a very big aspecr of what makes his Dune books so amazing - his inside out understanding of the deep mechanisms of society, and how they tie into a larger perception of ecological dynamics - he was way ahead of his time - visionary stuff
The White Plague was freaking amazing.
@@kaiielle honestly you can read the first book and have a complete self contained story. It's my favorite book and only book I read multiple times.
Better yet, just skip everything written by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson. They're generic sci-fi with a Dune coat of paint. Frank's 6 books are great though.
Thanks for checking out my reaction to Dune! I'd love to know your thoughts on this film, but please don't spoil the events that are coming in Part Two! I definitely won't have time to read the books before the film comes out. 😊 Check my site for links to all reactions: kaiielle.com, Discord for community hangs: discord.gg/4KQXhXJQVU and please suggest movies and TV series to me here: forms.gle/XZVvZhfhwFzsDpRU9 Finally, Patreon for MORE: patreon.com/kaiielle Cheers! 🪱
It’s glorious! The only people who think this movie is slow haven’t read the book. If you’ve read the book, it feels like a whirlwind.
There’s five books that were written by Frank Herbert, after his death his son Brian and Kevin Jay Anderson began collaborating on new books. The general consensus on those books is that they’re not very good. After Dune Messiah, it starts to get increasingly weird. Villeneuve’s plan is to make a trilogy, with the first book being parts 1 and 2, and Dune Messiah being part 3. I’m incredibly excited for that, I like Dune Messiah even more than Dune.
You said you love throat singing. If you haven't already, then you should look up the band, "The Hu".
Yeah...don't bother with the novels. Really. The first one is alright, but that's about it. After that, they start to devolve into empty, drug-addled stupidity pretty rapidly. By the end, it's like a bad acid trip and has absolutely no valid point anymore. In some ways, Villeneuve's version is actually superior to the novel. But really, it all suffers from the same problem. Asimov's "Foundation" series handles it slightly better, but it's still not especially good in that sense. And it's in the nature of politics that both (and most stories involving it) fail. Politicians are not clever, knowledgeable, or even particularly ruthless or malicious. At least, not any more than the average schmuck off the street. The only real difference between a politician and anyone else, is that the politician usually had a better start in life (which is pure, dumb luck), for one thing. And just happened to blunder their way into being a pathological liar by some completely random cause, eventually hitting on a chain of lies that kept getting believed (usually again by pure, dumb luck) until they wound up in the highest offices in society. And continuing that chain is what keeps them there. If their luck runs out, they get ousted. It's not really a question of mistakes, just how the dice roll. After all, every single thing they say and do is a mistake in any logical and objective sense. It wouldn't be a problem for most fictional stories, except that they try to play off the political intrigue like it's some sort of Chess game. It's not even Checkers, ffs. Politics barely qualifies as Tic-Tac-Toe. Which is why there are no intelligent politicians, or corporate executives and the like. An intelligent person recognizes the game for what it is, and knows the only winning move is not to play. Anyone else is just a dipshit gambling on an impossibility.
@@DoremiFasolatido1979 you realize it takes place more than 20,000 years into the future, right? With groups like the Bene Gesserit and Bene Tleilax involved, along with mentats, the universe is a *very* different place.
This film has so much world building, character introduction and storyline startups, it's absolutely crazy. Far more thany many other films, you can just see how this was book based. The book series is just Iconic. There is no other word that can even get close to describing the impact it has even today. So many films reference it, to list them you would be here all day. Love review, you caught so many datails, and enjoyed the whole cinematography and spectacle of the film, as well as the acting and the drama.
Nice reaction. As a huge fan of the Frank Herbert novels, I was pleasantly surprised by how well they adapted the first half of the first book. The visuals and sound design are fantastic, and the casting choices were pretty damn good too. Really looking forward to seeing how they finish the story, considering there are some characters and plot points left out of part1. But I think Villenueve has earned the benefit of the doubt. If you do decide to read the books, stop after the ones originally written by Frank Herbert. Now there are myriad prequels and sequels but they really do read like someone tried to flesh out some bullet points into novels and have none of the depth of the original books (they are allegedly based on notes found after his death).
The only reason that the Baron survived was that he had a personal shield that slowed the poison and a personal anti-gravity belt to lift him out of its range.
“Mmmmm. Oscar Isaac’s magnificent space beard.” - Homer Simpson
I saw the one with Kyle McLachlan long ago and it was just SO over the top, I never really felt for any of the characters. This is different. Chalamee is extremely subtle but I think he communicates the important emotions. I also think that it doubles down on the lack of certain kinds of technology. The books are thick so lots of details have to be left out. I am looking forward to part II.
"Any sufficiently advanced Technology is indistinguishable from Magic" - Arthur C Clarke. It's not really wrong to consider this a Fantasy, at it's heart it's a Hero's journey surrounded by massively advanced tech and humanity. But thousand year long Genetic Manipulation through Bloodline Selection is quite the heady Sci-Fi concept. And that's not the only one.
Great point about the genetic manipulation, many of these characters could be considered transhuman. I would say modern humans are closer to cavemen than we are to these folks.
It's not a hero's journey... If you read the book and thought that, then you have gravely misunderstood the entire point. How many "heroes" can you say as directly caused the death of 61 billion lives, the destructions of hundreds of worlds, etc.? He knows of this faith and tries to change it, and that's literally the only thing that still makes him a sympathetic character in our eye, because in any other cases you'd see him as the villain. Leto II, Paul's son, is even more monstrous, though some will say the end justify the means, but I certainly wouldn't. I'm also not sure where you saw super advanced techologies... The entire universe of Dune is purposefully low-tech, because computers are literally forbidden. This is why you have 3 schools of near super-human training with the Space Guiling, the Bene Gesserit and Mentats - they are essentially biological machines. You also have the Bene Tleilaxu that are really into genetics but they are extremely frowned upon by the other schools because they are tempering too closely with things that created the enslavement of mankind before the Butlerian Jihad in the first place.
I thought this movie was very faithful to the tone and text of the book. Lots of big themes and small details were recreated faithfully. The book was formative for me and I thought this movie did it justice.
Absolutely reccomend the books. Just dont bother with any not written by Frank Herbert.
Weak elitist gatekeeping. The books by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson are just fine.
@@-Devy-agree. The prequels add a ton of value to the lore.
The BH/KJA books are poorly written, generic sci-fi. If you enjoy them, that's cool, but they add nothing to Dune except barely thought out ideas to capitalize on Frank's work.
@@jasonthedave6140 Sadly, I think they’re written better. After Messiah especially towards Chapterhouse I felt Herbert really gets lost in the weeds. I feel like BH/KA did a great job honoring the original style while updating the pacing. And I really enjoyed the prequels way more than I expected to. The back stories of Leto, Duncan, Jessica and Gurney were very cool to me. Even the books regarding the AI uprising. I thought for sure those books would lose me with no characters I knew. I was wrong. Very cool seeing House Corrino in another light.
I love all the factions in Dune. The Guild and their Navigators who can see limited future paths. The Bene Gesserit who can control every muscle and nerve in their body, right down to the individual fibers. The Sword Masters. The Ixians. The Bene Tleilax. I love the narrative device which means we are back to sword fighting in the far future. If an energy weapon crosses a shield you get a nuclear explosion. The use of two energy based weapons in this movie was one of my pet peeves.
Hans Zimmer had previous choir influence with a powerful woman’s voice: The Prince of Egypt This soundtrack reminded me of that movie soundtrack in so many ways. Both movies are comparable and the soundtrack, again, was the main reason.
Haven't seen that one but maybe one day!
One thing you will discover is that many of the Atreides mortal enemies are family to them. The Emperor (not scene in this film) is the Duke’s cousin. But for the sake of power they don’t let blood get in the way. Sort of like how in World War I, the heads of the main European states on both sides were all grandsons of Queen Victoria. Both parents of Paul’s mother Jessica are also working against them. In the book it is disclosed after the big attack that Baron Harkonnen is Jessica’s dad. I will let you guess who mom is 😉
Definitely one of my all time favorites. Hard to say where in those favorites it falls, but I fricking love this movie.
the year 10,191 is 10,191 AG, meaning "After Guild"- the creation of the spacing guild at the end of the great Butlarian Jihad war. The year 0 BG is between 15,000( 17,000 AD) and 25,000( 27,00 AD) years in our future.
Nicely done reaction! "Anakin's favorite movie" - heh - remember that one when it comes to future appreciation for this series. The influence goes very deep indeed.
The book is worth reading for the detail. When people have incomplete ability to see the future, things hinge on the tiniest decision. Paul knows the jihad may come, with him the leader of fanatics warring across the universe. He loses the opportunity to otherwise when he delays in Doctor Kyne's station, explaining and talking when simply moving on would have changed everything. It leads to Duncan's death, Kynes' death, his future as a leader of religious fanatics, everything. He spends years trying to alter that destiny and failing. The other path was to behave like that desert mouse he saw several times, and to not take the path of the Hand of God, the large moon. The shape on the lesser moon is Muad-dib, the desert mouse, he uses that name, but doesn't follow what it teaches. Another thing: the Sardaukar are misrepresented in this film. They are not warrior fanatics, they are well-treated, have homes of their own, have peacetime work, wives and families, but train and practise as soldiers intensively. That's what makes them great soldiers in the service of the Emperor. It places them in strict contrast to the later fanatics the fremen become, and they are much like the House Atreides soldiers in this respect.
Sign language is just the Atreides secret battle communication. Chakobsa is a real language of the Desert here on Earth. The Baron and the Emperor are two different people, the Emperor will appear in part 2. You better go see the second one in theatres to get the real experience, then rewatch it for us. I'm currently going through the fourth book.
The book is so expansive and has so much to say about religion, culture, politics and power. No movie can fit it all but I think this does almost as well as any movie could. Definitely excited for the next one.
The tiny desert mouse, in the Fremen language, is a Muad'Dib. Paul will remember this encounter later. That's all that can be said without any spoiler.
Great job! You are def on my top reactor list!!
I've read the original 6 at least twice, some of them more than that. I've read every other Dune book published. Of the original 6, it's not science fiction, it's a religion. You'll be a better person having read them. The movie is a good interpretation of the first half of the first book. But, it still leaves something to be desired. I don't think there could ever be a movie that accurately conveys the book itself.
I'm still salty they excluded the dinner party.
I've read Dune, 3 times, and I discover something new each time I read it. In the books, Paul describes his visions as looking out over the desert. You can see where you want to go but you can only see the tops of the sand dunes, you can't see the path between the dunes until you get to the top of the next dune. So, he can see different futures and the path to get to that future does not reveal itself until he's almost right on top of the moment. That is why in the movie you see Paul being killed by Jamis, He and Jamis as friends, Jamis teaching Paul and Paul killing Jamis. The same happens with Chani. In one vision she kills him, in another she asks about his home world, etc.
Dune books/storie became the base foundation for Star Wars and other Sci-Fi movies that come later. ☺
_Dune_ is one of the holy trinity of fantastical works of the 20th Century, alongside _Foundation_ and _Lord of the Rings._ Don't be afraid of being overwhelmed, because all 3 are giant universes with a shitton of books both official and ancillary building it up. The _Duniverse_ has 2 books trilogies before the author died in 1986. All the rest are written after by his son and his collaborator based on the (mostly unfinished) notes left behind. It's okay to *not* read everything because the non-Frank stuff is...questionable in quality. But books 1-8 are definitely worth reading, although 1-3 are the best. You will probably need Wikipedia to give you a chart though. One thing though: computers are super--duper-ultra-mega-forbidden due to a massive war 10,000 years ago. So all the science is deliberately organic or analog. This is pretty important to know ahead of time. The only thing this movie didn't do all that well is lay out the feudal structure of the Imperium, and emphasize just HOW INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT both Spice and water are. The 2000 miniseries did the former better and the 1984 original laid out the latter better. Oh, and also the Baron Harkonnen is a homicidal gay pederast in the books, but for...reasons of taste, they left that out.
this in the theater was so satisfying. and 2 was pushed back till my bday!
Dune is not quite as big to Science Fiction as LOTR is to fantasy but it sure is a huge influence. I liked the Lynch version but i love love love Denis Villeneuve's version. So looking forwad to part 2.
It's funny you should mention that you're watching a Star Wars movie. George Lucas did say he had a lot of influence from the Dune books
Good reaction! I love this movie so very much, I love the books as well and found a lot of lines directly out of the book in verbatim, and others used as thoughts that where well presented as dialogue. Also I too wonder what they emersed Skarsgard in for the bath scene, I joke that I want to make a brand of balsamic and oil dressing called "Baron's Bathwater".
You should watch the previous incarnations of this film so you can see the differences in interpretation of the source material. The first one came out in 1984 and the second was done as a miniseries came out in 2000 with a follow up’Children of Dune’ came out in 2003.
There was a fun video that Corridor Digital did where they emulated the feel of the original movies effects but on top of the modern day movie scenes.
Gotta love it when Duncan goes full Boromir.
Thank you! Yes, I’ve read the books, yes you should read them, yes you should go see the sequel in theaters.
Theres a fan theory that the barons "pet" is the doctors wife twisted into a non-human form, there are no aliens in dune besides for the sandworms
There are two book series that I constantly find myself rereading. The first is The Lord of the Rings, and given the title of this video, the second shouldn't come as a big surprise...but Dune. The lore, history crafting, and world building make both tales stand above everything else.
I highly recommend checking out the books, just got onto book 2 and love it to death. Frank Herbert was very forward thinking for his era, also he was on a lot of Mushrooms when he wrote them XD
I personally prefer the alec Newman version
As much as I love the David Lynch/80s Dune, this film is just leaps and bounds better. That's not Lynch's fault or any one person. There's just a better vision and more advanced effects in this one. Denis Villenueve is probably my favorite working director right now.
His name is Timotei Challetmaid.
It might be hard to put your thoughts together for this reaction because it's only 1/3 of a story. My understanding is that the next move is the rest of the story, but i may be wrong. There may be 2 more to come.
And you MUST see both parts in an IMAX. Villeneuve's homage to the book can only be appreciated in a cinema on the Widest Screen Of Them All. Maybe when they run Parts 1+2 in a movie marathon in a couple of years time.
I still wonder if the bag pipes guy survived the harkoen attack hope part two gives me closure lol
strongly recommend watch dune part 2 in theaters, especially imax. mainly the director of the film with this and blade runner 2049 he does sound direction so #$!%ing well so with that in imax theaters and the amazing sound quality is perfect.
Only parts of this movie were shot with imax cameras. For part 2 the entire movie is being shot with imax. So it will be like The Snyder Cut in its aspect ratio. I'm happy to have a full size imax screen here. Hopefully i won't have to wait weeks to buy my ticket for it.
Dune Part 1 has been re-released in the theaters until Feb 13. I watched it yesterday. I'm not certain, but I think a lot of the scenes were extended a little, with extra lines. There's also a scene from Dune Part 2 after the end credits.
Finished your trilogy review. Appreciated your awareness of your own life state affecting how you react to these films. I'm not sure one can escape this so these films probably are worth watching at different stages as I imagine I might enjoy the first less and the third more as I continue to age. Love this trilogy.
I think you meant to comment this on the Before trilogy? Either way, thank you! Just based on what you said makes me think that's what you watched.
The shields block anything that's fast moving they can be calibrated to block slow moving objects but then you wouldn't be able to breathe.
Denis Villeneuve also directed Sicario, one of the other Brolin movies on your poll. You should watch that as well.
It's about time you did Dune 😜 I've been following you for a while and was hoping you'd listen to the best movie in a long time! I've read all the original books and a few of the prequels. The original Dune books are the mother of all other science fiction. By the way, to clarify, the Baron is not the Emperor. We will see the Emperor in part 2.
42:45 the forehead blade salute that Paul does comes from Jason Momoa. His son Nakoa-Wolf takes kali fighting lessons Iessons and this salute is used. So Momoa had Duncan do it as an Easter egg to his son. In the original book, the duel between Paul and Janis was even more one sided. Janis was never able to lay a finger on Paul.
I appreciated the reaction. Not every Dune reader likes this film adaptation, but I do. I am fully on board for part 2. Your reaction solidifies my belief that this Director has found a way to tell this complex story in such a way that non-book readers can still grasp the big big picture of the original story and enjoy the film. While it is apparent from your reaction that a book reading is not essential to film enjoyment, I will say that it does help. Even in splitting the the first book into two parts it is still a “Readers Digest” abridged version of the book. But. In my opinion a damn good one. It’s beautiful film.
Thank you! I am very excited to get to the books eventually. Sometimes with complex fantasy/sci-fi like this, watching the visuals FIRST helps me when I go to the books. I realized this when I started reading the books that The Expanse TV show were based off of. Having the visuals from that show in my brain really helped when the books dove into a lot more detail and explanation. I anticipate the same will happen with Dune.
The movie follows the book nearly perfectly, I was so happy. It's also only half of the first book.
Regarding the books the first one is the best in my opinion. If you read or listen to the 1st book, and really like it and want more, then read books 2, 3, and 4. If you'd like a dessert, read 5 and 6. But to me the 1st book is the one that had that lightning in the bottle quality to it.
You should go see part 2 on the big screen, treat yourself :)
Read the books, one of the best scifi books ever written. And about the Bene Gesserit, it is certainly worth reading the books, the film only shows a small part of the complex and surprising political faction. Aside from all the other factions that the movie only skims over, the Empire, the Space Guild, the CHOM, the noble houses of the Landsraad, the Mentat, Ginaz's Master-at-Arms school, the Emperor's elite troops called the Sardaukar (which appear briefly in the film, showing their home prison planet, Salusa Secundus, the Warmasters of the noble houses, among others...
Every one of the Great Houses has its own sign-language as well as a spoken tongue used during war.
Hbo is making a show about the beginnings of the Bene Gesserit called The Sisterhood
The current Dune books now span 34,000 years.
A good portion of the book is inner monologue. They can be a slow read but it will suck you in. I hope nobody spoils it for you.
Dune is to science fiction what the Lord of the Rings is to fantasy. It casts a long shadow across most of the genre, and has influenced nearly every work that has come since.
I believe that I read the first book in the late 1960s/early '70s (when I was a pre-teen) and it blew me away. For many years, it was my favorite novel. I've since read all of the Frank Herbert novels. It is a great series. I think that the whole (original) series is worth reading. I want to say more about that, but I won't because you haven't read them yet. There were a few books that were written and published after Frank Herbert died, but I haven't read them and so I can't comment on them. I've seen all of the adaptations -- David Lynch's, the Sci Fi Channel's miniseries, and this one. And I feel that this is by far, the best of them, in that it really captures the spirit of the book, which is the most important thing in an adaptation. I have some problems with both of the other adaptations which I won't detail here. Let's just say that they each have good and bad things I can say about them. Imho, though this one is nearly flawless.
I really loved this movie. I read the book in my early 20's and loved it, but it is admittedly rather weird, and most of my friends had trouble enjoying it. The writing style is a bit odd, and just doesn't work for everyone, but I still think it's worth giving a shot as the people who like it tend to love it. The first book is all you need to read, it's pretty solid on its own. But if you're up for a much longer and MUCH weirder story, the sequels are solid too. I still can't believe Denis Villeneuve was able to make such a good story (so far) with what I would have considered unadaptable source material. Obviously he made a decent number of alterations, but the core of the story is still remarkably well maintained. If you enjoyed this and Arrival, you may also enjoy Blade Runner 2049 (you may have already seen it, I haven't checked yet). But I'll be sure to check out a few more of your videos, as it was nice seeing your take on everything!
I am unsure of your watch background in years past, but the directing style from Denis, of size and sound, can be felt in his 2016 movie “Arrival”. If you haven’t seen it, most of those who have watched will recommend it highly.
Sure, I comment before your review. 🫢
If you're ever curious about what I've seen, you can check my Letterboxd! letterboxd.com/kaiielle - I have seen Arrival a few times now and it's fantastic!
A classic novel, glad they are redoing it
Enjoy the Books 👍
Blink and you miss it, but the city of Arakeen is on the North Pole of Arrakis and it still gets hot enough in the noonday sun to cause heat stroke/death.
I don’t know the books, but I know the 80’s movie. That was too big of a project for the time, but a good attempt. This was a great version and I will say that it ended in the part of the story that I feel is where it really takes off. I can’t wait to see how they show the rest. 👍🏾
Based on that one Letterboxd review, The Karate Kid could have been based on Dune even more than The Sandlot!