Dune (1984/2021-24)

DUNE (15)

D: David Lynch

Dino de Laurentiis (Raffaela de Laurentiis)

USA 🇺🇸 1984

140 mins

Science Fiction

W: David Lynch [based on the novel by Frank Herbert]

DP: Freddie Francis

Ed: Antony Gibbs

Mus: Toto

PD: Anthony Masters

Cos: Bob Ringwood

Kyle MacLachlan (Paul Atreides), Francesca Annis (Lady Jessica), Jose Ferrer (Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV), Sian Phillips (Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam), Brad Dourif (Piter de Vries), Dean Stockwell (Dr. Wellington Yueh), Linda Hunt (Shadout Mapes)

A convoluted science fiction with too many characters who don't seem to be introduced properly (I guess it's important to have read Frank Herbert's novel first), all of which are going to war over a valuable spice on a desert-surfaced planet guarded by giant worms.

It's nevertheless a huge cult classic, but I fail to understand how it was so expensive. The special effects, art direction & costumes (Sting in a cod-piece) are disappointingly average. For me, David Lynch seemed to be the wrong director, since his vision seems to be obsessed with the occult and the unusual, resulting in the narrative becoming a huge, over-complicated mess.

5/10

DUNE (DUNE: PART ONE) (12)

D: Denis Villeneuve

Warner Bros / Legendary (Mary Parent, Caie Boyter, Joe Caracciolo, Jr. & Denis Villeneuve)

US 🇺🇸 2021

156 mins

Science Fiction

W: Denis Villeneuve, Joe Spaihts & Eric Roth [based on the novel by Frank Herbert]

DP: Greig Fraser

Ed: Joe Walker

Mus: Hans Zimmer

PD: Patrice Vermette

Cos: Jacqueline West & Robert Morgan

Timothee Chalamet (Paul Atreides), Rebecca Ferguson (Lady Jessica), Oscar Isaac (Duke Leto Atreides), Josh Brolin (Gurney Halleck), Stellan Skarsgård (Baron Vladimir Harkonnen), Dave Bautista (Beast Rabban Harkonnen), Jason Momoa (Duncan Idaho)

Frank Herbert’s hefty source material was originally brought to the screen for a 1984 film which I really wasn’t a huge fan of, partly because it was far too ambitious for its time and had the wrong choice of director at the helm.

37 years later, director Denis Villeneuve tries his hand at adapting the same novel to far greater success, although only half the story is tackled in this update.

Set on a distant planet where a valuable spice causes various noble families to go to war over the control of it.

Thankfully, this version takes its time with character introduction, so it doesn’t feel like such a garbled mess, as it crafts a fantastic and unique universe with some excellent visual effects & production design, although some of the conceptual designs do seem rather impractical (the dragonfly spacecraft, as an example), but they are nevertheless magnificent to behold due to the impeccable effects.

Think what you will of the story, the films strengths lie in its visuals and every single cent of the $165m budget looks like it found its way to the screen.

It’s unfortunate that only half the story was tackled here, and even more so that a sequel wasn’t even planned to tell the rest until this one proved a success for the studio. For me, this is a cinematic crime which I’ve taken major issues with (Lord Of The Rings aside, which was always a trilogy of books).

It’s understandable that the original source novel had many characters and subplots that couldn’t possibly be tackled in a single film, hence the mess that is the 1984 film, so why not create this as a television series (or at least produce both films in tandem so a two year wait isn’t needed for its conclusion).

I’ll revisit this one until the second part comes out, as this is simply the appetiser without an entree. The feast is not yet complete.

7/10

DUNE: PART TWO (12)

D: Denis Villeneuve

Warner Bros / Legendary (Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Patrick McCormick, Tanya Lapointe & Denis Villeneuve)

US 🇺🇸 2024

166 mins

Science Fiction

W: Denis Villeneuve & Jon Spaihts [based on the novel by Frank Herbert]

DP: Greig Fraser

Ed: Joe Walker

Mus: Hans Zimmer

PD: Patrice Vermette

Cos: Jacqueline West

Timothee Chalamet (Paul Atreides), Zendaya (Chani), Rebecca Ferguson (Lady Jessica), Josh Brolin (Gurney Halleck), Austin Butler (Feyd-Rautha), Florence Pugh (Princess Irulan), Dave Bautista (Rabban), Christopher Walken (Emperor Shaddam IV), Lea Seydoux (Lady Margot Fenring)

As visually remarkable as it is, I have to hold the second part of Dune in the same regard as 2021’s first part; its just not a complete movie and after a three year wait it takes some time remembering who each character is and where exactly the story is at.

The story picks up directly after the events of the first film, with Paul Atreides and his mother, Lady Jessica finding refuge with a sand tribe on the planet Arakis, following the deception that saw their own family annihilated by the Harkonnen’s, who subsequently took control of the valuable spice production the planet is famed for.

Immediately, we are introduced to new characters who don’t re-emerge until the final act of the 166 minute film, as well as a new chief bad guy, who may be a match for the young Atreides, who some of the sand tribe believe is a messiah, whilst others believe that nothing more than a superstition.

It all leads up to a finale, which I personally found incredibly underwhelming considering the epic build up to all of it after two movies and over five hours of screen time.

There really is a lot to tackle and Frank Herbert’s novel was always going to be a difficult task adapting for the cinema, but I still believe that a TV serial, akin to Game of Thrones, would have been the best way to bring the work to screen. Alas, a film in two parts is what we got, and there’s certainly potential for more films on the horizon. The world Herbert built in his book is a huge one to digest, so it’s understandable, but one shouldn’t be hungry for more when the end credits begin to roll. The 1984 film was truly a mess, but at least it was one that you could finish in one sitting.

7/10