'Dune' is a Good Time in the Desert
Watching Denis Villeneuve's 'Dune', where no one says "THE SPICEEEE!" as much.
Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune: Part One’ is ambitious in scope and simplifies Frank Herbert’s classic. Nowhere near as dense as David Lynch’s 1984 film, it’s a lot easier to understand and follow. Everyone says to watch this on the biggest screen possible and it’s true! The world building and landscapes are so immersive, helped no doubt in part by Hans Zimmers’ captivating score.
Stars: Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Zendaya, Javier Bardem
Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune’ is the third adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel, after David Lynch’s film in 1984 and a miniseries in 2000. Villeneuve has an unenviable task of adapting an 800-page book, distilling a lot of dense and involved plot points into an accessible movie.
🍿 The story follows the Atreides family as they move from their home planet to become stewards of the desert planet Arrakis where a valuable commodity called ‘the spice’ is mined. The Atreides son Paul (Chalamet) has visions of Zendaya (who doesn’t??) and there’s a bit of a power struggle, back stabbing, political intrigue and giant sand worms with horrible teeth! The film also explores the planet’s indigenous people, the Fremen, briefly alluding to their water rituals and culture and the riding of those sandworms which honestly sounds more fun than Burning Man??
🍿 The film stars a very good looking ensemble cast with Chalamet as Paul Atreides, Ferguson as his witchy mother Lady Jessica, Zendaya as Chani, the girl Paul keeps having - actually quite beautiful ~~aesthetic~~ - dreams about, and Oscar Isaac as Paul’s dad, Duke Leto. It’s Ferguson who shines as the enigmatic Lady Jessica, playing her with a quiet strength and grace (though she does get shouty in some scenes).
🍿 Cutting down an 800-odd page book means a lot of the details are only briefly eluded to or mentioned. There’s not as much explanation about THE SPICE as I expected there to be, the subplot about Lady Jessica’s possible betrayal is left out entirely, and we only get a barebones glimpse at Dr Wellington Yeuh’s motivations and Fremen culture. THANKFULLY they did leave out the entire appendix in the book about terraforming planets.
(Also admittedly, no one really goes around yelling “THE SPICEEEE!” like they do in the 1984 film. People’s thoughts are also kept inside their heads, and aren’t voiced like in the Lynch film either)
🍿 ‘Dune’ is gorgeous in the same vein Villeneuve’s previous films ‘Blade Runner 2049’ and ‘Arrival’ are gorgeous. The writing and story are accessible and immersive, which is no small feat in adapting a very long, involved and beloved novel.
Four sandworms out of five 🐛🐛🐛🐛
Dune is in cinemas now, and ‘Dune: Part 2’ is out October 2023.
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