Dune (Blu-ray)

Making a Dune movie (or series) has been tried many times but this is by far the best job to date. I first read Dune over 40 yrs ago and have read it several times since, so I'm pretty critical of any movie or series. The 1984 version was very good but I loathed it's idea for 'Voice' and the 'Weirding Way' of fighting. Another attempt had an open-air waterfall on Dune and I wondered if they even bothered to read to book at all. This film is very, very good in both those areas. It's handling of Voice is -almost- perfect. And water (I should say moisture) discipline on Dune is treated well - though I am making allowance for what the poor video effect would be of having Fremen wearing covering caps, forehead pads, and using their mask all the time outdoors. That may be more correct but it would make filming difficult. They did use the full cap and mask on the one real 'sand crossing' they made, though. A lot of side stories were left out but nothing that was critical in my opinion. If they had put everything into the movie they would barely make it to Dune before running out of time and it would have to be at least a 4-part 'movie'. All in all I think Denis Villeneuve's Dune attempt is excellent so far and I expect great things from Pt 2. I was really happy to see the studio approve Pt 2 as quickly as they did. ***Some Spoilers*** - I loved the use of the desert mouse over and over in various scenes. Hopefully, this is foreshadowing of what's to come. - Their treatment of ornithopters was --awesome--, dragonflies instead of birds but the effect is so great I would call it an improvement over the original (though the double-seater craft should have been front-back wings instead of over/under). If Herbert had known more about dragonfly aerodynamics he may have taken that approach, too. - Their handling of the worms was -magnificent- and worth every penny they spent for the CGI on those and their effect on the sand around them. The sand waves the worms made was great. They really brought home the impact of something so large on such small creatures like men and even not-so-small machines like the harvester. - The Imperial Testing Station was a bit out of line with it's open ceilings but they did have the plants and the original explanation of why it was there. They even covered the ornithopter that brought everyone to the station. - Kynes' death scene was a bit different but the original would have taken much more time and this adaptation was acceptable. - The first sand crossing for Paul and Jessica was done really well, clear down to the drum sand, and included an added scene where they rest out in the desert, which was excellent. - The fight with Jamis was not in sietch like the original but I understand they were making a hard cut between Part 1 & Part 2 - making it obvious Pt 2 will be mostly with the Fremen including in sietch. - I wasn't too happy about the troop not wearing their caps on their way to sietch Tabr but that's the only real fault I have with the movie. Though I did approve of the Fremen's handling of Jamis' body. I can't wait for Pt2!! PS I did remember one other Big Oops in the movie. During the Harkonnen invasion of Arrakeen there was a (what looked to be space-ship mounted) laser being used in one scene. To me, that completely negated the whole explanation of why lasers aren't in common use as a weapon.

Dune is one of the two most iconic works of fiction of the mid 20th Century, the other being "The Lord of the Rings". Both books were major milestones in their genres and for much the same reasons. Dune was the first true space-epic in a very real sense. It was three or four times the length of any of its contemporaries and this as much as any thing set it apart. A book of this length has a lot in it and this makes it difficult to adapt. Add to this a density of material and a faithful adaptation becomes extremely difficult. While the original 1980s "Dune" adaptation wasn't great, it was far from horrible. The special effects were incredible, especially of the Sandworms. In the early 2000s, the SciFi channel (now SyFy) adapted it into a limited-run series but deviated so far from the original that it was unrecognizable. This new adaptation has gone back to the source material and done what couldn't be done previously, thanks to the development of CGI. With very few exceptions, this is a truly faithful adaptation. However this is only part one - which is a good thing. It's not possible to tell this story properly with a single film, even if it runs to 3 hours. One major change from the Novel is that Dr. Kynes, the planetologist, has had a gender swap and is now female. This makes no real difference to the role and so it is inconsequential. Most of the noticeable changes are of this kind - they don't violate the original at all. The only thing that annoyed me mildly was that I didn't know this was just part one until after I had seen it the first time. I have bad memories of Ralph Bakshi's "Lord of the Rings" adaptation where the proposed second film was never made. Happily that is not the case with this franchise. I firmly believe that this new interpretation of "Dune" does a fantastic job of adapting difficult material and this film is definitely worth seeing and owning.

Excelente producto

Good movie. Image and audio quality top notch. Packages well.

"The Foundation Trilogy,""John Carter of Mars,""Dune," novels that were generally believed to be unfilmable. After this year that is a maxim that is no longer true. Isaac Asimov has found a place on cable and it works reasonably well, Disney did the unbelievable with Edgar Rice Burroughs-and did it well to boot, and Denis Villeneuve has done a remarkable job with Frank Herbert, well half of a remarkable job anyway. And that last comment is the main weakness of this film; it only covers the first half of the initial novel! We have no idea when or if there will be a return to the desert planet of Arrakis, which kind of leaves you on empty as the main cast sets off into the desert..."This is only the beginning." Ok, fine, Peter Jackson did the same thing with Tolkien (twice), and so did George Lucas with "Star Wars." What we do have is two plus hours that are crammed with detail. Yes it helps if you've read the books. Visually, it is a stunning masterpiece that makes full use of the backdrops of the deserts of Abu Dhabi and Wadi Rum in Jordan and is right up there with David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia" on that scale. But be warned, Roger Ebert once cautioned that only the largest screens could hope to capture the immensity of Wadi Rum. He was wrong, if you have been to Wadi Rum, no screen can really capture its vastness, and that is true here as well. Attention to detail cannot be faulted; it's there, but pay attention. And that is saying a good deal. "Dune" abounds with lessons about power politics, religion, ecology, eugenics, and ultimately Max Weber's ideas about charismatic leadership, and its inherent dangers. And there is the ubiquitous spice. The acting is fine across the board but it is hard to single out any performance out except perhaps for Javier Bardem who is becoming our time's Anthony Quinn and that is high praise. The special effects are stunning as they have to be. And Hans Zimmer has produced an equally epic score; do not expect Maurice Jarre though. It works better on the screen than on the soundtrack album, and that is just fine. A minor quibble here is that at times the music overrides the dialogue which for this work is a dangerous thing. Still, it works marvelously well. And there is the desert. Somewhere in the background you can almost hear Anthony Quinn, as Auda Abu Tayi, to Peter O'Toole's T.E. Lawrence, "There is only the desert for you." For Herbert fans you can almost hear a sigh of relief, they did it! But this is only Part One.

A truly unique film

I've recommitted to physical media, and it's making all the difference. With superior 4K HD picture quality and immersive Dolby Atmos, it's the peak experience—Dune couldn't be any more spectacular.

First, a disclaimer: I last read Dune more than 40 years ago, so my recollection of the book is suspect at best. Still, this movie seemed to capture the feel of the book far better than the 1984 movie which tried to show too much at once and ended up just being more Hollywood than Herbert. This movie captures more of the feel of the book and scenes in the movie are eerily like I imagined them when reading the book. I liked this movie because it surprised me with the depth they went to to portray the strange world of this story. You'd think that more detail might put off people who haven't read the book, but I think the greater detail was well chosen to pull you into the movie and make you feel more familiar with this strange environment; to make you feel just as much a part of it as someone who had read the book. Most movies gloss over these details in favor of the "high points". The book that the movie came from was quite a creative piece of storytelling. It presented a universe in a remote future where humanity had spread to far worlds and adapted in strange ways to their new environments. Still, even as the environment is very strange, those who people it are still human. As odd and complicated as the elements of the story are, they are still believable because the characters are written well. Dune is the story of how knowledge, intelligence, and respect overcome great power and treachery. A Duke is asked to come to another world by the emperor to replace the family that had been running it for centuries, if I'm not mistaken. Also, it wasn't just any world, but the only world that produced civilization's most rare and necessary substance - a very special "spice". The Duke knew that the existing ruler would not take his displacement lightly. On top of that, he wondered why the emperor had chosen him to replace the old family. The Duke prepared himself as best he could for attack, but when it came, it was far worse than he imagined. His house was almost utterly destroyed, but then, this story is not about the Duke. Although the movie, as I understand it, doesn't even cover all of the contents of the first book, it is very watchable on its own since it doesn't leave you at a cliff-hanger as a television series will often do. Still, I look forward to the sequel since I know that there is so much more to come.