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DUNE

TylerW said:
Finally saw it last night. Not super familiar with the overall Dune story other than my vague memories from the 1984 film.

I really enjoyed this movie despite that it was mostly about world and lore building. Didn't mind that it was low on action because the cinematography delivered otherwise.

I'm a little concerned that the twist at the end makes it look like a white savior story. that's my beef though.
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So you are saying you would have liked it better of the Fremen had all been white people like in the 1st Movie? That is just weird to me.
 
Eldritch said:
So you are saying you would have liked it better of the Fremen had all been white people like in the 1st Movie? That is just weird to me.
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My take is that he sees Paul as a kind of "white Jesus" which he kind of is, but also kind of not.

It's worth noting that in Herbert's writings there's no mention of any ethnicities. So in translating it to film, the characters are going to reflect the filmmaker's biases or proclivities or whatever.
 
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Karbon said:
the gist/moral of the novel is basically be cautious of charismatic leaders.
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interesting take. personally, what resonated with me was the ‘fork in the road’ and ‘choices’ aspect - what is presumed predestined v. what is possible. IMO sort of an agnostic against all odds ‘never give up’ treatise.
 
So I finally got to watch Dune last night..........

I am not sure how I feel about the movie and how it relates to the book.

On the one hand when I watch a movie I determine how good it was based on the simple fact of for the duration of the movie how often did I look at the time. When I watched Dune it was like wow so that was really 2.5 hours it sure didn't seem like it so that was a huge win for me.

On the other hand being such a huge fan of the book some of what they did was not according to how I envisioned it in my mind when reading it tons of years ago so that may have influenced my overall enjoyment of it. There were a couple of things like how they made Jessica and Paul seem weak when if you read the book they were definitely not weak willed or wishy washy. I mean Jessica went against her Bene Gesserit order and gave Leto a son instead of a daughter and that is not a weak willed persons choice. Also she didn't give him a son hoping for the Kwisatch Haderach she did it because he wanted a son no other reason. I also don't remember Paul being so conflicted he grew up the son of a Duke so he was self-assured and not so wishy-washy for lack of a better word so I wasn't really sure how to take that part of the movie.

So I think I need to go back and read the book again in light of the movie and see if maybe I am misremembering how it all went down. But I will give it this other than my quibbles aside it was good movie and it was 2.5 hours well spent. I didn't look at the time once and think wow this movie is dragging.
 
I feel like anyone that compares books to movies is almost always going to feel let down. You're comparing your imagination, at least mostly, against someone elses interpretation of their own imagination. It's hard to best your own brain in that department. Never read Dune, have zero intention to.
 
JesasaurusRex said:
I feel like anyone that compares books to movies is almost always going to feel let down. You're comparing your imagination, at least mostly, against someone elses interpretation of their own imagination. It's hard to best your own brain in that department. Never read Dune, have zero intention to.
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Yeah so true which really sucks as I am an avid reader so by the time Hollywood gets around to doing the movie that ship has already sailed.

But like I said it was was well done and did not feel like a 2.5 hour movie which in my book means it was a good movie. If I start looking at the time 30 minutes in I know I am in trouble....
 
Sharxfan said:
Yeah so true which really sucks as I am an avid reader so by the time Hollywood gets around to doing the movie that ship has already sailed.

But like I said it was was well done and did not feel like a 2.5 hour movie which in my book means it was a good movie. If I start looking at the time 30 minutes in I know I am in trouble....
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Didn't know you guys could read over there :twofinger
 
Sharxfan said:
So I finally got to watch Dune last night..........

I am not sure how I feel about the movie and how it relates to the book.

On the one hand when I watch a movie I determine how good it was based on the simple fact of for the duration of the movie how often did I look at the time. When I watched Dune it was like wow so that was really 2.5 hours it sure didn't seem like it so that was a huge win for me.

On the other hand being such a huge fan of the book some of what they did was not according to how I envisioned it in my mind when reading it tons of years ago so that may have influenced my overall enjoyment of it. There were a couple of things like how they made Jessica and Paul seem weak when if you read the book they were definitely not weak willed or wishy washy. I mean Jessica went against her Bene Gesserit order and gave Leto a son instead of a daughter and that is not a weak willed persons choice. Also she didn't give him a son hoping for the Kwisatch Haderach she did it because he wanted a son no other reason. I also don't remember Paul being so conflicted he grew up the son of a Duke so he was self-assured and not so wishy-washy for lack of a better word so I wasn't really sure how to take that part of the movie.

So I think I need to go back and read the book again in light of the movie and see if maybe I am misremembering how it all went down. But I will give it this other than my quibbles aside it was good movie and it was 2.5 hours well spent. I didn't look at the time once and think wow this movie is dragging.
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I have sooooo many objections to this new interpretation.

I'll leave it at this.

The visuals were stunning, but they don't make up for the re-writing of characters, the re-writing of the plot motives, the turning the Fremen into an existing band of freedom fighters instead of a tribe inspired to become freedom fighters by a cultural legend and the living embodiment of that legend. Too many deviations wrought by someone who didn't understand the source material well enough.

The scene that broke the camel's back was the Jessica/Paul scene in the ornithopter. It just completely destroyed the book's explanation of how the voice is supposed to work. Not the suggestions of a thousand voices echoing in your mind, a single command that one snaps to immediately and does the thing.

Lynch/DeLaurentiis stand unchallenged in my mind. ;)

I struggled to finish it and will have to force myself to re-watch it just for the sake of devotion to the source material (much like the Sci-Fi miniseries.)
 
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It was made to please most fans of the books and bring in new ones.

This is like hearing the book homers of GoT get all butthurt about some of the changes made in the TV show.

The books is the books. The TV show is the TV show. Same goes with Dune. Just be thankful it was made at all.
 
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Well.
 

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yodaisgod said:
It was made to please most fans of the books and bring in new ones.

This is like hearing the book homers of GoT get all butthurt about some of the changes made in the TV show.

The books is the books. The TV show is the TV show. Same goes with Dune. Just be thankful it was made at all.
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Reminds me of when folks got mad that the HHGTTG movie "didn't follow the source material"

Which source material? The book? The radio drama? The BBC Series? The Infocom text adventure? because they're all different, and they're all canon.
 
Abacinator said:
My take is that he sees Paul as a kind of "white Jesus" which he kind of is, but also kind of not.

It's worth noting that in Herbert's writings there's no mention of any ethnicities. So in translating it to film, the characters are going to reflect the filmmaker's biases or proclivities or whatever.
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Fair enogh. Maybe not white savior then, but still trappings of colonialism.

Karbon said:
This was what the Rev. mother was ref. to before she got on the ship something like, "we've laid a path on Arrakis..."

the gist/moral of the novel is basically, "be cautious of charismatic leaders."

Some stuff about Herbert
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Herbert
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:thumbup :thumbup :thumbup
 
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