by LoveUniHateExams 22 Replies latest social entertainment
I just watched the new 2021 Dune. It covers roughly half of the first book ( also called Dune) of the Dune series.
I liked it , watchable, interesting to both fans of the book and non-readers. I look forward to the next one.
After the first book is covered, I’ll be curious to see if any more are made based on the remaining novels. The material gets progressively more obtuse the farther you go.
The '84 version was a huge disappointment, especially for fans of the books.
McLaughlin, Prochnow, Annis & Madsen were okay (IMO) but some of the other characters were horribly miscast.
(Patrick Stewart is a hugely talented actor, but he was just not a believable Halleck and the idea of him stepping into the arena to avenge the death of his sister was just kinda sad even at the time...)
Awful, but quirky movies (e.g. Barbarella, Rocky Horror, Plan 9 From Outer Space, etc) often attain a cult status over time and the '84 Dune falls into the same niche, but in this case, the special effects were so bad that even aficionados affectionately refer to the worms as, "Turds with teeth."
Even the cooperation of Frank Herbert himself in the screen adaptation couldn't save it.
I thoroughly enjoyed the '21 version. From big things, like the casting and visual effects to minor details, like the length of the knives being appropriate for the style of fighting, it was much better. (Again IMO)
Part II has been officially green-lighted
Some, after reading the first novel, have claimed it was just another version of the White Savior theme.
Makes you wonder what has happened to reading comprehension....
Even if we ignore the fact that House Atreides is an allusion to House Atreus from Greek mythology or that Duke Leto is explicitly described by Herbert as being "olive skinned," Paul Atreides is not a savior, which is a fundamental message of the books. (The idea that he was a savior is a perversion of the plot in the '84 movie adaption....)
