Dune
1984, Dino De Laurentiis Corporation
Frank Herbert's sprawling science fiction novel was long thought to be unfilmable; while that never prevented anyone from trying, the saga of the efforts to bring it to the screen is as epic as the novel itself. In 1971, producer Arthur P. Jacobs optioned the film rights, but died before embarking on the project. Two years later, Alejandro Jodorowsky was deep in pre-production before the project died for lack of funding (based on the documentary about his efforts, it might have worked better than what ultimately reached the screen). Dino De Laurentiis tried twice; in 1976 he commissioned Frank Herbert to write the screenplay and Ridley Scott to direct. But the project stalled when Scott had to drop out when his brother died suddenly. Finally, in 1981 De Laurentiis hired David Lynch to write and direct.
After three years in production, the result was an enormous mixed bag: sprawling, lavish sets and groundbreaking special effects adorn a story that feels as though the remote's fast-forward button is stuck. Yet this should not be surprising, given the girth of the source material; indeed, the first cut of the film ran over four hours. De Laurentiis himself hacked it down to 136 minutes, at which point Lynch disassociated himself from the project and removed his name from the credits (substituting Alan Smithee or Judas Booth). I for one would very much like to see the original cut, and in fact the studio approached Lynch about it; sadly, he refused.
DKS 12/17/17
Rev 2/22/22
GRUMPY OLD FART-O-METER® Rating:
Dune
2021, Legendary Pictures
Hailed by some as a "masterpiece," Denis Villeneuve's brooding, plodding remake almost feels like a buffed-up slow-mo version of the first three-quarters of Dino De Laurentiis' much-maligned original, right down to the introduction narrated by a woman. Even the predictably impressive Hans Zimmer score bears hints of the 1984 soundtrack. Indeed, Villeneuve seems to have (re)done Dune in very much the same manner as he (re)did Blade Runner, replacing dialog and story information with endless establishing shots and slow-motion sequences of things barely moving in the first place; even the action scenes seem to drag.
Worse, despite infinitely better visual effects, the film is hobbled by the stupefying decision to cast scrawny, young, sullen Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides. Meanwhile, a gaggle of familiar superhero and sci-fi faces, including Dave Bautista, Josh Brolin, David Dastmalchian, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Stellan Skarsgård and Zendaya, proved distracting—not that it mattered much, since the film was far more about spectacle than substance. Prepare for more with Dune Redux Part Deux! At the end of the day, I think I prefer the 1984 version, warts and all, although I will confess the new ship designs are just too sexy for words.
Picking nits: In the same block of dialog, object dimensions are described in terms of meters and feet. Huh? Where's a good editor when you need one? (Funny, the same problem cropped up in Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049.) Also... "sand walking," done so as not to attract sandworms, looked entirely too much like "silly walking" from Monty Python, and it made me giggle—kind of sad that the only humor in the film was unintentional.
DKS 5/12/22
GRUMPY OLD FART-O-METER® Rating:
