Dune

Summary

“Fear is the mind killer.”

During last year, one of the highlights of my reading year was tackling Frank Herbert’s seminal science-fiction novel Dune. I had always had difficulty reading the book due to the amount of words Herbert created or repurposed from other languages to create his universe (which blends elements from Muslim and Judeo-Christian ideologies with his own far-reaching intergalactic ideas.) I finally decided to listen to the book on Audible and it helped me overcome my issues. Having the characters quickly breeze over words that would have stopped me dead in my tracks allowed me to finally absorb the novel. I was honestly amazed by how good the novel was despite all the acclaim that the book had received over the years. Reading the book (and then its immediate sequel Dune Messiah) I could easily understand how the journey of Paul’s coming-of-age had appealed to so many readers and inspired a generation of creative artists. George Lucas has long claimed that Dune inspired him to create Star Wars, Alejandro Jodorowski spent years trying to adapt it, and both David Lynch and Denis Villeneuve have now taken their turns adapting it into films.

Dune is more than just a piece of science fiction – there are deep moral meditations within the book that help to set it apart. Denis Villeneuve struck me as a perfect choice to realize the potential of the novel. His film Sicario is one of my favorites of the last decade, and I was mightily impressed with his visionary take on Blade Runner 2049. One of the biggest fears while reading the book would be that Villeneuve would try to take on too much of the story at once, which would leave the audience rushed or confused. Thankfully, the film stops almost exactly halfway through the novel and was given a full two and a half hours to get there. This also means that filmgoers unfamiliar with the book will find themselves at a stopping point just before Paul’s journey becomes much more interesting and they will be forced to wait two years to see the culmination of the hero’s journey. I know that this approach is the correct one, but it does mean that the film will leave some first time viewers let down when the credits roll. For fans of the novel, I would argue that there is a wealth of aspects of the film to enjoy.

The story of Dune traces the path of fifteen-year-old Paul (Timothee Chalamet.) The story takes place millennia into the future but has ties to ideologies of our time. Paul is Prince of the House Atreides. His father is Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac,) and his mother is Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson.) Lady Jessica has never been married by Duke Leto out of tact, because Duke Leto has kept his ability to marry another for political reasons. She is the Duke’s concubine, but also a member of the mysterious Bene Gesserit – an ancient religious sect with mystical powers. As the film begins, the Atreides rule over an oceanic world called Caladan. The Emperor has ordained that Leto and his family must move to take hold of the sand planet of Arakis – known as Dune based on the ever present sand and unforgiving climate. Dune is a planet of strategic importance because of a substance particular to the planet called spice. Spice is the most valuable substance in the galaxy and must be cultivated there. What Duke Leto and his men don’t know fully, despite their trepidations, is that the Emperor has sent Duke Leto and the House Atreides there in order to be betrayed. They are being set up to be attacked by the House Harkonnen led by the villainous Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard.) The trap set, the House Atreides leaves Caladan for Arakis. Paul is coming of age during this time and is trained in battle by Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) and Duncan Idaho (Jason Mamoa.) He is trained in his Mentat abilities by Dr. Yueh (Chang Chen) while Lady Jessica trains him in Bene Gessurit ways. The Reverent Mother Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling) tests Paul’s abilities using a box which brings unbearable pain to those who put their hand inside. This test helps to awaken something in Paul. As the House Atreides navigates the political intrigue of the sand covered planet, which also houses incredibly large and destructive sand worms and the dessert warriors known as the Freemen (led by Stilgar (Javier Bardem)), Paul begins to come into his own. Guided by visions, Paul begins to see himself as possibly becoming something greater than himself, but also worries about the numerous paths in which he sees the visions taking. All the while, he dreams of a mysterious girl out in the sands (Zendaya.)

Attempting to describe the plot of Dune is a difficult task. The book is heavy – weighing in at 400-750 pages depending on which edition is purchased. Despite its length, Frank Herbert did not waste many words. The political intrigue and religious ideas in the text are all important. The motivations of the Houses for the actions they take are important. Reading the novel, I was constantly thinking to myself, “How will they be able to convey this much material in a film?” Thankfully, by splitting the book into two films they have made it possible to do just that. While some of the terms take getting used to while watching the film, and I can imagine a newcomer being lost at first in some of the dynamics of the story, the essential ideas from the story come through very clearly. Villeneuve is not a filmmaker that I would ever accuse of using visuals to overcome a weak script. He obviously starts from a strong script before shaping his visuals. He understood that getting this script right would allow him to create a visually complex world around it. Working with screenwriters Jon Spaights and Eric Roth, Villeneuve crafted a script that brings to life all of the best qualities of the novel while allowing the most mysterious aspects of the novel to explain themselves in a similar fashion to reading the text. I was worried that the dense nature of the story would be too much for my son to follow, but the visual mastery displayed by Villeneuve propelled the story along and left my son completely engaged for the duration of the film. The first hour of the picture is somewhat slow, but it is simply setting the stage for the events to come. The final hour and a half of the film flies by. 

Villeneuve employed cinematographer Greg Fraser for the project. Fraser is best known for his work on the remarkable (in my opinion) Star Wars: Rogue One, which I found to be the best of the new Star Wars films. To create the world of Dune they filmed in Norway to capture Caladan and spent months filming in the sandy terrain of Jordan to capture Arakis. Their creative team erected massive sets so that computer generated effects could be minimized. The overall effect is a film that begs to be seen on as big a screen as possible. I had watched roughly an hour of the film on HBO MAX on a 65 inch screen. When we moved, my theater room was now equipped with an Epson 4K projector screen. The difference was palpable. When you watch Dune on a big screen, it becomes an experience. While some may find Hans Zimmer’s music abrasive, I personally consider him a very talented composer, even if I would not find myself listening to his scores outside of the films in which they appear. I found his work on Dune to be exceptional. As the film progressed, I was continuously impressed by the amount of creativity that went into bringing to life everything from the ornithopters to the shield based battle scenes in the book. Villeneuve was a fan of the book from a young age, and it shows in every frame of the picture. The film is the culmination of a boy’s dream of what an adaptation of Dune would be. If you are not thrown off by the slower pacing of the film at the beginning, it is an absolutely impeccable adaptation of the first half of the book.

The film benefits from some inspired casting. Timothee Chalamet is not my favorite actor, and I say that while trying to not be disrespectful. I know that he has some chops, but for some reason his performances leave me somewhat cold on him. I think part of my hesitation to accept him as Paul completely is that Chalamet is one of the least physically intimidating actors in Hollywood. As a fifteen-year-old version of Paul, Chalamet is perfectly cast. As the adult Paul that we will see in a couple years in the sequel, I am hoping that he can fill out enough to be believable. That remains to be seen. I think this is some of Chalamet’s best work on film and while I find the actor a little boring for some reason, he is more than adequate as Paul. Luckily, the cast around Chalamet is perfectly cast. John Brolin is a perfect Gurney. Jason Mamoa is a wonderful Duncan Idaho. There is even some clever reworking of parts to cast Chang Chen and Sharon Duncan-Brewster in key roles. It totally works. The three most important casting decisions aside from Paul, are Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, and Stellan Skarsgard. Skarsgard is barely onscreen in the film, but he is so frightening in the role that it is easy to tell which players represent good or evil. Rebecca Ferguson is a perfect version of Lady Jessica. She is exceptional in the film. The film belongs to a standout performance by Oscar Isaac. In many ways, the story of the first half of Dune is the story of Duke Leto, and Oscar Isaac absolutely owns the role. Villeneuve leans heavily on Isaac and Ferguson in this first entry, and I have faith that the second entry will be just as well directed to bring out the best in Timothee Chalamet and the other cast members. Zendaya is only onscreen for about seven minutes of the film, but luckily she will be able to show off her chops in the second half of Dune.

Overall – if the second half of Dune is as good as the first half of Dune, we will have an a absolute triumph of cinematic science fiction. That remains to be seen, but Dune is the first must own 4K UHD release of the year. 

Video

Dune is and absolute demo quality 4K visual feast. Some will be sad that the aspect ratio of 2:39:1 does not change during the IMAX sequences, but aside from that caveat, Dune has been brought to 4K by Warner Bros. with a tremendous amount of skill. The film was shot on an ARRI ALEXA Mini LF digital intermediate, transferred to 35MM film, and then scanned back to digital. The effect is a digitally sharp film that maintains a filmic quality from the transfer process.  The 4K HEVC/H.265 encoded transfer with HDR 10 looks incredible when blown up on a large screen. I watched the film on my Epson 4K projector and it was the best release that I have watched on that screen to date. Fine detail is exceptional and the colors come through vividly. It’s a visual feast.

Audio

Warner Bros. have taken provided a demo quality Dolby Atmos track. Dune uses the surrounds to totally immerse the viewer in the action onscreen. The score by Hans Zimmer breathes tension underneath the proceedings of the film from the first frame on. Dialogue is clearly rendered without any issues. The track is bass heavy and LFEs are used for the duration of the film along with every other channel. This is a demo worthy track from start to finish – essentially a reference quality track.

Supplements:

All of the supplemental features are on the included Blu-ray disc. The features are separated into three sets.

• Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes –
  • The Royal Houses
  • Building the Ancient Future
  • My Desert, My Dune
  • Constructing the Ornithopters
  • Designing the Sandworm
  • Beware the Baron
  • Wardrobe From Another World
  • A New Soundscape

• Filmbooks
  • House Atreides
  • House Harkonnen
  • The Bene Gesserit
  • The Fremen
  • The Spice Melange

• Inside Dune

Overall Scores:

Video – 5/5

Audio – 5/5

Supplements – 3/5

Overall – 5/5

It is safe to say that Dune is – for fans of the picture – the first “Must Own” release of 2022. Denis Villeneuve’s interpretation of the classic novel is one of the better film adaptations of a major work of fiction I have seen in a long time. While parts of the pacing in the first half of the picture drag, and I am not a huge fan of Timothee Chalamet, in the scope of what the film accomplished these are minor gripes. Dune is not just a well loved novel, it is a part of many people’s lives that they feel very guarded about seeing adapted. I believe that what Villeneuve and his team pulled off is pretty remarkable. Oscar Isaac and Rebecca Ferguson are incredible in the film. Likewise, the smaller roles are performed admirably by Jason Momoa, Josh Bolin, Chang Chen, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling, Stellan Skarsgard, and Javier Bardem. Zendaya is briefly in the film but will be much more prominently featured in the sequel. This is a film where every frame of the movie shows off a tremendous amount of work and dedication to be realized. The two year wait can not pass quickly enough to see the conclusion of the film. Hopefully we will all have a chance to see it in a theatrical setting. The 4K UHD presentation of Dune looks amazing, and will be a contender for the best visual presentation on 4K UHD this year. The HDR10 is tastefully used to brings the colors in the film vividly to life. The Dolby Atmos audio presentation is demo quality and will use every channel on your system. The supplements included are light but enjoyable. For the time being, this is a reference quality release that will show off your equipment on demo mode for the majority of the runtime. This release earns our highest recommendation.