I’d like to start this video by saying that I absolutely adore Denis Villeneuve’s Dune
part one.
Cinematically it represents my favorite form of filmmaking.
His approach to storytelling, savvy use of resources and reliance on practical effects
stands in refreshing contrast to so many new hollywood offerings that lean heavily on CG
and bloated budgets.
With Dune Part 1 Villneuve strived to make the universe of Dune feel real, lived in and
most importantly remained dedicated to faithfully bringing Frank Herbert’s iconic story to
life on screen.
I’ve already done a general review of the movie in a past video where I briefly mentioned
a few of my disappointments but this time I’d like to examine and further expand upon
what my biggest problems are with Dune part one.
Spoiler warning if you haven’t seen the film or are unfamiliar with Frank Herbert’s
story.
Like many great tales, Dune is a legendarium that takes its power from its details.
The depth of each element of Frank Herbert’s universe serves to captivate the imagination
as his world is carefully and intricately explored throughout the pages of his 6 book
saga.
However, like most other book-to-screen adaptations, many of these details have to be omitted in
order to translate the story to film.
Because of this, I feel that some of the biggest limitations in Villeneuve’s Dune have to
do with abbreviated world building.
Even the year that was shown in the beginning of the movie is misleading as to when Dune
takes place.
It merely says Year 10,191.
Though it should read 10,191 A.G. it’s a little detail but when it comes to accurately
conveying where this story takes place in humanity’s future I feel that it’s important.
For those who are unaware A.G. stands for After Guild.
Meaning that this is 10,191 years after the Spacing Guild’s monopoly on interstellar
travel was established.
Therefore, the story of Dune is actually set around 20,000 years into our future.
This simple detail may not mean much on its own but when several such world building elements
are omitted, the lore and complexities of this story can begin to feel watered down.
When it comes to specific scenes that made it into the theatrical cut, there’s really
less than a handful that I took any issue with.
The Gom Jabbar test with the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam is one
of my favorite parts of the movie.
Charlotte Rampling and Timothee Chalamet’s performance were superb and I love how the
Bene Gesserit Voice ability was depicted in this adaptation.
However, one element I was missing in this scene was the world building that was found
in the novel.
From the very beginning the reader is immersed in a strange far distant future and through
the conversations between the Reverend Mother and Paul one becomes better acquainted with
the history of humankind, its development through the ages and the current political
landscape of the universe.
The knowledge of why the Imperium relies so heavily on spice is revealed through this
conversation and it serves to highlight the foundation upon which the Dune saga is set.
The omission of this conversation is just another example of the film’s tendency to
sacrifice world building in favor of streamlined storytelling.
Another aspect of this scene I find myself taking issue with is Rebecca Fergusson’s
Lady Jessica and her recital of the litany against fear.
This litany is possibly the most famous line from the first novel.
Even those who know nothing about the book and films likely have heard the words I must
not fear.
Fear is the Mind Killer.
In the novel while enduring the intense agony of the pain caused by nerve induction at a
level which no one had withstood before Paul Atreides recites these words to himself.
And rather than have Paul’s inner thoughts be heard as was done in the David Lynch version.
I thought it was brilliant to split the focus of this moment between Paul and his mother
Lady Jessica who was having to wait outside.
There she verbalizes this litany while her son clearly recalls this teaching to gain
control over his fear helping him survive the test.
The novel makes clear the fear and apprehension that Lady Jessica was feeling prior to Paul’s
test and the great relief she felt that her son had survived the ordeal.
I’m glad these strong emotions that bubbled below the surface of Jessica’s calm demeanor
were depicted.
However, Rebecca Ferguson’s whispered and rushed delivery of the litany (against fear)
was difficult to hear against the backdrop of the increasing volume of the dramatic score
and ultimately it ended up drowning out Fergusson and undercutting the power of the words themselves.
In my opinion either the volume of the music should have been adjusted for Fergusson’s
muted delivery or the actress could have raised her volume and been less rushed making sure
the words could be clearly heard so the power in this teaching could be more easily conveyed.
This is probably the most nitpicky issue I have with the film but to me because this
seems like such an easy adjustment to have made it continues to linger in my mind as
the scene itself was so close to perfection for me.
Going back to my bigger issues with the film.
I was disappointed with how little the Harkonnens ended up being featured.
Especially with the decision to leave out a significant portion of Baron Vladimir Harkonnens
scheming for the downfall of Duke Leto and the early revelation of the traitor within
House Atreides.
Several characters were impacted as a result of this omission and in my opinion their potential
was wasted.
One of the castings I was very excited for was David Dasmalchian as the psychotic twisted
mentat Piter De Vries but sadly the film ultimately ended up wasting his acting chops in what
could have been a killer portrayal of the character.
I feel that with just a little more time given for the introduction of the Baron and Piter
as they detail the intricacies of their schemes it would have added a layer of intrigue and
suspense that I felt had been missing from the film.
In the book, Lady Jessica is made aware of a defector in their company but their identity
is unknown.
With the omission of the traitor storyline her role within House Atreides was greatly
diminished as her powers of observation and deduction were rarely featured.
For instance, through Jessica’s conversation with Dr. Yueh she was able to discover his
seething hatred for the Harkonnens.
And the tense conversation between herself and the Atreides Mentat Thufir Hawat, who
suspected her of being a traitor, would have added much more depth and nuance to all of
their characters and to the story itself.
The decision to omit much of what happens after the Atreides arrive on Arrakis makes
it feel as though they had spent barely any time at all on the planet before the Harkonnens
laid siege to the city of Arrakeen.
After the attack occurred the latter half of the film felt rushed which is odd considering
its lengthy run time.
But I can’t help but wonder if better scene and time management in the beginning of the
film could have made room to convey some passage of time as the Atreides start to acclimate
to their new position within the Imperium.
In my opinion, the inclusion of the banquet scene from the book would have done much to
accomplish this and would have enabled Lady Jessica to further showcase her powers of
perception and political savvy.
Doing so would have also given much needed screen time to Sharon Duncan Brewster’s
Liet Kynes.
Because of how much was left out from the characters of Lady Jessica, Dr. Yueh and Piter
De Vries their performances in particular feel weaker when they are compared to other
adaptations that I feel did a better job at fleshing those characters out.
As it stands, the film barely scratches the surface of these nuanced characters and the
true range of their role and abilities.
The Mentats of the story were possibly the most affected by this diminishment of lore.
Thufir Hawat was merely seen as a calculator while Piter and his twisted unethical methods
in which his abilities were conditioned weren’t showcased at all.
Even the newly awakened Mentat abilities within Paul himself weren’t revealed.
Without any prior worldbuilding regarding the technological purge that transformed the
universe there’s nothing to really establish why Mentats even exist and why they are so
valuable to the Imperium.
Perhaps the biggest on screen issue and change from the book that I feel was entirely unnecessary
was the decision to have Baron Harkonnen behead Dr. Yueh.
Taking this murder away from the Twisted Mentat came across to me as a cheap attempt to make
the Baron appear more ruthless while sealing the fate of Dastmalchian's Piter De Vries
as little more than a glorified extra.
Some of the issues I have with time management I feel could have been remedied with the exclusion
of what in my opinion was an unnecessary scene where the Reverend Mother visits the Harkonnen
homeworld.
In her visit on the Emperor’s behalf she also requests for the Baron to not interfere
with the Bene Gesserit’s plans for Jessica and Paul.
This scene is not from the book and I still struggle to make sense of it.
Due to the Baron’s intense hatred for the Bene Gesserit I find it odd that he would
have entertained an audience with the Reverend Mother at all let alone show any (apparent
respect or) regard for the sisterhood’s interests on Arrakis.
The Emperor sending the Reverend Mother isn’t wholly nonsensical considering she serves
as his truthsayer.
However that fact in itself makes her conversation with the Baron and her request to leave Jessica
and her son alive all the more confusing.
Due to their religious engineering efforts on Arrakis the Bene Gesserit already have
safety valves in place for Lady Jessica and Paul to take advantage of.
On top of this, there is no basis for the Reverend Mother to trust the Baron to abide
by her wishes and as a truthsayer there is no doubt she would have detected the Baron’s
deceit.
He later revealed to Piter that they would not die from his hand but that he would let
Arrakis finish them off.
This would not have been enough to fool a reverend Mother specifically trained to sense
truth and deception by analyzing speech, body language, pulse and heart rate.
This is an ability that makes her an invaluable asset to the emperor so I find it hard to
believe that the Reverend Mother wouldn’t have detected that the Baron wasn’t being
honest with her even with his careful choice of words.
Though I really like the performances in this scene I always struggle to find a reason for
it to exist in the first place.
To me, it stands in contrast to several other original scenes in the film that have a much
stronger basis in the source material.
For instance, the novel makes clear Paul’s friendship with swordmaster Duncan Idaho so
the original scenes highlighting that relationship make perfect sense.
The book also indicates Jessica’s training Paul in the ways of the Bene Gesserit particularly
noting the Voice and so their original scene at breakfast featuring this training also
makes sense.
While there are a few other minor grievances I have with the film, the few that I have
discussed so far stand out as the most notable.
Having said that, I do feel that most of my issues would actually be resolved with the
release of an extended cut of the film similar to Peter Jackson’s highly revered Lord of
the Rings trilogy.
As it stands however all of these critiques are far out-weighed by the many areas in which
the film excels not only as a cinematic spectacle but more importantly as a faithful depiction
of a story that I’ve loved for many years.
Despite these issues, as a whole I feel that Dune part one stands as one of the best examples
of adaptation done right.
All in all I truly felt transported to Frank Herbert’s universe.
The journey of Paul Atreides and the major themes of the book were the focus of the film
and I certainly can’t fault Villneuve for prioritizing the core of the story which is
the most critical part to get right.
The filmmaker has teased more from the Mentats, Spacing Guild, and Harkonnens for part 2 so
I’m hoping there will be more world building for the sequel.
That being said, I really won’t be surprised if we get more of the same streamlined approach
which won’t be disappointing as long as the heart of the story and the themes of the
author are faithfully maintained.
But I'm curious to know what you thought of Dune Part 1.
Are there any of my critiques that you particularly agree or disagree with?
Are there any issues that you have with the film that I did not highlight?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
I hope you enjoyed this video.
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news and lore.
Thank you all so much for your support and as always have a very nerdy day.