At times, waiting for Deni Villneuve’s adaptation of Dune has felt like my own Gom Jabbar test,
however, at last it has finally arrived in a theater near me.
So in this video I’d like to discuss my initial thoughts after watching the film
on the big screen. Spoiler Warning as I will be discussing significant plot
points including brief comparisons to the book as well as other adaptations.
Right off the bat, I have to say that I really loved this film, it is without a doubt
cinema at its finest. It wasn’t perfect in my opinion but it is far and away the best adaptation
of this part of Frank Herbert’s novel I’ve ever seen. One of the standout strengths of this movie
is the cinematography. Throughout the film I was captivated by what was presented on screen.
The richness of each scene was really a feast for the eyes and the visuals were
stunning throughout. Immediately I felt like I was transported into this strange universe
and there was nothing that really broke that immersion as I had experienced at times in
the previous adaptations. The cinematographer Greig Fraser has recently stated their intention
was to create a white sky and white sand to convey the hostility of the planet Arrakis.
The visuals mixed together with the unusual and at times unsettling score I thought
served to emphasize the strange, harsh and mysterious world that we find ourselves in.
I was also blown away by how much care was put into many of the smaller details in this film.
Just to name a few, the battle languages of each house, the glowglobes, the nods to the
old Duke Atreides, the way the Bene Gesserit voice was depicted, the ornithopter design,
the shield fighting, the desert walking and fremen weapons were all perfect in my opinion.
There are so many other little things in this movie that they get exactly right
and are so faithful to the book. And as far as the big picture goes, what I thought was the
best element in the narrative that has made this novel so difficult to adapt in the past
is Paul’s experience and internal conflict as his story unfolds.
I thought the dream sequences and visions were very well done, how they built up that conflict
and turmoil between his role as the Duke’s son and as the Kwisatz Haderach while laying
the groundwork for what was to come. So I thought they captured this part of Paul’s journey so well.
All around, the casting was spot on and in particular all of the actors who portrayed
the members of House Atreides turned in very strong performances. I think the biggest single
difference in this movie versus the 1984 film and sci-fi miniseries was the role of Jason Mamoa’s
Duncan Idaho. Though the character has a smaller role in the story in comparison to the main
characters, his contribution and effect he has on the others is significant. To see Duncan shine
as the loyal swordmaster of House Atreides and close friend of Paul really had an impact on me.
In previous adaptations his character was greatly diminished but in Dune part one,
he’s such an important part of the film and his final scene had me in tears.
It is one of my two favorite scenes in this film with the other being Paul’s outburst with
Jessica in the still tent. Her performance was so moving and Paul’s emotions were exactly as I
imagined when I read the book. As someone who is familiar with the novel
I was surprised that I experienced moments that evoked strong feelings within me.
Even knowing the foundation for the story I was easily swept up in the emotions of this journey.
I also really tried to separate myself from my knowledge of the source material and simply
enjoy this as a movie for what it was, knowing there would be significant changes from the book.
And there were a few changes that I thought worked well and actually added to the story nicely.
For instance, I really enjoyed how they chose to handle Liet’s death,
and I was also captivated by the pomp and circumstance of the ceremony on Caladan
and getting to see all those powers represented.
There were however a few changes I was disappointed by. I would say the biggest is
the manner of Dr. Yueh’s death. This was the last in a line of creative choices made in this film
that I felt greatly diminished the role of David Dalstmalchian’s Piter De Vries including many
scenes and lines that serve to highlight his role as a mentat and his inherently twisted nature.
And in that regard, I find that most of the issues I have with this film come from my wanting
more. In particular, I was left wanting more development from the members of House Harkonnen
In the early parts of the story there’s an element of intrigue
that comes from the Baron’s discussions of their plans with his twisted mentat Piter.
I think that even with just a few more lines of dialogue between Piter and the Baron during
their first scene together the audience could have been helped to more fully understand the
nature of their relationship and the idea of a traitor existing inside House Atreides.
Instead, the traitor subplot is left out entirely and I feel like that was
a missed opportunity to add another layer of intrigue to the first part of the film.
I also think another missed opportunity was the absence of the banquet scene on Arrakis.
Without that scene we go right from the destruction of the spice harvester to the
attack on Arrakeen in a very short span of time. This portion of the book helps to shed light on
Jessica’s role and her careful maneuvering of events and also provides us a chance to learn
more about the planet, Dr. Kynes and some of the other fascinating parts of this universe.
Arrakis is the heart of all commerce and industry in the Empire; it would have been nice to get a
glimpse of the political and commercial elements that are at play as House Atreides attempts to
adapt to their new assignment. But aside from this, I felt like the inclusion of that banquet
scene might have also allowed some time for the audience to get used to being on Arrakis
but as it stands it seems like the Atreides are there for almost no time at all before the attack.
The last part I found myself missing from this film was at the end after Paul’s fight with Jamis.
It seemed as if they had laid the groundwork so well for Paul to choose his fremen name,
Muad’dib, which is also their name for the desert mouse seen several times throughout the film.
In the book, Paul’s choice of this name happens immediately after their fight.
The film instead ends with them heading to the sietch with Jamis’s body in tow
and I was left wondering just how, if at all, they would depict that important moment from the book
moving forward. Initially, based on comments from those who were involved in production
I was under the impression that this movie would end at the 2 year time jump after Jessica takes
over as the fremen’s reverend mother. However with this ending I’m curious to find out how they
intend to handle that time jump in the course of part 2. That being said, with how they’ve handled
the challenges of part 1 I’m sure that Villeneuve and company are more than up to the task.
Overall I believe this film did such a magnificent job at capturing the spirit of Frank Herbert’s
book which as a fan of his work, is really all that I could have reasonably asked for.
Dune part one feels very much like a prelude to something greater
so it’s an understatement to say that I would be severely disappointed if they were not able
to finish out the story of at least the first book with the same fidelity as this installment.
But I’m curious to know what you thought about Dune part 1. Are there any issues
you had with the film? Is there anything you would change about it if you could?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. I hope you enjoyed this video,
leave a like if you did and be sure to subscribe for more Dune and other sci-fi and fantasy
news and lore. Thank you all so much for your support and as always, have a very nerdy day!