Tags

,

I don’t believe I have actually “gone to the movies” in a decade or more – until just now. And by “going to the movies” I mean watching a first-run feature film in a proper movie theater.

Things have changed quite a bit since I’ve last been there. Obviously, there is the ‘rona and all that jazz but the theaters themselves have revamped their model – something I have to believe predates the 2020 manic panic. Some of it is kind of obvious, now that I think about it. Tickets can be reserved directly with the movie theater on-line and the tickets correspond to assigned seating, like a play or an opera. The theaters don’t seem to have grown nor have they shrunk, but there are far fewer seats. The old “cineplex” folding-seat chairs crammed together on a sticky, popcorn-covered floor have been replaced. Now each row is a half-a-dozen-or-so leather recliners with powered foot rests. So while the price of admission is much higher than what I remember from my younger days, they’ve upped the value of the experience. Watching a big screen movie from a giant leather recliner might even be worth the price to be paid.

What brought me out of my home-streaming cave was, of course, the movie Dune. It was indeed glorious.

The decision to go to the theater was a bit on impulse. I was content to wait until it was available on one of my several services – either streaming or DVD. What spooked me a bit is that the distribution is tied to HBO Max. With that, I’m not sure that it will be available on the likes of Netflix or Amazon – at least not unless I’ve paid for the additional HBO-level subscription. While fretting over this situation I happened to notice it was playing at my local IMAX theater and figured – what the heck – I’ll make it a big family outing.

Unfortunately, while I think the local place did have a copy of the IMAX print it seems that I waited too long to catch it, at least in that format. What I saw was the standard version – still 100% more visceral than watching on a small screen in one’s living room.

I feel vindicated after reading some of Director Villeneuve’s complaints about the release process, about which I have finally read some details. It seems that the HBO Max deal with Warner Bros. (the distribution company) has the film stream on HBO Max simultaneously with the theatrical release, but only for a period of one month. After that, the movie goes into a typical home media release cycle – presumably including DVD availability. Villeneuve was angered by the distribution release system feeling that HBO Max streaming would cut into the success of his work. Streaming viewers were likely to stay out of the theater, cutting into the film’s numbers and jeopardizing its measures of success.

Oddly enough, for a “part one” film project, the production of part two was not green-lit ahead of time. In contravention of the successful formula followed by predecessors such as Lord of the Rings (contracts covering the entire series), approval for a continuation of Dune was held back until box office returns were in. This was a big part of Villeneuve’s concern – that HBO Max’s streaming priorities might jeopardize his ability to complete the project. Villeneuve was also bothered that the effort that he put into making this an experience for the big screen (and it was that) would be undercut by getting people to skip the theater and watch it on HBO. Fortunately for fans, the second part was approved four days after the theatrical release.

I’ll not comment too much about the movie and its treatment of the story itself. Having recently re-read Dune, I do feel I’m in good shape to form an overall impression. Short version; I am very pleased with this version. Trying to gather the epic scope of the book into a film is obviously greatly aided by the (presumably) five-hour-plus canvas on which Villeneuve works. Much trimming of story is still necessary to make it fit but those choices seem to have worked. Were it my project, I’m not sure I would have done it exactly this way but I also can’t fault Villeneuve’s creative direction.

For all that was taken off the table, there remain hints of what didn’t make the cut, left for observant readers to notice. For an example, the whole concept of the Mentat. The book details humanity’s fear of computing machines and how they’ve been replaced by specially-bred-and-trained human beings. None of that made the film. Yet, there is a scene where Duke Leto turns to Thufir Hawat and asks him to compute the cost of the Emperor’s diplomatic mission to formally hand over control of Arrakis to the Atreides family. Hidden within are the many themes that readers of the novel will pick up on and movie-only fans might be better off without.

Don’t be shocked by tone of my voice

Speaking of extras, I thought I saw a whole bunch of stuff that might (in interwebz parlance) be called Easter Eggs. A few examples…

A key focus of the early part of the novel is Paul and Jessica’s introduction to the mysteries of Dune, especially the sandworms. The worms are drawn to the sound of machinery, defensive shields, and even the walking of living things across the sand. Unlike in the previous versions, Paul learns how to “walk without rhythm” by watching a how-to video while he is getting prepared for the move to Dune. In that presentation, the Freman method of evading detection is called the “Freman Dance.” Could this be a nod to Christopher Walken and the Weapon of Choice video? I even have to wonder if any of Walken’s “steps” are reused in Dune.

There are hat tips to other films and other directors, not least of all David Lynch and his vision. I complained about Lynch’s battle scenes featuring small crowds of extras dashing about a sound stage. In addition to some rather impressive, SFX-enhanced battle scenes, there are several that resemble Lynch’s low budget version of combat. Taken as a whole it is not at all obvious. Kudos for a placement while avoiding screwing up a movie.

I saw also a few tributes to Hollywood in general, leaving me to believe I also missed many more. There is a beautiful impression of Marlon Brando’s insane Walter Kurtz. In another scene, Duke Leto (aka Poe) confides in Paul that when he was young he did not want to be a Duke – he wanted to be a pilot.

Several bits of dialog break the fourth walls in subtle and maybe deniable ways. There is a scene of the Duke Leto and Lady Jessica’s final, intimate* moment before it all comes apart. In the book, House Atreides has (I’m guessing here) weeks of attempting to take over the Arrakis operation before Harkonnen (and Imperial) treachery put an end to it all. In the film, the Duke’s reign on Arrakis seems to last but a day. Laying in bed that night, Leto offers to Jessica, “I thought we’d have more time.”

If you’ve watched the “final” trailer, the one that came out along with the film’s theatrical release, you’ve seen the last line in the film. “This is only the beginning,” she says. And so it is.

After my trip to the theater, I began reading some of the reviews online – both viewer commentary and professional reviews. The results are, to say the least, mixed. Some absolutely loved the whole package (much as I did) and some hated it, with plenty scattered in between.

Among viewers, one of the larger gaps in perception has to do with the book-readers versus those going into the film cold. Even between these two populations, appreciation for the movie was all over the place. It is obvious that the film is going to be experienced differently by those familiar with the book but less clear whether this is for the better or for the worse. Myself, I would say better but several commenters complained about Villeneuve’s deviations from the novel. Similarly, some unread-viewers complained about not understanding the plot even while others absolutely raved about the movie (while still showing no interest in the book). My daughter, who had no prior knowledge going in, stated she “struggled to wrap her mind around all the lore” but still loved the film.

One theme I’m seeing repeated is that the sound quality in some theaters was low. I didn’t have that issue (for me, it was a bit louder than I would have liked).

Professional reviews were similarly all over the map. I have to say I’m afraid to read them too closely. One review I avoided in detail attacked Dune for “glorifying feudalism.” What kind of darkness must you harbor in your soul to write something like that? Another, more conventionally-woke criticism was concerned about non-Arab actors playing the obviously-Arab-inspired Fremen.

There’s something here but it takes more than a knee-jerk cry of racism to consider it. I’ve always wondered about Dune and its use of race. This is supposed to be 10s of thousands of years into the future, yet the ethnic traits shaped by Earth geography still dominate. Think Dr. Yueh, who is always portrayed as Asian. Maybe it’s my age showing but I remember through the 70s and 80s the pictures of how humans will look in the future – an averaging of all racial and ethnic features into a somewhat non-white amalgam. Today, the idea that our descendants will all be absorbed into a futuristic “human” race has probably gone way out of style.

For what its worth, the Expanse series has an interesting take on it. Just as current forces have created variety out of a, presumably, common ancestry, so the future will do the same. In that book series, a particular area of Mars was settled by people of Indian descent and, living there, they adopted aspects of a Texan culture. This is a believable future that may come of interplanetary exploration and settlement – newly created ethnicities and cultures, but ones that are shaped by forces yet unknown.

Whatever Herbert’s Dune assumed or didn’t assume, Villeneuve’s Dune had to take it a few steps further. Being primarily a visual media, the film must easily distinguish for the audience the different factions. This is most easily done by giving them ethnic, racial, or simply unique traits. Yes, the Freman are all dark-skinned (logical given the pressures of a desert planet). The Harkonnen are all bald. It is unfortunate that we must read sinister motives into the use of ethnic characteristics in furtherance of a story.

Early reports about Dune had me worried in this regard. I had read that the 2021 (then 2020) film was going to be a new interpretation of the Dune story for a woke generation. In the event, the only serious re-imagining was to cast Liet-Kynes as a black woman. In my mind (before watching) this decision seemed to sap some important elements of that character’s importance. After watching, I don’t suppose I have an issue with it although there would still seem to be something** missing. All-in-all, I thought the casting was tremendous; inspired even. I’m willing to give Villeneuve the benefit of the doubt in those choices that I can’t fully comprehend right now.

So long anticipated, this film rewarded me in full. I do wish I’d been aware enough to catch it in its IMAX or 3D versions – Villeneuve clearly meant this piece to be as big and overwhelming as possible. Now I’ve got another year or two of anticipating the arrival of Part 2.

*No, not that kind of intimate, ya filthy animal.

**Herbert’s Freman culture is strongly dependent on the male warrior ethos. Leadership is held always by the strongest warrior who can, at any time, be challenged with a fight to the death. Dr. Liet-Kynes is a representative of the Emperor but also a leader amongst the Freman. He is also Chani’s father, which adds a dimension to Paul’s intimate relationship with her (yes, that kind of intimate). Obviously, this will have to be resolved in Part 2.