Review Double Feature: Dune
Written by Grady Fiorio Original Publishing Date: April 28th, 2024 Rating: Part One 4/5, Part Two 5/5
Would it be too ironic to call this a spiritual experience?
Dune: Part One
Director Denis Villeneuve Runtime 2 Hr 35 Min Format Digital (Streaming) Release Date 2021 Fan Poster by Gokaiju
The windy storms of a desert planet send howls between sandy dunes. The breeze swirls the sand and spice into the air, sending any man who gets near into a psychedelic trance. As religious zealots, barbarians, and bureaucrats try to tame the swelling heat and harsh desert floors beneath them, the sand rumbles, and a hundred-foot-tall god appears. Shai Hulud. They all bow before him. The Shai Hulud only bows to one above him. Mau’dib. In this land of rebels, kings, emperors, and gods, only vision, willpower, and determination will be the only factors of who lives and who dies. The same factors that give us the two films we have today.
Denis Villeneuve returns once again as sci-fi cinema’s prodigal son, following up one of the most ambitious novel-to-screen adaptations ever made with a film that not only rivals Villeneuve’s best work, but the entire sci-fi genre itself. Adapting the unadaptable, Villeneuve gives us the second part in his Dune trilogy, capping off the events of Frank Herbert’s original 1965 novel. A film so infectiously powerful, that just shortly after its February 18th early screening, started a wave of fan hysteria and Oscar buzz a full calendar year before the 2025 ceremony. Villeneuve crafts his vision not with a painter’s brush but with a carpenter’s pick, etching the tragedy of Paul Atreides into stone, as if it were the story of gods and kings on the wall of an Egyptian tomb. It’s a visual narrative that keeps the dialogue minimum, opting to write its script 24 frames a second, in a bloody tapestry of epic proportions.
So for the uninitiated, what is Dune? To simplify the famously complex novel, Dune tells the story of a prince, who after his family is betrayed by their overseeing emperor, seeks revenge by convincing a group of religious zealots that he is their messiah, which will lead them to paradise in a great holy war. Even though Dune’s original novel dates back to 1965, it remains highly relevant with a story of political intrigue, betrayal, and bloodshed, fueled by a religion gone mad. What makes its story so complex and hard to adapt, is unlike most other sci-fi properties, Dune is highly political, spiritual, psychedelic, and massive in scope, with advanced civilizations, giant sandworms, and intergalactic space travel guided by psychedelic drugs. It’s like a combination of Game of Thrones, Star Wars, and the last 30 minutes of 2001. These are all doable on their own but become increasingly complex when trying to put them all together in a way that is both entertaining and feasible on a financial and technical level. There are a million things to say about Dune, but it feels like an impossible task to formulate it all together. But if Villeneuve can turn this behemoth of a novel into an Oscar-winning film, then I should be able to wax poetic like a nerd without it really being a problem. So with all this being said, let’s get into the meat of it. Be warned, full spoilers ahead from this point on (Yes I recommend both the movies!).
Dune: Part Two
Director Denis Villeneuve Runtime 2 Hr 46 Min Format IMAX (15/70mm) Release Date 2024 Fan Poster by Almirondesign
To talk about Dune, we need to discuss the two elephants in the room, that are currently duct-taping animals to each other during 14-hour-long psychedelic breakdowns. That’s right, Jodorowsky’s Dune, and Lynch’s Dune. Wildly infamous for very different reasons, these two attempts at adapting Dune for the big screen have been wildly discussed, debated, and examined. To understand why Villeneuve’s films are such an accomplishment, we need to understand what came before. I’d be remiss for not mentioning the two Sci-fi Channel miniseries adaptations, that adapt the first three books in Frank Herbert’s original Dune saga. While up to now they’ve been considered the best adaptations of Dune, they still aren’t considered great and have gone largely unrecognized due to their low budget, unavailability, and unremarkability. It’s not as spectacle as Jodorowsky's vision, but it’s not as bad as what we got in 1984. While I did watch clips, I didn’t go through and watch each miniseries, as I didn’t feel like searching far and wide to watch an additional nine and a half hours of film. So I won’t be talking about either of them here. For these other two adaptations, I’ll gloss over these quickly so we can get to the main event.
For being a completely unmade movie, Jordowrosky’s Dune is arguably more famous than Lynch’s. So what is there to say about this unmade supposed masterpiece? Well, it’s true that in 1974, Jodorowsky got the film production Avengers together, to conceptualize arguably the most ambitious film of its time. But it wasn’t Dune. What do I mean by that? For as amazing as we can all speculate the film to have been, on paper, it probably would have been a mess. Fundamentally, the story Jodorowsky designed was completely antithetical to Dune, and instead only used the basic framework to tell something dramatically different. This 1974 version would have shifted focus from a story about dangerous false messiahs, to a story about a great messiah that would bring peace to the galaxy, and through the power of love and psychedelics would connect us all. It makes sense to anybody familiar with Jodorowsky’s The Holy Mountain, but it would have functioned in complete opposite to Herbert’s intentions.
From this thematic shift, everything else around the production would be moved with it. The sets, spaceships, costumes, and production design would have been layered in colors, shaped like animals, and feature varying amounts of psychosexual imagery. Eccentric casting would have followed suit, featuring the likes of Mick Jagger as Feyd-Rautha and Salvidor Dali as Emperor Shaddam. However, Dali’s appearance would have only been a mere cameo, given that he demanded production pay $100k per hour and that his girlfriend play Princess Irulan. After his single scene, Dali would then be replaced by a robot for the rest of the film. To add further, Jodorowsky demanded a 14-hour long runtime. While there are conflicting reports, more conservative estimates put the screenplay closer to three hours in length, while Jodorowsky continually insisted on this behemoth scope. While this could make for an advantageous epic as a miniseries, you’d be hard-pressed to find anybody willing to sit in a theater for 14 hours to watch a single film, let alone a theater willing to project it. For Jodorowsky’s vision to be complete, the film would have also required special effects decades ahead over anything George Lucas would revolutionize for Star Wars, three years later in 1977.
As demands increased, egos clashed, and the budget ballooned, it became clear that nobody would give the final funding needed for Jodorowsky’s unchained epic. However, not all was lost. As the production team splintered off, they took their concepts individually and went on to create some of the most beloved sci-fi films to date. Just some of the notable films built off this team list Blade Runner, Contact, Star Wars, and most famously, Alien. A film that would directly take the concept work HR Geiger developed for Jodorowsky, and turn him into a household name. While it’s a shame that Jodorowsky’s film never officially materialized, in a hypothetical world, I think it could have worked if he pitched it as an animated film. Keep the runtime at three hours max, embrace the weirdness, and don’t feel too chained by the concept of Dune. It’s a film that would have been both plausible to make and enjoyable to watch. It probably wouldn't have been a good Dune movie, but it would have been a great Jodorowsky film.
So then that leaves us with the 1984 adaptation. I hesitate to call this Lynch’s Dune because quite infamously, the film was hijacked by producer Raffaella De Laurentiis, who had large control over the script, production, and editing of the film. He tried to force Star Wars out of a very different story, and a director that isn’t George Lucas. Lynch has since gone on to disown the film, considering it the lowest point of his career, and the only film he regrets making. It’s a shame because I think David Lynch is actually a fantastic choice to direct Dune. His directing style and storytelling heavily rely on the concepts of dreams and spirituality, which are so intrinsically tied to Dune’s storytelling. However, with the messy production and Lynch’s lack of a final cut, we never got to see what his full vision could have been. That being said, I still think Lynch would have struggled due to the technology of the time. Dune’s story relies on such specific imagery that hasn’t been possible up until the last 15 years. Even if you had ILM on board, it would have been pretty hard to keep this thing from looking like cardboard cutouts dancing around on screen.
Knowing this all going in, I tried to get the best experience out of watching the 1984 film. For this review, I watched Spicediver’s three-hour-long, fan edit of the film. It stays closer to Lynch’s original script and vision for the film. However, it’s important to keep in mind that when asked about the possibility of a director’s cut or alternate version, Lynch said “There is no other version. There’s more stuff, but even that is putrified.” So take this all with a grain of salt.
Unfortunately, even at three hours, it’s a poorly paced mess, which is ultimately this film’s smoking gun. The entire runtime is spent on cramming exposition while trying to fit in as much as possible from the book. It condensed the near eternity of 2024’s 166-minute-long Part Two, into less than an hour of film. By the third act, the story goes off the rails and loses all sense of character progression, turning Paul from wimp to Muad’dib in literal seconds. Similar to Jordowrosky, this version of the film also misses the point of the original novel, turning it into a standard hero’s journey and stripping out all of the political commentary and Middle Eastern imagery. In the theatrical cut, Paul even makes it rain on Arrakis, using magic weather-controlling mind powers that he developed offscreen. While thankfully this is removed from Spicediver’s cut, this new version still lacks the commentary and tact of the original material. The only saving grace of this version is the small fraction of David Lynch’s weirdness and charm that occasionally shines through. There are plenty of weird and cool production designs, creatures, and practical effects that fit perfectly in a Lynch film, that amusingly contrast the studio picture that Universal was trying to make. As a bonus, Lynch’s cameo is great as always. However, for these few bright spots, the film as a whole, is at best a novelty. We can just all be thankful that this united David Lynch and Kyle MacLachlan. For both of these adaptations and all their messiness, it makes you really appreciate what Villeneuve has accomplished.
“I Must Not Fear. Fear Is The Mind-Killer."
If you had no fear, what would you do? Would you accomplish every dream you ever had? Would you take every chance you were given? Would you take back everything that was taken from you? In the darkest parts of our lives, we see what we are truly capable of. As previously mentioned, Dune tells the epic sci-fi story of Paul Atreides, who after his family is betrayed and murdered through a secret political coup by the galactic emperor, seeks revenge by convincing a group of local religious fanatics he is their messiah and must wage a jihad on their common enemies. Underneath the thick layer of made-up languages, psychedelic dust clouds, and giant sandworms, sits steeped political commentary that speaks to the inherent flaws of humanity, which we have succumbed to time and time again. At its essence, it’s the story of a boy whose manhood is robbed, so instead of becoming a man, he becomes a god. A god who is willing to sacrifice any and all those around him at the behest of revenge. While it may seem to be high sci-fi and made-up word babble, it’s really a tale as old as time, and in the words of Rust Cohle, “Time is a flat circle. Everything we have done or will do we will do over and over and over again—forever.”
So what are we doomed to repeat? War. Ravaging, unending, war. War in the name of conquest, resources, colonialism, and most of all, religion. Man has sought to seek and destroy his enemies through the use of resources and divine manipulation. When man picked up the first rock, he caved in the skull of those who opposed him. When he crafted the sword, he slit the throats of his enemies. And when he split the atom, he granted man the power to destroy worlds. But to have war you need to have motivation. It’s hard to get people to start killing each other for just shits and giggles. But when the ire of god is looking down upon you, it becomes a whole hell of a lot easier. It’s another piece of manipulation that has existed as long as prayer itself. The crusades, the conquistadors, and even as recent as 9/11, religious violence is an inherent part of war that has been used as a tool of oppressors for centuries. But what if religion could be manipulated, or even created for the sole purpose of violence? How do people get to the point of radicalization by religious and political fundamentalism? What are they willing to do for the one they believe to be god? These are the central questions Dune asks.
Dune’s analogy starts from the very beginning. Opening up on the world of Caladan, we’re introduced to House Atreides, one of three major royal families that control the universe of Dune. As House Atreides grows in size, so does their power. Very quickly they become a threat to the ruling emperor of the Universe, Emperor Shaddam. In order to eliminate the threat, Shaddam gives House Atreides control of the desert planet Arrakis, the most important resource-rich planet in the universe. By doing this, Shaddam takes control away from the savage House Harkonnen, setting the stage for a war between houses and the collapse of Atreides, all while keeping his hands “clean”. Little does Shaddam know, the Bene Gesserit, a secret society of political puppet-masters and eugenicists, has spent the past 10,000 years breeding generations to create the Kwisatz Haderach. A superbeing that will give them ultimate control of the Universe. While they breed generations, they’ve also been spreading a fanatical religion amongst the Fremen, the nomadic natives of Arrakis. They implant the idea of the Mahdi, a Messiah that will lead them to paradise and bring water to their desert planet. A messiah that the Bene Gesserit would create through their breeding and use to make the Fremen their army for a political coup. When Paul learns that he is in fact the Kwisatz Haderach, he rejects the idea as superstition. As House Atreides falls, and nearly all of Paul’s family and friends are murdered by the Harkonnen, he and his mother find shelter with the people of the Fremen, who soon come to believe that Paul is their Messiah that the Bene Gesserit spies foretold. While Paul initially rejects their claims, he succumbs to his fanatic worshippers and uses them to wage a holy war and get his revenge on Emperor Shaddam, House Harkonnen, and the Bene Gesserit.
Despite the long list of houses, religions, and space travel, the heart of Dune’s story stays incredibly grounded in real-world political turmoil that has plagued human history. In more recent years it represents ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and South America, especially in regards to American intervention. Putting it bluntly, the Bene Gesserit are a pretty clear stand-in for the CIA. Time and time again, the U.S. and CIA, have tried to weaponize political and religious fanaticism, only to have it bite them right on the ass. We’ve seen it plenty of times during the past 100 years when the U.S. government destabilized Nicaragua, Guatemala, Iran, and plenty more, installing puppet dictators to act in their place as military and financial aid, only to have those governments collapse and become American enemies.
However, where Dune’s real-world allegories become eerily similar, is in the CIA’s creation of the Islamic terrorist group the Taliban. A group that they armed and funded in an attempt to quell the rise of Communism in the Middle East. What the CIA didn’t foresee is that Muslim extremism isn’t quite fond of the West. After the Taliban’s takeover of the Communist government, they would set their sights on America. Retaliation in the East resulted in retaliation from the West, leading to bombs, drone strikes, and countless deaths both civilian and terrorist, often on holy ground. This full frontal assault further radicalized forces in the Middle East, leading to the worst terrorist attacks on American soil, 9/11. This attack led the US to engage in decades of war that would cost countless lives of American soldiers, Middle Eastern civilians, and trillions of dollars. This ultimately led to the Patriot Act, which induced the “post-truth and disinformation age” in one of the greatest wartime failures in American history. So yes, in an attempt to destroy a rising political threat, the U.S. weaponized a group of religious extremists hiding in the desert, only to have that group wage a Jihad on America in the name of their Messiah, all happening 36 years after Dune was released.
“There is no one in this room who can stand against me. Your mothers warned you about my coming. Fear the moment. But you think you could have a chance. But you are afraid, what if I could be the One? This could be the moment you've been praying for, all your life.”
As we witness Paul rise through the Fremen ranks, we start to see him through blue-tinted Fremen eyes. Villeneuve frames the tragedy of Paul through an undeniably epic lens. Watching Paul ride the sandworm, and take control of such an unwieldy beast is just as exhilarating for us as it is for the Fremen. The sand rumbling, the hooks underneath the worm’s scales, the roar of Hans Zimmer’s score. It’s all part of the experience, and slowly but surely, we call Paul “Muad'Dib” just as the Fremen do. Paul’s speech in the cave is a notable example. Initially denied his power by the Fremen, Paul puts them in their place as he claims to fulfill their prophecy and lead them to paradise, the same way Jesus and Mohhamd claimed during their most passionate of moments. Paul’s full conversion comes from the water of life. He quite literally drinks his own Kool-Aid, and his blue Fremen eyes symbolize his transformation into the Lisan Al Giab.
Just as much as we feel the awe of the Fremen, we feel their pain and sadness too. When House Harkonnen destroys the holiest of Fremen sites, a graveyard that holds the water of the dead, you feel the rage and anger of all those who have been desecrated. By putting you in the stillsuits of the Fremen, Villeneuve gives the viewer the ability to understand how extremism is built. If your home and holy sites were firebombed into oblivion, wouldn’t you want revenge? Would you kill and die for the one who brings you salvation? Wouldn’t you want paradise? As the Abrahamic religions have largely refused to evolve during the Industrial Revolution, they have become outlets for their most extreme to take arms and attack those they see as enemies and oppressors. However, as many revolutionaries come to find, using the tools of the oppressor to gain freedom only results in destruction, and destruction without creation only leads to rubble. It’s a common flaw with nearly every revolution, from Che Guevara to the Bolsheviks. It all leads to a crumbling Kingdom, a lesson that the Fremen are sure to learn when Part Three eventually releases.
Besides the complex and touchy subject matter, what is it exactly that Villeneuve has accomplished? The film is an absolute visual and technical feat. The work of DP Greg Fraiser, Production Designer Patrice Vermette, and the entire art department cannot be understated. Every detail from the largest of compositions, the design of the costumes, to even the texture of grain used on the film stock, creates an incredibly realized world, that feels like something you could reach out into and touch. Villeneuve’s team has taken Herbert’s world and created a vision that does not exist anywhere else in science fiction. Its large oppressive structures contrast against the naturalistic and rough sand dunes that cover Arrakis. The world of each featured house and planet has a distinct feeling with its own style and sound. There is a horrifying ominous power to every ship and structure, especially the emperor's ship. Despite only being a large spherical ball, It hovers over Arrakis like a giant boot waiting to crush the ants below its heel. Ironically, Villeneuve does borrow from Jodorowsky’s unproduced film, by taking clear inspiration from HR Geiger's legacy of work and Harkonnen designs. It’s still unique in its own right, but there are some nods to the film that almost came before. Even with a heavy use of CGI, the world of Dune feels so real and tactile. It goes to show what clear & clever planning can achieve.
But when it comes to the technical side of Dune, the real star of the show is IMAX. As I mentioned earlier, Fraiser’s work here is impeccable. Every single shot and scene has been given an absurd amount of attention to detail, creating a film that easily ranks among the best-photographed movies of all time. If you read my Oppenheimer review, you know I’m a bit of a stickler for IMAX and its aspect ratio. Thankfully, Dune pushes IMAX to the limits, making significant use of the additional space. While Part One was shot partially in IMAX, Part Two was shot entirely in IMAX, keeping the aspect ratio at a minimum 1.90: 1, with 40 minutes of the film expanding to the full 1.43: 1. While I wish the entirety of the film was 1.43: 1 (especially more of the third act battle), the ratio changed is used smartly and sparingly, remedying one of my biggest issues with most IMAX films, including Part One. As far as IMAX formats, 15/70mm film, and dual laser are definitely the way to go. I saw Part Two twice on 15/70, and the print is breathtaking, making those 1.43: 1 sequence pure eye candy. Not only does the 70mm film print have a rich texture, but because the strip of film is so stupidly large, the projector’s bulb has a hard time reaching the full frame, leaving the edges vignetted during the full 1.43:1 sequences. As I sat there watching this on the Chinese Theater’s 94-foot screen, the vignette blended the screen into the architecture, making it all feel like a natural part of the world. I sat there in awe as this floor-to-ceiling screen felt like a window into Arrakis I could just fall right into. There really is nothing like it, especially when you see a “life-size” sandworm staring you right in the face. There’s part of me that wishes Dune would never leave IMAX screens. That it would just be a constant event I could go to. While for now, my Church of IMAX will stay just a dream, let’s pray that Warner Brothers comes to their senses and releases an IMAX Bluray of both films sooner rather than later.
But IMAX isn’t just about the look, it’s about the sound. IMAX’s powerful 6-track mix of Dune is quite literally earth-shaking. The explosive battles between the Fremen and Harkonnen rumble the walls, and the pounding drums of Hans Zimmer’s score physically shake your chest, as you hear every nuance of this incredibly detailed sound mix. It’s one of those things you need to hear to believe, but believe me when I say that it is the next evolution of cinema. Here, every element of sight and sound comes together. A standout is during the gladiator scene on Gidi Prime. While not only beautifully shot in infrared, the score by Hans Zimmer is layered with both sonic and narrative depth. As the music builds higher and higher, you can faintly hear Feyd’s name being chanted in between drum beats. While I’m not 100% sure if this was part of the score or the sound design, it’s the small details that make these scenes so impactful and immersive. Speaking of Hans Zimmer’s score, it’s another true standout of the film. Be it his original tracks with the now famous chants and screams, or his rendition of Pink Floyd's Eclipse, this is clearly the dream score Zimmer has talked about making for so long. The drums alone on this thing are insane. You feel as if Fremen are playing 1000-year-old traditional war songs all around you. No matter how you feel about the narrative, this deserves to sweep all the technical awards.
For how good Dune is, it’s not entirely without its flaws, notably with Part One. While Part One does succeed in giving us all the necessary details, it struggles to find the balance between plot and characters. For all the world-building Villeneuve achieves, not enough time is spent developing the characters into emotionally engaging subjects to follow. It’s frustrating because there are hints of interesting and charismatic characters, but we never get enough time to really learn who they are, or why we should invest ourselves. Duncan Idaho is a perfect example of this. Jason Momoa does a great job at making Duncan’s character charismatic and charming, just enough so that I want to spend time with him and understand his relationship with Paul. But right before we start to get to know him, he’s dead. Most of Part One’s characters end up suffering the same fate. Interesting to follow, but dead or missing before meaningful connections are built.
The third act is where it struggles the most. While the fall of House Atreides is easily the highlight of the film, there’s another solid 40 minutes of wandering around in the desert, before Paul finally reaches the Fremen for the finale. Even though there’s solid material in that time spent, we never reach the same heights as the fall of House Atreides. While Paul’s final duel with Jamis is exciting (and a subtle foreshadow for Part Two), it’s not nearly as exciting as anything that came before it. Honestly, I could have easily gone for a three-hour version of the film, that cuts down on Paul doing his best Moses in the desert impression, and added more time building up the characters. This would also help the third act by pushing the fall of House Atreides closer to the end of the film and cutting down dead time in the desert, making the duel more of an epilogue than a climax. While Part One is already just over two and a half hours, and asking audiences to sit for much longer can be a tall ask, I think the film would have benefited from the added time. I want to feel Paul’s devastation as he watches his family lineage burn to the ground. I want the anger. I want the sadness. I want the rage. Thankfully, the rage is coming.
What few issues I did have with Part One, were completely remedied in Part Two. In hindsight, not shooting Part One and Two back to back was a good idea. The breathing room gave needed reflection time to fix the few issues that were there in Part One. While I wish that throughout both films we saw some more spice-fueled psychedelic space travel, and that a few fight scenes weren’t so obvious in shooting around an R rating (especially Gurney’s rampage near the end), there’s little complaint to be had. Dune is pure bliss for sci-fi fans, filling the void that Star Wars left nine years ago.
Amidst the political commentary and bombastic spectacle, Dune is a deeply human tragedy about power, greed, and loss. Paul’s drive for revenge and the Fremen’s hope for salvation are relatable as they relate to human needs for fulfillment, and my need for great sci-fi. Brought to life by an incredibly stacked cast, this outstanding epic will go down as sci-fi’s Return of the King, and Villeneuve’s crowning achievement. It’s hard to say where exactly things will go from here, but if Warner Bros knows anything, Dune is still rich with storytelling potential. Even if it were to all end right here, I’d be a happy man knowing that I got to see it all unfold with a glorious vision on the big screen.
Long Live the fighters! Lisan Al Gaib!
