Dune (4k Ultra HD + Blu-ray)

Making a Dune movie (or series) has been tried many times but this is by far the best job to date. I first read Dune over 40 yrs ago and have read it several times since, so I'm pretty critical of any movie or series. The 1984 version was very good but I loathed it's idea for 'Voice' and the 'Weirding Way' of fighting. Another attempt had an open-air waterfall on Dune and I wondered if they even bothered to read to book at all. This film is very, very good in both those areas. It's handling of Voice is -almost- perfect. And water (I should say moisture) discipline on Dune is treated well - though I am making allowance for what the poor video effect would be of having Fremen wearing covering caps, forehead pads, and using their mask all the time outdoors. That may be more correct but it would make filming difficult. They did use the full cap and mask on the one real 'sand crossing' they made, though. A lot of side stories were left out but nothing that was critical in my opinion. If they had put everything into the movie they would barely make it to Dune before running out of time and it would have to be at least a 4-part 'movie'. All in all I think Denis Villeneuve's Dune attempt is excellent so far and I expect great things from Pt 2. I was really happy to see the studio approve Pt 2 as quickly as they did. ***Some Spoilers*** - I loved the use of the desert mouse over and over in various scenes. Hopefully, this is foreshadowing of what's to come. - Their treatment of ornithopters was --awesome--, dragonflies instead of birds but the effect is so great I would call it an improvement over the original (though the double-seater craft should have been front-back wings instead of over/under). If Herbert had known more about dragonfly aerodynamics he may have taken that approach, too. - Their handling of the worms was -magnificent- and worth every penny they spent for the CGI on those and their effect on the sand around them. The sand waves the worms made was great. They really brought home the impact of something so large on such small creatures like men and even not-so-small machines like the harvester. - The Imperial Testing Station was a bit out of line with it's open ceilings but they did have the plants and the original explanation of why it was there. They even covered the ornithopter that brought everyone to the station. - Kynes' death scene was a bit different but the original would have taken much more time and this adaptation was acceptable. - The first sand crossing for Paul and Jessica was done really well, clear down to the drum sand, and included an added scene where they rest out in the desert, which was excellent. - The fight with Jamis was not in sietch like the original but I understand they were making a hard cut between Part 1 & Part 2 - making it obvious Pt 2 will be mostly with the Fremen including in sietch. - I wasn't too happy about the troop not wearing their caps on their way to sietch Tabr but that's the only real fault I have with the movie. Though I did approve of the Fremen's handling of Jamis' body. I can't wait for Pt2!! PS I did remember one other Big Oops in the movie. During the Harkonnen invasion of Arrakeen there was a (what looked to be space-ship mounted) laser being used in one scene. To me, that completely negated the whole explanation of why lasers aren't in common use as a weapon.

Dune is one of the two most iconic works of fiction of the mid 20th Century, the other being "The Lord of the Rings". Both books were major milestones in their genres and for much the same reasons. Dune was the first true space-epic in a very real sense. It was three or four times the length of any of its contemporaries and this as much as any thing set it apart. A book of this length has a lot in it and this makes it difficult to adapt. Add to this a density of material and a faithful adaptation becomes extremely difficult. While the original 1980s "Dune" adaptation wasn't great, it was far from horrible. The special effects were incredible, especially of the Sandworms. In the early 2000s, the SciFi channel (now SyFy) adapted it into a limited-run series but deviated so far from the original that it was unrecognizable. This new adaptation has gone back to the source material and done what couldn't be done previously, thanks to the development of CGI. With very few exceptions, this is a truly faithful adaptation. However this is only part one - which is a good thing. It's not possible to tell this story properly with a single film, even if it runs to 3 hours. One major change from the Novel is that Dr. Kynes, the planetologist, has had a gender swap and is now female. This makes no real difference to the role and so it is inconsequential. Most of the noticeable changes are of this kind - they don't violate the original at all. The only thing that annoyed me mildly was that I didn't know this was just part one until after I had seen it the first time. I have bad memories of Ralph Bakshi's "Lord of the Rings" adaptation where the proposed second film was never made. Happily that is not the case with this franchise. I firmly believe that this new interpretation of "Dune" does a fantastic job of adapting difficult material and this film is definitely worth seeing and owning.

I’m waiting for the third film, this is the best movie franchise in the world, thanks to Denis the director.

When I first heard that Dune was going to be split into two films, I had some serious reservations. Some of those went away after I learned that Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049) was going to be the director. I went and saw the movie when it was in the theater and was blown away. While I enjoy the Kyle McLaughlin version from the 80s that is inaccurate to the book, this version is better in every way and follows the book much closer. I now can see why it was split after watching the movie and reading the book again because there is a lot of material to cover. The characters are better represented, I think Timothee Chalemet played a better version of Paul Atreides. His version of the character grows more than McLaughlin's ever did, it'll be interesting to see how they take it with part two and possibly Dune Messiah if they decide to adapt the sequel. In terms of visual and audio aspects, both are fantastic (this is basically a reference disc). The picture is pretty crisp, you can make out the textures of clothing and buildings pretty well, and pores on people's faces. While it is not the most colorful movie since most of it takes place in a desert, what is there is very good. The audio track is nothing short of fantastic, the subwoofers get a work out, dialogue is intelligible and never hard to hear (looking at you Tenet), and the use of the Dolby Atmos track is great. There's nothing that I can really think of that could fault this. If you are 4k capable, you should definitely buy this. If you aren't, the standard Blu-ray is also very impressive.

I went in hoping very much that this would be really good. I am a huge fan of Frank Herbert's novels. The studio spent a fortune and it shows. CG effects all wonderful, and so are the practical sets. In terms of the writing, the major events of the story are all presented. The men's costumes are great, but most of the women's costumes (Jessica and the Bene Gesserit) are either surprisingly plain or just silly and unattractive. The color palette of the film falls into the blue and orange that graces almost every science fiction DVD case for the last 20 years. Caladan and space is overall blue, Dune is orange. (Was this an intentional choice by the director? Is he joking with us?) Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides is fine for this portion of the story but it is hard to imagine that he will be able to bring the maturity, cunning, masculinity, and ruthlessness of the character as the story progresses. The rest of the large ensemble cast give good performances (Stellan Skarsgard is great) in their roles. Some roles were built up bigger than they are in the book, while others were (strangely) de-emphasized. In particular the roles of Lady Jessica, Baron Harkonnen, and Piter Devries were reduced, while the roles of Duncan Idaho (a very small and short role in the book) and Chani (mostly seen in Paul's dreams for this portion of the novel) are overemphasized to the detriment of the story and the pace of the film, so much so that I felt as if I had seen more of them than the main character. I suppose that the studio wanted to feature Jason Momoa and Zendaya (both currently bigger stars than most of the rest of the cast including the lead) for the sake of media exposure and audience draw. Overall it is a great spectacle and a fine achievement. I do like it.....BUT IT DRAGS ON and ON and ON. No one wants to see people walking in a very heavy wind over and over again. In the rain. Down a ramp. In the desert. Things that are not visually interesting and which do not advance or elucidate the story last forever, while things that are important to the story and the lead character's development are left out entirely. Also the story has been refocused to only show Paul Atreides as the man who will lead the Fremen to victory and subsequent freedom from their oppressors. He does indeed do that, but his plans and ambition are actually much bigger and he conquers the galaxy afterward (using his Fremen army) to spread the Gospel of Paul Atreides (thinly disguised Islam) at the expense of countless millions of lives. It is clear, however, that the writers and director are trying REALLY REALLY hard to avoid this aspect of the story as much as possible. In order to secure funding and make money, I suppose they have to do this, but it turns the story into a rather generic space opera that lacks the depth, complexity, and deeply tragic nature of the novel. The film: 4 stars. Everyone go read the book! Several times. It is a very complex, layered story and a slow, dense read. You can't skim it, or you won't get it.

First, a disclaimer: I last read Dune more than 40 years ago, so my recollection of the book is suspect at best. Still, this movie seemed to capture the feel of the book far better than the 1984 movie which tried to show too much at once and ended up just being more Hollywood than Herbert. This movie captures more of the feel of the book and scenes in the movie are eerily like I imagined them when reading the book. I liked this movie because it surprised me with the depth they went to to portray the strange world of this story. You'd think that more detail might put off people who haven't read the book, but I think the greater detail was well chosen to pull you into the movie and make you feel more familiar with this strange environment; to make you feel just as much a part of it as someone who had read the book. Most movies gloss over these details in favor of the "high points". The book that the movie came from was quite a creative piece of storytelling. It presented a universe in a remote future where humanity had spread to far worlds and adapted in strange ways to their new environments. Still, even as the environment is very strange, those who people it are still human. As odd and complicated as the elements of the story are, they are still believable because the characters are written well. Dune is the story of how knowledge, intelligence, and respect overcome great power and treachery. A Duke is asked to come to another world by the emperor to replace the family that had been running it for centuries, if I'm not mistaken. Also, it wasn't just any world, but the only world that produced civilization's most rare and necessary substance - a very special "spice". The Duke knew that the existing ruler would not take his displacement lightly. On top of that, he wondered why the emperor had chosen him to replace the old family. The Duke prepared himself as best he could for attack, but when it came, it was far worse than he imagined. His house was almost utterly destroyed, but then, this story is not about the Duke. Although the movie, as I understand it, doesn't even cover all of the contents of the first book, it is very watchable on its own since it doesn't leave you at a cliff-hanger as a television series will often do. Still, I look forward to the sequel since I know that there is so much more to come.

First off the transfer on this is OUTSTANDING, I was at the IMAX preview of the film and, disregarding the Variable Aspect Ratio issues, THIS is what was on the screen in every detail. As long as you are accepting that this is an *adaption* not a translation, the script is stunning in both how well it retains the emotional and narrative themes of the text while making the changes necessary for the format, run time, and modern sensibilities (this may annoy some viewers). The quibble is just that, a quibble. Villeneuve has taken a "David Lynch" approach with this release and "Lets the film speak for itself" and the supplemental or bonus material is sparse and largely only marginally better than studio-produced EPK materials.

Good movie. Image and audio quality top notch. Packages well.

El bluc Ray está bien pero el DVD no lo reproduce por el código de región

A great movie with a great dolby atmos sound track.

Peccato! Blu-ray senza opzioni in italiano, DVD non leggibile dagli apparecchi venduti in Italia, codice digitale non applicabile in your country..... praticamente inutile!!

This was an excellent film with great production, visual effects, fantastic actors and a compelling Science Fiction story, but it may not be for everyone. While I enjoyed the film for its beauty and story and for what’s to come in future instalments it’s slower pace and intricate plots points will lose a lot of casual viewers (including my wife who fell asleep). I would suggest complete focus while watching this movie, make sure you have the time and put your phone on Airplane mode to avoid distractions. The film may require a few viewings to fully appreciate the plot and where the themes are taking us for the second film.

Qué increíble película.