YNMS: Dune (2020)
Thursday, September 10, 2020 at 12:25AM by Nathaniel R
-There's something happening to me. There's something awakening in my mind, I can't control it.
-What did you see?
-I saw Oscar season coming!
Let's break down the new Dune trailer by Yes No Maybe So, shall we?
YES
• The visuals. Though the color palette is very sedate -- especially given memories of the surreal David Lynch adaptation of Dune in 1984 -- but despite their dark dustiness, they definitely set a mood, like a haunted sci-fi goth dream half buried in a sandstorm.
• We're fully on board with Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya as the romantic leads (Paul Atreides and Chani). They've both proven to be really special actors of the new generation of stars.
• Charlotte Rampling's pain box scene. She gets one of the freakiest roles to play (Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam) and you know she'll ace it.
• Oscar Isaac and Rebecca Ferguson as Chalamet's parents looks like fabulous casting and those two actors always deliver.
• The cast. Good lord that cast. Everyone is so charismatic and talented and even better... most of them have super interesting movie faces. Also I had someone forgotten or not heard that Chang Chen was in this. Love Chang Chen and he gets a few shots in the trailer as Dr Wellington Yueh
• Denis Villeneuve is a great director and the imagery and vibe presented suggests he'll totally pull off Dune's epic nature and its cultish religiosity. Arrival suggests he knows how to make great sci-fi pictures, too.
MAYBE SO
• Listen Dune is weird. It is, after all, about religious cults, spice that makes your eyes glow blue, and a young messiah who learns to ride giant ... uh... worms, with mouths that look like assholes. Lynch's film was kind of a disaster but it was definitely committed to the psychosexual insanity. Denis Villeneuve's films are terrific and dreamy but they're kind of asexual.
• They're keeping some things (mostly) away from view right now like the villains Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård, who we see obscured in two shots) and his right-hand man Piter de Vries (TFE favourite David Dastmalchian, who we dont see at all in this trailer). The Baron is an absolutely vile villain in the book. He was super gross in the 1984 version and even that was a softening of how foul he is on the page.
• Is this really going to work as a two-part movie? It might prove to be one of those heavy bizarre sci-fi books that just doesn't work as cinema but we'll see.
• Also how is Villenueve with epic action sequences? Dune has lots of them and it's hard to remember the fight scenes from Blade Runner 2049 though the mood was expertly conveyed.
• Where is Feyd Rautha (Sting in 1984), the Baron's nephew that he incestuously lusted after in the '84 film? And Princess Irulan (Virginia Madsen in 1984)? They're not characters within the cast list on IMDb so perhaps they're saving them for part two.
NO
• It's super annoying that they chose to make the villains bald (Bautista/Skarsgård). Bald is beautiful, Hollywood. You've been making bald a signififer of evil for 100+ years of cinema. Give us baldies a break.
Fully excited for this one. And won't it be nice if another sci-fi film becomes a major Oscar player. There are too few cases in history.
Which part of the trailer made you a bigger "yes" than you were before. And was there ever a "no" moment? And do you know the song that's playing in the trailer?
Reader Comments (34)
Very much a yes here. Dune is a sci-fi cornerstone, inspiring everything from Star Wars to Game of Thrones.
I am curious to see how how Timothee does with the lead role. I think he's great at expressing emotion, but here he's playing someone trained never to show emotions or interiority. How does he (or anyone, really) make that interesting? Whatever they do, I hope they don't replicate the voiceover thoughts like Dune 1984.
I'm very intrigued! I was feeling very pessimistic about this one. Just not sure why? Maybe the hype seemed too big. Plus I'm not always a fan of scifi-action-adventure-type movies. For me it's the cast and visuals that sealed the deal. I'm beyond excited to see Chang Chen and Oscar Issac and his beard.
I’m definitely a yes. Timothée Chamalet and Zendaya are two of the most interesting young actors working and I can’t wait to see what they do in this. The visuals are stunning and god what a cast. If anything I’m just excited because it seems so interesting. Also, I think we deserve a good sci-fi epic.
Speak out for our bald brethren Nathaniel!
Plus:
- Perfect Reverend Mother. Rampling was the trailer's MVP.
- All cast looking interesting.
- Liked the cinematography and general aesthetics and not bothered by Villeneuve's usual saturated color palette. Think it fits well for Dune.
Maybe so:
- Pink Floyd music somehow didn't work for me with the trailer, giving it a feeling of a tv show but I know they were supposed to score the failed 70's Jodorowsky adaptation so that gets a pass. (Speaking of that, Charlotte Rampling was to play Rebecca Ferguson's Lady Jessica role). On the other hand the Hans Zimmer bits heard from previous teasers sound great.
- Not sure if the problem was with the sound mixing or the delivery but I was not impressed by Chalamet's lines delivery.
- Momoa looks like he's having fun and he's featured a lot in the trailer, as is Zendaya. This is clearly aimed to attract their young fans that probably have no idea that their roles will be much smaller than the trailer makes it look like. This false advertising might misfire if they'll get disappointed by that when they see the movie.
- On the contrary, Oscar Isaac and Rebecca Ferguson were not featured enough. Especially the latter, one unfamiliar with the source would have no idea she's Chalamet's mother or that the role is close to a co-lead.
- Too much slow motion. Hope is being reserved for the dream sequences only.
No:
- Them not addressing that this is an adaptation of Frank Herber's classic at all? A big NO. Is considered one of the best sci-fi novels of all time. Again, seems the trailer is aimed more at general audiences unaware of this and that the maybe don't get excited about book adaptations in general abut that's disappointing.
- Unimpressed about the 'civilian' costumes. They look too bland and 'earthlike'. Seem not as imaginative as Bob Ringwood's ones for the David Lynch 80's version.
- Trailer doesn't give any exposition about the universe background of the planets or about the spice melange and the decadence of its addiction. As it is, it might look unoriginal to unfamiliar audiences just another story about a born messiah saving his people from war on some planet.
I hope it's great. I am not quite yet sold on Timothee as a leading man, since he is so boyish. This will be a real test for him.
I'm a hard yes for this. Denis is on an incredible one (I being someone that absolutely loved BR2049). And that cast is to die for. The design elements look absolutely delicious, particularly the sleek costume design and Greig Fraser's luscious cinematography. So, so excited.
The song is "Eclipse" by Pink Floyd. I had to look it up, too. Was lowkey hoping that they'd have a contender for Best Original song.
Honestly, my first impression was: "Wow, that looks so drab." So many browns, grays, blacks, and so, so, so dimly lit. I assume the plot is great given how beloved the book is (haven't read it myself), but it'll have to be to keep me engaged with that off-putting color palate.
I've been a Yes since this was announced. Hoping Issac and Mamoa get at least one scene each where they're in their underwear or nude.
OH FUCK YEAH!!!!!
This looks really cool and hopefully would do justice to the story. It looks more interesting than what David Lynch tried to do. Yes, it's not going to be as insane as what Alejandro Jodorowsky was going to do but Villeneuve does deserve props for using Pink Floyd's "Eclipse" as trailer music and kudos to Harry for pointing Floyd's involvement in the Jodorowsky version.
I'll stick with the 84 version,apart from Rampling,Bardem and Chalamet the rest of the cast is seriously underwhelming.
Genuinely did not remember that was the plot of Dune. Granted, I've only seen the Lynch film which was farely incomprehensible at the best of times. Still... don't remember any of that.
I'll be excited for the movie if I'm able to see it on a big screen. This doesn't look great on a smaller screen. Especially that final shot. I get that they're trying to make sure the worm doesn't look like an asshole, but...
I'm with Evan. I can't wait to see it (the source material, the cast), but the look of this - drab drab drab and poorly lit.
I'm sad I'll have to watch this on my tv. But I'll definitely see it.
I'm glad Oscar is finished with Star Wars. He has Dune and movies from Paul Schrader and James Gray coming up, plus the Scenes from a Marriage miniseries with Michelle Williams... I'm looking forward to a return to his mid-2010s form.
I am approaching this with cautious expectation. All the pieces are there, from the cast, to the crew, to the visuals. My only concern is with Momoa.
There is a chance, though I think a small one, that he will be the outlier in this movie. Either, he is the only one of the whole cast that realizes how campy this is and is running with it, or he doesn't match the overall tone.
Hopefully, he is just a welcome spot of light in a world that seems pretty drab.
It does look a bit colourless, or monotonously coloured, but Villeneuve directs confidently and soulfully and I'm a fan of TC and very intrigued to see what he will do as the main character in this. I haven't read the novel or seen the Lynch film and so I don't really know from this trailer what to expect story-wise but I'll go to see it and I suspect it will be entertaining to some degree and possibly to a great degree!
I suspect this scores no better than a BLADE RUNNER 2049-level awards run.
I'm an automatic YES. The TV adaptation is a guilty pleasure of mine due to Ian McNiece's delightful portrayal of the Baron and Zuzana Geislerová's Mother Mohiam.
My entire TL is cracking butt jokes so thanks a lot Mr. Villeneuve
The trailer didn't make this look very good, IMO.
Fingers crossed it's better than it looks. In Villeneuve we trust.
Have you already listened to Hans Zimmer's (part of) score in "Dune" teaser? God...!
Here's the thing... the cast is beyond amazing. And the visuals are pretty enough (though nothing groundbreaking in this day and age). But as someone who knows NOTHING about Dune (never read books nor saw earlier adaptations), this trailer does a BAD job at selling the movie for me. I could barely hear what anyone was saying and I guess Chalamet is playing a Chosen One who has to learn how to be one? I mean... sure.
Again, I'll still see it because of that cast (Oscar Isaac is my everything), but I actually wasn't blown away with this first trailer as a lot of people seemed to be. Maybe one needed to know more about Dune in the first place to get hyped about it?
"Lynch's film was kind of a disaster but it was definitely committed to the psychosexual insanity. Denis Villeneuve's films are terrific and dreamy but they're kind of asexual. "
I think ENEMY might be a good stick to measure this one by since it's def Villenueve's tribute to Lynch and it's hella psychosexual and freaky. Lots of repressed horniness everywhere. I hope he carries some of that weirdo energy over. I thought there was some bubbling around the edges of his Blade Runner.
So many yeses, but I’m very very nervous about the parts 1 and 2 thing.
I'm a big Yes. I've been saying for years that the tragedy of remakes is that Hollywood is always remaking good movies. We don't need remakes of good movies. We need remakes of bad movies that had a ton of unrealized potential. This fits the bill. And Chalamet is EXACTLY PERFECT as Paul Muad'ib.
I hope for Denis Villeneuve's sake it is a success, I would hate to see it under perform.
"Arrival" is a film I consider to be a classic. This trailer reminds me that I did enjoy the first book way back when. I would give it a shot.
It just seems so serious. As a big fan of the books and original movie, it seems to lack a sense of camp or self awareness. From the trailer, it looks like a bunch of sexy, talented actors doing Shakespeare against a gorgeous backdrop (not the worst case by any means). Still, color me intrigued. And Timmy adds something to anything he's in, even when it's a mess like Netflix's "The King."
Considering how much of the criticism of the Lynch version involved the dusty muted color tones--admittedly more copper and clay than the tan and flaxen we see here--I'm surprised the filmmakers decided to go drab again. Also, so many of the bits shown in this trailer that compare to scenes in the Lynch version (Rampling--who I love--with the pain box doesn't seem like she's improving on Siân Phillips)... well, don't exactly exceed that film or really seem to offer much that is different. The thing that made the Lynch version such a loony guilty pleasure involved the stiff acting (right out of, say, Eisenstein's IVAN THE TERRIBLE) the baroque sets and the crappy, even for the early 80s, special effects. I felt like I was watching some lost Eastern European SF film from the 1940s and loved that. I'm not convinced this will be anything special, though I should admit I hated the book.
My most anticipated movie of the year, so it's a big, fat YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Meh.
The hype train is going to kill this. Opening weekend might be big if Chalamet’s and Zendaya’s fan bases rally together, but it’ll plummet soon after.
This is one of the densest universes in science-fiction, and if people had a hard time following Jupiter Ascending, they won’t even break the surface’s surface with this.
Also, Paul Atreides is meant to be a teenager in Dune so Chalamet’s youth tracks at least. I still think he’s a three-note actor, but clearly I’m in the minority on that one so I shall let sleeping peaches lie on that.
Rampling and that tiny sample of the score from the sneak preview to the trailer are the MVPs. And Chang Chen’s beautiful face. I do enjoy Momoa bringing some energy to the proceedings. Everyone else looked like the company of Shakespeare in the Dunes after some a couple of Ambien.
Also, is anyone else sick of the now obligatory popular song cover over epic trailer instrumental for nearly every blockbuster under the sun? We have Fincher to blame for this and his teaser for The Social Network 10 years ago. That trend needs to die.
Correction: "after some a couple of Ambien" should read "after a couple of Ambien". iPhone typing/editing woes.
Also, I understand the song in the trailer is from Pink Floyd, and Jodorowsky wanted his Dune to be scored by Pink Floyd, so it's an easter egg, but ugh.
There was the same discourse around LOTR when it first appeared. I remember seeing the trailer for the first time (trivia: with Pitt/Redford "Spy Game" - oy) and thought it looked so dull and dark but what a surprise and its one of my all time faves now. This isn't the same type of material, but it could be underestimated as far as an adaptation goes. In fact I think it might be one of the bigger Oscar chances, adapted screenplay. Go Chalamet, you delightful little superstar!
Really? Man, I missed that LOTR discourse. The trailers for Fellowship especially were full of color and spectacle.
There’s spectacle here, but it’s all mired in this patina of sameness. Even the spectacle has grown stale nowadays.
Meh, I could just be jaded.