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Monday November 1, 2021
Dune
George was also the driving force behind our second cinema visit. Like (in my mind) everyone in the 1970s, we all read the sci fi trilogy sensation "Dune" - which then promptly spawned a 4th volume. [G tells me there are a good few more now and Frank Herbert's son has taken over the "franchise"].
There was a David Lynch film made in the 1980s, which was led to much disappointment and general criticism - but it is now, like some other notorious "flops", (OHMSS), deemed to have be misjudged and unjustifiably maligned. Considering it was said to be "unfilmable" at the time, and without the possibility of CGI, I think it was quite an achievement, staying true to the spirit of the film.
This latest film is excellent, overcoming any slow plot development, and creating great tension and excitement in the assassination attempts, and battle scenes. This is all aided by modern filming techniques, and also by splitting the story over more than one film, which is almost a necessity for such complex plots. In this "part 1", we get only hints at the astonishing way the native Fremen use the giant worms, and in the final scenes, just a glimpse of their ingenuity. [No issues now in visually depicting worms "the size of an airport runway".]
I read that prior to 1984, there was a lot of other film production preparation, with various scripts - one associated with Ridley Scott, which was also due to be split over 2 movies. He dropped the project and went to work on Blade Runner. One can only imagine what might have been, I suppose.
Posted by Christina at 10:28 AM. Category: Art and Culture
