Dune: Part Two 2023 (Denis Villeneuve)

I think given the material it would have been better as a TV mini-series, but there was already one made, and it was OK.

Flawed though it is, we all should have known that Lynch's version was unbeatable, though the SciFi mini-series had better hats...

I am probably one of the biggest Lynch fans on the site, but I will disagree here; even Lynch thinks his Dune isn't good. While he nailed the atmosphere and tone, his version is a total mess and doesn't capture the source material anywhere near as well as the far superior Villeneuve version. The idiotic weirding module stuff is a real head scratcher and the effects, which were rough then, look downright awful these days.

I still watch it now and then, as I like some aspects of it, and when I do, I make sure to watch the Spicediver edit, which is the best version of this flawed film.

The new version is head and shoulders better than anything else put to screen, and taking both films as the intended whole, one of the best pieces of science fiction cinema ever made.

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Agree 100% with you.

I'm actually not a huge Lynch fan other than MD and Dune, but he's a visionary (and master trickster) to be sure, so I can appreciate that others appreciate him.

With Dune, he was faced with three impossible tasks. First, to make a great science fiction movie. Second, to make one which served his peculiar vision. Third, it had to be a big holiday blockbuster.

And two out of three ain't bad.

But yes, the movie has HUGE problems, as do nearly all the handful of truly great SF flicks.

The only great SF movie I've seen that isn't riddled with problems is, quite ironically, Arrival, which I think it might be fair to call the greatest SF flick ever made.

But there are what - 5 others which are truly great?

2001, Solaris, Stalker, Dune and A.I.

That's my list anyway, though Minority Report and Contact are pretty damn good, as is Metropolis and a few others which are so strange or non-traditional that it might not be appropriate to call them SF. (Silver Globe and Clockwork Orange? What the heck are they exactly?)

But your list might be very different, and much longer, and if it includes Terminator and Star Wars and Star Trek films (for instance), these latest Dunes might be a better fit.

I have no idea where the Blade Runners fit in; after seeing Dune Part 1, I'm worried about the remake...

But my standards are impossibly high, and the genre is THE toughest to create a truly great work in. Much tougher than the VERY difficult horror genre for instance, where there are dozens of genuine masterpieces, including Kubrick's incredible bow.

So maybe if you shared your short list - the 5 or 10 films you consider the best of the best - I'l better understand how these latest Dunes fit in, and Lynch's doesn't.

I'm curious about the Spicediver cut, but the problem there - as with the 1988 Judas Booth cut - is that as Lynch said, he felt he was selling out at times, and shooting material that had no place in the final film.

My bottom line is that as soon as Dune 2 pops up on disc at Target, I am there, and praying that somehow, it redeems Part 1.

One of my favorite movies ever, crazy (literal) warts and all!

I don't consider stuff like Star Wars to be bonafide science fiction, and I fit it more into the genre of space fantasy or sci-fi fantasy - those are kids adventure flicks, really. If I had to put a short list together. it would have Blade Runnerat the top - see my Top 10 favorite films on my profile and you will understand why. You will note Arrival on that same list, so it would probably fall at #2 for me in the genre overall. 2001 would be on the shortlist, and I recognize it for its obviously quality, influence and its place as a seminal film, but it's not one I return to over and over.

I like Contact, but I also think it is flawed in its third act. Great stuff and is clearly true sci-fi, but wouldn't make my Top 5.

Here is where you hit the MoFo eject button as far as my taste is confirmed, but I would probably put Interstellar at least in my Top 10 overall science fiction. Yes, it also has problems with its third act with its tesseract nonsense, but the daddy/daughter stuff far outweighs it for me, so I will shamelessly die on a hill for this film. I do return to the this one frequently, and I love every second of it.

Is Gravity true sci-fi, or more of a personal journey adventure centered around grappling with grief and loss? If it qualifies, it is certainly Top 5 for me.

That last slot would be filled by something Children of Men, Solaris, Stalker, Gattaca, 12 Monkeys and obviously I need to consider the recent two film Dune saga...stuff like that, and all depending on how recently I had seen them. My favorites move around a lot the farther away you get from the top couple of slots. Dune (2021-2024) is most certainly in contention, and me having watched both films again so recently puts some favorable bias on their chances. They certainly raised the bar as far as scale, and I think Villeneuve handled all the political intrigue in the best way possible considering how difficult the source is to adapt to screen. Zendaya is the weak link here.

That's a great response, though hush yo mouth re: Zendaya!

You're clearly cinematically sophisticated and not a "Hollywood can do no wrong!" zombie.

The biggest difference I can think of in our experience of Part 1 is that you saw it (and 2) in a theater, and I rarely do that.

This Dune is clearly a big screen spectacle, and seeing it that way may account in some significant way for your positive reaction.

You're also more familiar with the book, and while I would think that would lead to disappointment with any version yet made, somehow this pair of flicks grabs you.

I'm not saying I get it, but I'm ever more interested in seeing Part 2, albeit in the quiet of my domicile and not rampaging across a gigantic screen.

Depending on how that goes, MAYBE Blade Runner.

But in the meantime, back to some Hollywood B flicks from the Golden Age!

Personal update:

Target visited & target acquired; Dune Part 2 is now on my shelf to be (I hope not hate) viewed.

But a Scooby Doo Mystery is ahead of it in my queue, so the giant worms & meddlesome Fremen kids must wait.