Dune

Yeah, hes very different. Jackson actually improved on the source material.

LoTR books are boring. Dune is a masterpiece. You don't have to improve on the source material you need to make the best movie you can from it.

Luckily there are two starkly different Dune movies out there so people can take their pick. I love them both but Villeneuve nailed the tone and world of how I imagine the book.

I thought the new Dune was great when I was watching it in the cinema, but when I remember the big iconic scenes it's the Lynch ones that come to mind. The new one is strangely forgettable for a good movie.

Though that might simply be a factor of me seeing the Lynch one when I was younger.

We thank you for the gift of your body’s water.

Can I like Dune and LOTR?

Fuck yes and me too. LOTR was and is amazing. Dune is as gripping as it is spectacular.

I’ve finally sat down to watch part one - although have still got an hour left and have had to pause, so partial impressions but…

I’ve kind of been knocked sideways by it a bit. This may sound hyperbolic but the purity of how it feels is breathtaking. Fellowship is the last time this happened, although that had the benefit of me having read the books.

The music and cinematography is stunning. The effects are terrific - the explosions in particular make Oppenheimer look sh*t. Even the little ideas like the Benne Geserit with its voice and the ‘slow blade can kill’ shields feel really different.

It actually feels closer to LoTR and, weirdly, the good bits of GoT than most sci fi.

If that last portion maintains this level of special I’d say The Matrix was the last time something broke the mould this much for me.

I hadn’t read the books and still found it to be the best science fiction film since The Matrix. Part 2 can’t come soon enough.

That was the problem I had watching the new version. It's good, but it's also very similar to the Lynch version and my visualisation of the novel is also very tied to the Lynch version. So I enjoyed the new one a lot, while also comparing every scene to the similar one in the Lynch version.

Which isn't a knock against the new one, but it did take some of the impact away. And probably too much mental energy was spent on comparing everything. 

I honestly found both the film and the book boring (gave up on the book half way through - this was before seeing either version of the film). I barely remember anything from the film bar the hand in the box sequence, it's just so cold and dry. Lynch's film is much more memorable (and much more flamboyant).

I've loved Villeneuve's work since Incendies so I was quite surprised it didn't click with me.

I'll give it another go before Part 2 comes out, feels like I'm missing out.

Boardgame is a cracker though!

I re-watched Dune part 1 a couple of days ago. It really is very good but I can understand people thinking of Lynch's version. It was hammed up, more theatre play with loud, over the top acting style. It was also a one and done so it has all the book in the film. It was slammed though for being too expensive and too quick to tell the story so I would say both films have their faults.

I agree though that it was hard to get invested in some of the characters in the new one. Really hoping this part 2 just ramps everything up to 11.

I was late to the new Dune - I watched it about 3 months ago and was completely blown away.

The pacing was spot on - I never thought how long was left, but more 'I don't want it to end'.

Easily one of my favourite all-time films.

I’m surprised he didn’t find a way to squeeze him into The Hobbit

I think I read the books first so my visual model of how stuff looks isn't quite so tied to the Lynch version. Which I love but in a Flash Gordon way, the new one is definitely the better film.