I don’t get excited for a lot of movies anymore...but I’m definitely excited for Dune Part Two. Or Dune 2. Or Dune, Part II, however the nomenclature ends up.
So initially I linked to a so-called “teaser trailer”—but never mind, turns out it’s a fake! Which explains why it seemed so wonky, with some of the clips of the actors looking contemporary. DUH!
Anyway...
In the early 1980s, I was crazy for any big sci-fi film. David Lynch’s Dune (1984) was intriguing but, ultimately, a disappointment. I would revisit it every so often on videotape, and I absolutely loved the Toto soundtrack, but it was just stodgy and weird. All that goofy “thought” voiceover!
I remember trying to read the novel, but I was so young, and it was so dense and political, I was like, “never mind.”
The Marvel comic adaptation was really good—love that Bill Sienkiewicz art!
I do remember checking out the 2000 miniseries, and although the production value was diminished (it was kind of “Vegas”), it’s such a great story, I was into it.
The “original sin” of the Lynch film seems to be that it’s just impossible to tell this story as a single movie.
So Denis Villeneuve, with all the money in the world, has the talent and taste to make his two-film adaptation everything a big-screen Dune should be. Just the design of it all is breathtaking.
I loved the first film, and have high hopes for the second.