ron@wjvax.UUCP (Ron Christian) (12/26/84)
(The filming is going badly! Throw another megabuck at it!)
Dune is another one of those movies that you don't start to pick
apart until you leave the theatre. Like 2010. Visually stunning,
it has some gaping holes in it.
I appreciate that they tried to compress a large book into a two
hour movie. And what's left of the plot is more true to the book
than any movie I've seen recently. However there are several points
that grate on my nerves, most of which I think I can attribute to
Dino and his daughter.
Anyone notice how wooden the acting was? Many times the actors
are standing around awkwardly, like they don't know what to expect.
The characters of Leto and the Emperor were probably the worst.
The Emperor was played as a colossal wimp. Hey, this guy is supposed
to be holding a galaxy wide civilization together. And here he
spends most of his time cringing. Leto spends much of *his* time
looking uncertain and stepping out of people's way. In general
none of these people who are supposed to command vast hordes
(stilgar included) look like they could keep order at a boy scout
camp. All the awkward phrases (Reverand Mother: "They tried
and died" Stilgar's last phrase: "Maud...DIB" awk I guess you had
to be there) the wooden characterization, the inattention to
detail, the stress on VISUAL IMPACT VISUAL IMPACT VISUAL IMPACT
is *typical* of Dino de Heavyhand. Lots of examples of this:
The baron floating around like a huge gross baloon (In the book
he had antigravs to support his ponderous bulk, but no mention
was made of him flitting around like tinkerbell on acid), the
scene of gore and blood being washed into a trough (which had
no relationship to the previous scene or the next one) the
big black tube coming out of head and into nose of the Navigation
Guild ambassador (What in Hell???) the ships exploding from one
shot, (and the same explosion scene used twice!) all the soundwave
weapon crap, and the final scene in the movie, (I won't give it
away here) which doesn't make the least bit of sense and wasn't
in the book.
I could go on and on (I know: he's already gone on and on and on.)
but you get the idea. I just wish someone else had made Dune.
Kubrick, maybe. Or Run Run Shaw. Anyone.
--
Ron Christian (Watkins-Johnson Co. San Jose, Calif.)
{pesnta,twg,ios,qubix,turtlevax,tymix}!wjvax!ron