Artman

I'm wondering if I should take the same approach to this movie as I did LOTR... had never read the book(s), but read it in the months leading up to the movie. I had an understanding of the material and story, but was not tied to (or bothered by) any of the changes.

james2025a

I really cannot wait for this movie. I LOVE the Lynch movie, and know this will be a masterpiece. I always wonder what the Ridley Scott version would have been like. That was an early point in his career where he was at his peak of creativity.

Toddarino

To a novice like myself, is Jodorowsky’s Dune worth picking up?

Dr. Mantle

Jodorowsky felt that Dune was a mythology that came out the ether of human consciousness. He didn't want to film the novel, but recreate the myth.

Knowing what's in Herbert's book is kind of important if you want to understand how radically different Jodorowsky's film would have been. You can still enjoy the story of a magnificent project that never was, but maybe read the Wiki entry on Dune first.

story

I'm finishing Dune for the first time for my book club this weekend and I absolutely love it! Can't wait for this!

Quack

I feel like I tried to read this 10-15 years ago and it felt so over my head. I just picked up the real slick hardcover version a month ago, gonna start it on vacation next week.

Dr. DVD

Sources seem to be confirming that

Also, if you're a fan of Rebecca Ferguson, you should enjoy this movie. Apparently Lady Jessica serves as the individual whose POV drives the narrative. Paul is still the hero, but she's the one who takes over the narrative once done by Irulan in the Lynch version. Again, all rumors, but Ferguson does have the top billing spot on IMDB.

milo bloom

It's been a while for me but I don't remember the first book at least being overly difficult, just dense. Like there's a lot going on, but not crazy weird.
The later novels (of the original 6) ramp up the weird, but the first one is too bad.

Toddarino

I ordered the book today and hopefully get it tomorrow. I did learn that there’s six in the series. How far into the series does the Lynch film go?
Sorry for the questions. Usually I just dive into these sort of things and sort of figure it out like a blind man at an orgy. In this case I kinda want to start from the beginning and do it proper.

Hokeyboy

Do yourself a favor and don't read any of the sequels. It's not even about diminishing returns, more like a sudden plummet off a steep cliff.

joe_b

Just the first book. Dino De Laurentiis had optioned the film rights for the whole series, but the lukewarm reception to Lynch's version kept any sequels from being made.

Hokeyboy

The Lynch film cuts out a good 1/3rd of the novel. They basically jettisoned most of the 2nd half and went straight from Paul joining the Fremen to the Fremen rebellion with a chunk of clunky narration ("For the next several years...")

That said, I really enjoy Lynch's Dune if you accept it for what it is -- Dune: The Opera.

windom

The series is worth reading through at least God Emperor.

The SyFy mini-series covers through Children of Dune. I can't remember how much of Dune Messiah they included though.

DVD Polizei

Referring to Brian Herbert's novels? He sure pimped out a lot of them over a short period of time.

Dr. DVD

Right now I am re-reading the first book. I read it first back in 1993 after I taped the syndicated extended version off late night TV and it got me interested in the world. What's interesting is that I taped it under the impression that it was a David Lynch film but when I looked at the credits it was directed by some dude named Alan Smithee!! I initially thought someone wasn't straight with their facts until I read in books about what that meant (no internet in those days) and saw on the regular theatrical version that it was indeed Lynch. Anyhoo, because the Lynch version was all I had to go off of for reference I pretty much only got interested in the bits from the movie and didn't truly appreciate the rest of the book. I even took it a step further and read Messiah trying to envision a Lynch sequel in my mind, but it never really came together as it was obvious Herbert's world was vastly different in print. This time I'm better able to divorce my mind from Lynch and actually see everything as it should be, and I realize just how much of the 1984 version was pure Lynch weirdness.

Small book spoiler: the Baron talks a bit about how he needs to slowly convert Hawat to his side by playing to his mentat ego. As a safety plan, he secretly gives him poison in his food and also some antidote. Somehow, this got turned into this:

Dr. Mantle

The storytelling in the later books is every bit as good as the first one. Unless you only like Dune as a straight forward hero-becomes-a-messiah type adventure.

Hokeyboy

Disagree entirely on the former, won't bother commenting on the latter. By the time Herbert got to the "Secret Jews of the Universe", I wonder if someone needed to Baker Act the guy.

james2025a

YES!!!!! Its a superb documentary and one of the best on the last decade. The man himself is a great story teller and the promise of this movie is monumental. The talent he had ready to go on it was magnificent and the stories behind how he came across a lot of them are great.

Dr. DVD

The major issue with what Jodorwsky was trying to do was that it required technology that still hasn't been developed. Also, he wanted to make an 11 hour movie, which still wouldn't work. He did say at the end of the documentary he was open to letting someone put it out as an animated series. I think it would be cool, especially if done with the right people at the helm .

Giantrobo

joe_b

From what I recall, the book covers Jessica's POV more than Paul's in the first half. There's a lot of stuff they left out of both previous adaptations that I'd like to see (her confronting a drunk Duncan Idaho, for instance). I find the Bene Gesserit stuff interesting, so I don't mind if they decided to focus more on that character.

I read about the gender swapped Dr. Kynes last year. Rumored to be played by Sharon Duncan-Brewster, who had a small role as a politician in Rogue One. If true, I'm curious why they never announced it when they've already revealed who most everyone else is playing.

milo bloom

Is Dune "woke" ?

The original novel dealt with religious messiahs and fanatics plus a substance that opened your mind so much you could *literally* travel between the stars.
Plus, it was inspired by an essay called "They Stopped the Moving Sands" that was about environmental issues.

"Woke" is baked into its very DNA.

regards

Hokeyboy

Dune is literally about colonial (well, Imperial I suppose) powers exploiting a desert region (planet) for the most important natural resource in the world (universe), while the native tribes (native tribes) and their messianic figure rise up in insurrection against exploitation and tyranny.

I can't imagine what anti-establishment real-world parallels Herbert was trying to make here...

Dr. DVD

There are interviews where Herbert flat out states the methaphors. He knew he wasn't being subtle.

Bandoman

I've read the Frank Herbert books multiple times and loved all of them, and even enjoyed the prequels written by his son with some ghostwriter. The Dune universe fascinates me. I'm really looking forward to this movie.