Dune (Denis Villeneuve)

Discussion in 'Random Thoughts' started by purr1n, Oct 22, 2021.

  1. roshambo123

    roshambo123 Friend

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    The Chinese Theater screen is still decently large. I did think it was a little undersharp to my expectations but I chalked it up to aging eyesight.
     
  2. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    The IMAX screen at the Chinese is nice and large. Not a bad moviegoing experience at all.
     
  3. roshambo123

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    I worded that badly (as everything else it seems). I am aware of safe areas and shooting for different aspects. Obviously they need it framed correctly for home viewing.

    I should have said if they shot it 1.4 and never at any point used it that would have been a big waste. The Alexa LF sensor really isn't large format by any measure at 36x25, which is really full frame 135 format. It's not even medium format. At 36x18 you're even smaller.
     
  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    It's not the tech or your eyes. Villeneuve opted to employ the Bob Guccione Penthouse school of soft focus. Actually, the focus was all over the place.
     
  5. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    Didn't mean to talk down to you! Looking at the specs here: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1160419/technical?ref_=tt_spec_sm they did shoot at least some at full frame. They must have chosen in advance what to shoot in full frame and what to shoot anamorphic. And as is the usual with IMAX home video releases, the IMAX scenes will be shown 1.78:1 and the rest will be 2.35:1.
     
  6. roshambo123

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    Pulling focus is also going to be a tougher game with the bigger sensor.

    Don't worry, I'm dating an ex-SpaceX rocket scientist so I'm getting used to having someone unintentionally call me stupid.
     
  7. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Bah. Excuses. If one wants shallow depth of field, then one needs to be careful. 70mm film back in the day. Lawrence of Arabia didn't have these problems. Cinematographer Freddie Young would have pulled the heart plugs outta camera operators that didn't know how to focus. Then again, Mr. Young did a million films going way back before Arabia.

    Chalk it up to a decline in the craft when armorers on the set don't even know how to check guns for live rounds.
     
  8. Cellist88

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    Lol blade runner 2049 just simply looks better on the cinematography end.
     
  9. roshambo123

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    The f**k up on the Baldwin set is obviously a massive error that sounded like it was part of a bunch of fuckups that had been happening for awhile.

    And to be fair, Lawrence had a ton of deep focus and probably was a bit easier to pull. There wasn't a such thing as a handheld with a Super Panavision 70 camera.
     
  10. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Same guy in 2049 as Sicario, Skyfall, True Grit, No Country for Old Men, O Brother, Where Art Thou, Kundun, Sid and Nancy. All these films looked beautiful.

    The Dune guy? A few episodes of The Mandalorian? Rogue One?

    I think it shows. But what I do know. I bet he will get an Oscar nomination for Dune (2021).
     
  11. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Someone like Kubrik would have been anal enough after reviewing the dailies to ask the DOP to fire the 1st AC.

    True true. However, it takes more skill, higher artistry, to frame deep focus. Shallow focus can be a cheap one-trick pony.
     
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2021
  12. roshambo123

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    He should have been fired for a long list of infractions and unsafe conduct from what they're saying.

    Shallow focus can be a substitute for careful composition and compensate for cheapness in production. Deep focus can also be stiff and pretentious when done wrong. Horses for courses.
     
  13. Boops

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    Haven’t watched it yet, but this made me laugh:

    47E05CFF-86C2-44C1-A6B0-D74222AB3063.jpeg
     
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  14. BarnBurner

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    My son called it "a 2 hour trailer". I liked it.

    Never read the book, but I did worry that this version was going to be a remake of the Lynch movie, which is kind of how it started. Maybe if I read the book I'd like the Lynch version, but as just an outsider movie lover, I think it's one of the worst movies ever made. With Marvel having become fully Disneyfied, I was glad Dune retained some grit and darkness.
     
  15. oldschool

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    IMO the Lynch movie is far from that. In fact, the new one makes you appreciate the original better in some regards, like some parts of the script and some designs. For example, certain lines from 1984's Dune are much more memorable. I think Villeneuve wanted to avoid repeting the script of the original but lacked the imagination of how to do that. The best example that comes to mind is the Gurney knives scene with Paul. It is much better scripted in the original, with memorable lines like "Mood is for cattle and loveplay". The gom jabbar scene also has better dialogue in the original. The new one just leaves me empty and the scene passes by as if it never happened. Some of the designs and costumes in the original are also more memorable.
     
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  16. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    What's interesting is that both Lynch and Villeneuve take much of the dialog directly from the novel, but Lynch retains more of the idiosyncrasies of the way different characters speak. Villeneuve does use a lot of direct dialog but sidesteps many of the more memorable lines and the result is that many of the characters have interchangeable dialog that almost anyone could say. Lynch also retains the internal monologues so you get better insight into what characters are thinking. While they feel corny, they are necessary for certain scenes. The Shadout Mapes scene loses so much context in the new movie because it fails to convey Jessica's awareness of the consequences of the encounter and her decision matrix as she weighs each word for maximum effect on the Fremen woman who's been heavily indoctrinated by Bene Gesserit religious propaganda.
     
  17. crenca

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    I don't think I have watched Lynch's Dune (or for that matter read the books) since the 1980's, so I picked up the Blu-ray a few months back and watched it last night after reading most of this thread. I sort of get why the non sci fi reader, "spectacle" seeking movie goer rejected it. It's a throwback to when movies had rational plots and were well shot/designed. The acting overall is subpar (and at points really bad), and the quality of just about everything is very uneven, but it is a better movie/story than most of what comes out of Hollywood today.

    All that is just on its own. As a vehicle for the sci-fi and the book, it's not that bad either, and though its been a long time since I read the books it struck me as faithful to the story and atmosphere. It certainly was more faithful to Dune than Jackson was with Tolkien's LOTR, though Jackson's caricature was very appealing. Jackson's take on The Hobbit however was not, indeed I found it obnoxiously bad both on its own and in comparison to Tolkien's story.

    Based on the comments here, I won't be seeking out Villeneuve's effort, though I would watch it at home if it was free... :D
     
  18. boomer

    boomer New

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    I knew 10 minutes into the film its gonna blow. Why would studio even let Villeneuve pick this project to direct? He isn't some Cameron type director who is gonna be theirs cashcow with his talents. Why pick this and then give it typical Hollywood treatment with casting Zendaya and add more scenes with Momoa to bring more casuals. Why would you want casuals to watch Dune? It has just terrible decision making written all over it. Super boring movie to me.
     
  19. NationOfLaws

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    Good news! They greenlit the sequel.
     
  20. Qildail

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    We went Monday afternoon to a half-empty theater. I must say the first thing that stuck out to me is how dark the film was. Physically dark. Like the projector threw a bulb before the movie started. I want to believe that this was not intended, but combined with the muted haze that seemed to be over the whole thing, it was hard to pick up all this detail they surely spent a boatload of money putting into the film.
     

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