Dune, adapted by Denis Villeneuve

Ezekiel

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No it isn't, it's super saturated, especially in dramatic scenes.

Not as desaturated as I remember. The visuals of BR 2049 were one of the things I DID like about the movie. However, the desaturated style is still common enough in Villeneuve's movies that I expect it.
 

crimson5pheonix

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Not as desaturated as I remember. The visuals of BR 2049 were one of the things I DID like about the movie. However, the desaturated style is still common enough in Villeneuve's movies that I expect it.
His movies in general aren't desaturated though, they're stage lit, with gels. So his scenes are usually bathed in color, it's just that he likes to only use one or two colors to create a super high contrast in the shot. While it does result in a lot of darkness in the picture, it's because he's doing the exact opposite of desaturation.


It's just a blue wash, so the only color you see really is blue, but there's a ton of range to that blue.


It's blue again, mostly from the police lights. There's only a limited number of non-blue lights illuminating anything, so the scene is very black and blue, but the blue is strong.

And of course Blade Runner had a cornucopia of color, but in a limited number of colors. Villeneuve likes to do stage lighting, which has lots of use of negative space and blacks, so he'll wash scenes in one color to make it monochromatic and maybe occasionally use a bright colored spotlight to highlight something. But the colors he uses are typically very saturated, and fill the screen when he's not making hard dark contrasts.

The only one of his movies I think is actually desaturated is Sicario, which is a very very grounded gritty movie. His only real problem I would say that might pop up here is his love of monochromatic shots makes him want to throw particles in the air so it can be the same color as the ground, and sometimes the sky needs to be blue and the ground sand colored when outside, Denis.
 

09philj

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The only one of his movies I think is actually desaturated is Sicario, which is a very very grounded gritty movie. His only real problem I would say that might pop up here is his love of monochromatic shots makes him want to throw particles in the air so it can be the same color as the ground, and sometimes the sky needs to be blue and the ground sand colored when outside, Denis.
And Sicario's not particularly desaturated anyway, more just carefully curated to have a limited palette while keeping fairly neutral lighting.

I also strongly disagree with the assertion that Villeneuve's movies are soulless. He's just disinclined to show characters' thought processes in very overt ways, especially when it comes to their emotions. He's got a real talent for being able to put you right there in the middle of things with the characters which I think will serve Dune very well.
 
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happyninja42

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Is it worth reading the book? My sister bought a few weeks back, and it looks quite long. Kinda want to be informed before I watch the movie though.
It's considered one of the most influential and compelling science fiction novels ever written. On par with LoTR for it's impact on the genre it was based in. The original series by Frank covers several 10s of thousands of years, and shows the long term impact of certain persons of power, and how their actions rippled out through a galactic society through the generations. It's got wars, sex, political intrigue, espionage, betrayals, mysticism, commentary on politics and economies, indigenous peoples, etc.

So, if those kinds of things are your jam, then yeah I would recommend reading it. It's one of the most influential works of fiction for me personally, both the novels, and the David Lynch film from the 80s (which pretty much set in stone my sexual attraction to older, strong women with dark hair and striking eyes, along with a lot of other things).
I have no clue what your tastes are personally, so you might not like it? *shrugs* For example I love Frank's books, but the stuff his son wrote after his death, I can't stand.

OT: I'm really on board for this film. So much so. One thing I noticed that I thought was kind of neat, was how similar in sort of...skull shape and facial features, Batista is to the Beast Raban actor from the David Lynch film.

Denis is my current favorite director, so much so that he's pretty much the only director, aside from Christopher Nolan, that I will actually take notice of a film, simply because they are tied to it. That's not normally something I give a shit about. But with how much Arrival and BR 2049 impacted me personally, he's definitely got a vision and style that synchs up very heavily with my own sensibilities.

So yeah, I'm SO psyched for this film.
 

Johnny Novgorod

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And Sicario's not particularly desaturated anyway, more just carefully curated to have a limited palette while keeping fairly neutral lighting.

I also strongly disagree with the assertion that Villeneuve's movies are soulless. He's just disinclined to show characters' thought processes in very overt ways, especially when it comes to their emotions. He's got a real talent for being able to put you right there in the middle of things with the characters which I think will serve Dune very well.
None of the Villeneuve movies I've seen could be described as desaturated. In fact I more or less remember them as color-coded. I remember the yellows in Enemy, the blues in Prisoners, the greens in Arrival, the oranges in Blade Runner, etc. From memory I guess Enemy has a faded look but it's also drenched in light and rich hues. In fact every movie I can think of by Villeneuve has a very rich distinct look and carefully curated palette.
 

Thaluikhain

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And Sicario's not particularly desaturated anyway, more just carefully curated to have a limited palette while keeping fairly neutral lighting.
Half the film is in Mexico, and there's a law that says you have to do something to the colour of the sky when your film is set in Mexico.
 

Ringo

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Looks ponderous and overwrought, like the rest of Villeneuve's films. I can tell people will love it based on how much boy wonder Chalamet is scowling.
 

Terminal Blue

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I mean, there's not much to go on. I like Villeneuve's previous films, and it's interesting to see his take on the aesthetic of the Dune universe, but I also feel like we've seen this aesthetic before at this point so it's not super exciting.

It's just a trailer, but there's also a noticeable lack of variety between scenes. Obviously, there's an in-universe reason why everyone in Dune wears bodysuits a lot of the time, and some of the way characters were coded in Dune (especially the Harkonnens) is kind of questionable now, but having every character in armor or bodysuits or very subdued dress uniforms doesn't really establish a clear visual identity for anyone.

I mean, it's not bad, but other than the Dark Souls sandworm at the end (which admittedly is kinda rad) I'm not feeling hugely excited. It's the Holy Roman Empire in space, think of all the fun you could have with that concept in terms of visuals.
 
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Hawki

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Why does the sand worm look like a giant vagina? :(

Anyway, I can't say onboard. The film looks way too drab for a world that's meant to take place (mostly) on a desert planet. Also, it's lacking a kind of...essence? Like, less Dune, more generic sci-fi.
 
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Chimpzy

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Why does the sand worm look like a giant vagina?
It doesn't? You could argue it looks like an anus, but if its mouth is supposed to look like a human body part, I'd say it's the pupil and iris of an eye.

Tho it also kind of reminds mee of a cross between the mouth of a lamprey and some species of worm, and the baleens of a whale.
 

happyninja42

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Why does the sand worm look like a giant vagina? :(
Maybe because various worm orifices look freaky as shit and look like toothed vagina/anuses? Because that's pretty much what they are? I mean really, what the hell do you think it should look like? A cartoon smiley face?

I mean hell, just google lamprey mouth and there you go. Shit looks freaky as fuck.
 

Specter Von Baren

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Why does the sand worm look like a giant vagina? :(

Anyway, I can't say onboard. The film looks way too drab for a world that's meant to take place (mostly) on a desert planet. Also, it's lacking a kind of...essence? Like, less Dune, more generic sci-fi.
Reminds me more of the stretchy "sphincter" like texture you get on some 3D models that the hoi polloi aren't supposed to see.
 

Buyetyen

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I like the sense of scale with the sand worms. Really conveys how terrifyingly huge these things are.
 

Dalisclock

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Half the film is in Mexico, and there's a law that says you have to do something to the colour of the sky when your film is set in Mexico.
Wait, what? Is this a joke? If not, could someone explain?

I know we have a couple of Mexican Escapists and maybe one of them is familiar with it?
 

Thaluikhain

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Wait, what? Is this a joke? If not, could someone explain?
A lot of films will play with the colours (usually an orange filter or something) for scenes set in Mexico, I guess to make it look extra hot and deserty or something. Become a bit of a cliche.


(Just googled "mexico films orange" and that was the first result, although a lot of people say yellow instead of orange)
 

Iron

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...Did you swap Jihad for Crusade?
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