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When Denis Villeneuve ’s re - adaptation ofDunehit theaters last summer , it was instantly praise by critics as a vast melioration over David Lynch ’s former effort from 1984 . Villeneuve generate the originative Frank Herbert novel theLord of the Ringstreatment , introduce moviegoers to its plentiful , complex , sprawling universe and its compelling cast of character with promises of more exciting thing to get along .
While the 2021 version ofDuneis an undoubtedly secure picture show than the 1984 version , Lynch ’s movie is n’t a thoroughgoing disaster . It ’s let down by its fruitless bidding to cram the entire Frank Herbert opus into a individual film , but at least it ’s well - acted and visually sensational .
Things Dune 1984 Got Right
Psychedelic Visuals
The winder to visualizing Herbert ’s gonzo sci - fi construct from theDunebooks , like a planet full of drug miner getting terrorize by giant worms or a 600 pound crime lord bathing in a gloopy sour liquid state , is translating the uniquely phantasmagorical tone of the prose into unambiguously surreal imagery .
Both Villeneuve and Lynch cop the psychedelic visuals of theDune - iverse in dissimilar ways . Lynch put his first studio apartment - sized budget to good use with expressionistic , every - build - a - paint filming .
A Few Standout Performances
For the most part , the playing in 2021’sDuneis a raft stronger than the acting in 1984’sDune . The ‘ fourscore version has hammy acting thanStar Wars , while the 2021 variation has world - class performing artist like Timothée Chalamet and Stephen McKinley Henderson bringing all kinds of nuance and shade to the tabular array .
But the stamp of the 1984 version has a few standout actor who give fantastic performances . Brad Dourif afford a delightfully unbalance turn as Piter De Vries , the Harkonnen Mentat , while Patrick Stewart brings existent Shakespearian heft to the role of Gurney Halleck , one of Paul ’s mentors .
The “Voice”
Lynch ’s portrayal of the “ Voice , ” spell out in voiceover shape , is wildly controversial . The prolong mid - scene closeups of the character sometimes get a little ill-chosen , but this is arguably a better manner to envision the “ Voice ” as Herbert discover it on the page than Villeneuve ’s habit of sign language .
Both of these depictions of the “ Voice ” have their merits , but Lynch ’s version is arguably closer to a visual rendering of the root fabric – and , thanks to some trippy sound design , it ’s not just standard voiceover narration .
David Lynch Didn’t Shy Away From The Weirdness
The large fear with Hollywood version of seminal works likeDuneandWatchmenis that the studio that snap up the rights will modulate down the darkness and border of the source material in parliamentary law to invoke to the widest consultation possible .
Back in 1984 , when the brand of enfranchisement filmmaking that dominates today ’s movie industry was still in its infancy , Lynch did n’t shy away from the weirdnessofDune . His adaptation is chock full of gross - out laugh .
Things Dune 2021 Did Better
Denis Villeneuve Gave The Story Enough Room To Breathe
Villeneuve ’s destination to only adapt the first half ofDuneand save the 2nd half for a sequel is one of the independent reasons why his adaptation is higher-ranking to Lynch ’s . Not only was Lynch required to chock up Frank Herbert ’s full magnum opus into a individual movie ; he had to keep the runtime around the tight two - hour patsy .
Herbert ’s dense seed novel left Lynch with so much plot and exposition to get through that he was n’t able to give the story ’s deeper themes a chance to radiate . Villeneuve , on the other hand , impart the story plenty of way to emit , allowing the musical theme to rise to the surface .
The Scale Of The Action
When it hit field of operations amidst a sea of Marvel project and generic wannabe blockbusters , Dunewas criticized for its deficiency of action . There may not be a big conflict sequence every couple of minute , butthere ’s still plenty of action inDune .
Not only does Villeneuve bring a visceral intensity to sequences like House Harkonnen ’s attack on Arrakeen and Paul ’s ritualistic climactic competitiveness with Jamis ; the director captures the huge scope of those set - bit with sharp crossing - film editing and clarity of view .
The Acting Is More Nuanced
The acting in the originalDunemovie is fine , but the hammy , eccentric performances are too far removed from relatable human behavior for the mould to convince the audience that they ’re play tangible people .
The actors in the 2021 interlingual rendition , on the other hand , play their function as realistically as potential , grounding the trippy , futurist storytelling in a tangible reality . Zendaya brings more profundity and pathos to Chanias an expository cameo in 2021 than Sean Young did with a whole supporting role in 1984 .
The Holtzman Shields Look Much Better
This is a very small kick , but in the Lynch movie , the Holtzman shields ( the effect - field suits worn by Paul and Gurney during combat grooming ) are hideous . It ’s hard to tell what ’s going on , because the shield are make by plastering digital clipart - style cubes around the fighters ’ limb and trunk . It ’s worse CGI thanTron , which hit theaters two age earlier .
The effects are much , much better in the reboot . This is largely thanks to progression in technology , but Villeneuve ’s translucent spandex is substantially conceptualise than Lynch ’s digital cube - sleeve .
Immersive Cinematography
There ’s no doubt that Lynch’sDunelooks great , with visuals that complement the Son of Herbert ’s source stuff nicely , but the cinematography of Villeneuve ’s interpretation really channelise the audience to Arrakis .
conductor of photography Greig Fraser won a much - merit Oscar for his employment onDune . Fraser recently brought a likewise immersive , atmospheric aesthetic toMatt Reeves ’ rain - drenched , atomic number 10 - alight imagination of Gotham CityinThe Batman .
Breathtaking Musical Score
Like Fraser , Hans Zimmer gain an Academy Award for his oeuvre onDune , check off the fabled composer ’s 2d Oscar win for Best Original Score . The 1984 original featured Toto ’s first and only film score . Suffice to say , Zimmer’sDunemusic is more spectacular .
As usual , he uses atmospheric noises and a wall of phone to engage the hearing with the visuals . Zimmer ’s score is just as immersive as Fraser ’s filming .
NEXT:5 Ways Dune Is Denis Villeneuve ’s Best Movie ( & 5 Alternatives )
