We analyze the Blu-Ray of dunes, Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s bestseller of the same name
At Cinemascomics we have reviewed the home Blu-ray edition of dunes, which is already available in stores in limited edition Steelbook 4K UHD + Blu-Ray, 4K UHD + Blu-Ray, Blu-
Ray and DVD; as well as on digital platforms for rent and sale. The film stars Oscar-nominated actor Timothée Chalamet (Don’t look up), Rebecca Ferguson (Doctor Sleep), Oscar Isaac (moon knight), Josh Brolin (Avengers: Endgame), Stellan Skarsgård (Mamma Mia: Again and Again), Dave Bautista (Army of the Dead), Stephen McKinley Henderson (Lady Bird), Zendaya (Spider-Man: No Way Home), David Dastmalchian (the suicide squad), Chang Chen (red cliff), Sharon Duncan-Brewster (sex education), with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (red sparrow), with Jason Momoa (Zack Snyder’s Justice League) and with Oscar winner Javier Bardem (The Good Pattern).
The feature film is directed by Denis Villeneuve (blade runner 2049), with a script signed by Eric Roth (A star has been born), Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts (passengers), based on the novels written by Frank Herbert. The composition of the original soundtrack is carried out by Hans Zimmer (The Lion King).
SYNOPSIS: Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) is a brilliant young man born with a destiny greater than himself, he must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his House and his people. As rival houses challenge them to take control of Arrakis, the only place in the universe where spice is harvested, one of the rarest resources in the galaxy, which has the power to unlock the full potential of humanity, only those who manage to dominate their fears they will be able to survive.
Dune is already in stores in home format, so we have analyzed all the extras available in the Blu-Ray version. We hope you enjoy the extras as much as we have. In this way, we have set to work to discover everything that is hidden in the domestic edition of this adventure and science fiction thriller, which has already confirmed its second part.
So, we begin with the analysis, which is completely free of spoilers, in case you have not yet had the opportunity to see the tape and want to know everything it contains, with more than an hour of extra material.
Technical characteristics of the Blu-Ray:
- Contains 1 high-definition disc in an amaray box
- Format Type: 16:9
- Duration: approximately 155 minutes
- Languages: Dolby Digital 5.1: Spanish, English, Audio descriptive English. Dolby Atmos-TrueHD: English. DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1: Italian
- Subtitle: Spanish, Swedish, Cantonese, Chinese, Danish, Finnish, Greek, Korean and Norwegian. Codified for the Deaf: English and Italian
- Country: U.S
- Qualification: Not recommended for children under 12 years of age
- Direct access to Scenes: Yes
- Title OV: dunes
Trailer:
Bonus content:
The Royal Houses:
Actor Timothée Chalamet, who plays Paul Atreides, indicates that director Denis Villeneuve has a command of narratives driven by small or large characters. While producer Mary Parent claims that Dune is genius in part because of the great cast of characters, who are played by great actors. For his part, the filmmaker confesses that it is easy to get lost in the global magnitude of the story, but that after all it is a very powerful and complex story.
Along with this, Oscar Isaac states that the story focuses on House Atreides and what intrigues him about his character, Leto, is his tragic condition. The leader of the House wants the best for his people, but also that his son is a good successor, so he surrounds him with wise men who can help him, such as Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa) and Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin), who protect to the family.
On the other hand, Rebecca Ferguson plays Lady Jessica, a member of the Bene Gesserit Order and mother of Paul Atreides. The actress herself explains that her Order is a group of women with great power and strength. Meanwhile, House Harkonnen are the ancient enemies of the Atreides. This house has been in Dune and has exclusively controlled the spice for many generations, led by Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, played by Stellan Skarsgard. He is accompanied by his sadistic nephew Rabban, played by Dave Bautista.
But in the desert where the spice is harvested live the Fremen, native tribes that live in the deep desert, capable of adapting to the harshest conditions. Its leader is Stilgar, who is given life by Javier Bardem. While Zendaya embodies one of the most feisty and outstanding natives of Arrakis, called Chani.
The Spice Melange:
On the planet Arrakis there is a substance so valuable, so unique and so necessary for life that countless people have worked hard and even died to harvest this natural resource. Thus, control of its production guarantees great wealth and power to the house that claims it. It is used for space travel and also for consumption, which is why it is common in the natives of Arrakis, the Fremen. However, its consumption is addictive and harvesting it is dangerous, due to the giant sandworms that attack in the desert dunes.
The Sardaukar Battle:
The director comments that Duncan Idaho is one of the best sword masters in the galaxy. And actor Jason Momoa thinks he’s a beast, because he does the fight sequences like he’s dancing. A samurai-like fight choreography designed by fight coordinator Roger Yuan speaks highly of the actor and his training alongside Chad Stahelski. So, we see how they rehearsed and shot their fight sequences.
Filmbooks:
Small documentaries that explain and provide interesting details of the main houses, with their main history and members, such as the Atreides house and the Harkonnen house. But they also talk about the Bene Gesserit, the Fremen and the spice.
Inside Dune:
Videos that show us how key sequences of the film were shot, such as the training of Paul Atreides, how the spice is harvested and how the battle of the Sardaukar was recorded.
Building the Ancient Future:
The director confesses that the production of this film was a very long process, because everything had to be designed trying to respect the essence of Frank Herbert’s book. In this way, he firmly believes that everything possible must be built, because that influences the performance and him as a director, because new ideas arise on the set, and that is only provided by a real environment.
The Atreides family comes from Caladan, a place embedded in nature, like a medieval castle, which is in stark contrast to Arrakis. Thus, they teach us how environmental conditions influenced the design of the architecture of Caladan and Arrakeen; seeing the rooms and furnishings from Richard Roberts, the person in charge of decorating the sets, and also from the production designer, Patrice Vermette.
My Desert, My Dune:
Denis Villeneuve explains that the Dune movie took years to make because it was a challenge to respect the essence of Frank Herbert’s book and bring it to the big screen. For him it was important to develop a design inspired by nature, in real environments. In this way, the different concept artists discuss their designs and how they were based on the original story and the vision of the filmmaker. But they also talk about how they shot in the Jordanian desert to recreate Arrakis. While the Arrakeen City elements were shot in Budapest.
Constructing the Ornithopters:
Some elements of the film are closer to reality so that the public trusts the humanity and the drama of the characters, says the director. And he gives the ornithopter as an example. To recreate it, they looked at flying insects and birds. For the set they built a complete one that looked like it could actually fly and obey the laws of gravity. A military and functional helicopter, shaped like a dragonfly.
The wingspan of the ornithopter is almost 40 meters. It measures almost 23 meters and weighs 11 tons.
Designing the Sandworm:
For the director, once he accepted the Dune project, he realized that creating the sandworms would be the biggest challenge. For the Fremen it is a sacred creature, which represents the earth, creation, the cycle of life, produces spice and is a power far superior to humans.
Thus, the director comments that they tried to create the sandworm with the same characteristics that Frank Herbert used in his novel. To design their movements and appearance, they studied real creatures that camouflage themselves in the desert, to find out how they interact in their own environment. All this to achieve an impressive and terrifying creature that, in turn, is a representation of a god for the Fremen.
Beware the Baron:
The character of the Baron is a very small role. But given enough physicality, you can create a presence so strong that it overshadows the entire film, says Stellan Skarsgard, the actor tasked with bringing Baron Vladimir Harkonnen to life. Both the director and her co-stars praise her work, stating that she was stunning with her makeup and looks. A characterization that took a lot of work to design and many hours a day to complete the transformation of the actor into the Baron. The interpreter himself assures that putting on all the makeup takes a seven-hour process.
Wardrobe from Another World:
The director wanted the costumes to be otherworldly. Every detail had to be designed with complexity and style. Hard work done by costume designer Robert Morgan. So they made more than 200 special costumes, using lots of medieval references. Each house and faction had its own color. But there were also specific and complex suits, like stillsuits.
To New Soundscape:
When the Dune project began, the director sought to create new sounds that were unique and different, considering that sound is part of the entire cinematographic process. Sounds like those made by sandworms or ornithopters were created in conjunction with the filming process.
Along with this, recreating the Voice was quite a challenge, because it had to sound authentic, natural and not a synth effect. But it was always trying to balance sound design and music design.
Composer Hans Zimmer immediately accepted the director’s proposal, because the Dune book is one of his favorites, so he just had to figure out how to capture a story that fascinated and admired. Given this, Denis Villeneuve asserts that Hans Zimmer experimented a lot and even created instruments, trying to define a new musical language, that his musicians played the instruments differently, to create sounds never heard before.
Reference-www.cinemascomics.com
