After the National Day in October, we ushered in a science fiction blockbuster film "Dune". From the announcement of the project, the film has attracted much attention. The reason why science fiction blockbusters start from the original book. The novel Dune, written by American science fiction giant Frank Herbert, came out in 1965 and won both the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award, the field's highest honors.
The cast of this film can not be underestimated, the male protagonist is "Sweet Tea" Timothy Chalame, and the supporting roles are actors who can carry a big-budget film. There is "Mission Impossible" girl Rebecca Ferguson, Jason Momma who plays Aquaman and Josh Brolin who plays Thanos, and even less than 20 minutes later than 20 minutes are "Spider Woman" - Emmy Award queen Zamdaya Coleman.
A film can make the main actors in the 4 IPs of "Avengers", "Aquaman", "Mission Impossible" and "Spider-Man" join, and its charm can be imagined. The reason why "Dune" has such a great magic, in addition to the huge appeal of the original novel, the director and screenwriter are also big names in the industry.
Herbert, the author of Dune, used words to construct a vast virtual worldview that undoubtedly had epoch-making influence in the 1960s. After the novel was published, derivatives such as comics and video games adapted from it also became best-selling products, and it was the dream of generations of filmmakers to bring it to the big screen.
Because of the grandeur of the scene and the surreal concept, the filmization of this novel has become an extremely difficult or even impossible task. The first to try was Alessandro. Zodlowski, helpless project eventually aborted. In 1984, Dune was first made into a movie, neither acclaimed nor acclaimed, and legendary director David Lynch called it the most trashy film he had ever made.
In the more than 30 years since then, this sci-fi big IP has been regarded as a hot potato by people in the industry and no one dares to touch it. Until 2016, after Legendary Pictures purchased the film and television adaptation rights, it announced the launch of the film shooting plan. Blade Runner 2049 was directed by Villeneuve, written by Eric Rose, who won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
After the film was first screened at the Venice Film Festival, the word of mouth was good. After the first wave of film critics evaluated, the Rotten Tomatoes index reached 83%, of which 24 fresh and 5 rotten. Giving the perfect score, critics of Empire and Complete Cinema praised the film, "The film has a stunning spectacle, grand scale and pursuit. ”
Critics such as The Hollywood Reporter and Vanity Fair have only given failing scores, some people think that the director hoped to correct the performance of the '84 version but could not do anything, and some people complained that this is to make the film grand in a funny way, the most demanding statement is that most of the audience will gradually lose consciousness (in the movie), and perhaps only fans will be excited.
Critics who give moderate ratings also believe that the viewing process may become a lengthy road, which can be seen to be slightly dull for non-book fans. This is what the Internet says, word of mouth may be good, but the box office results are very worrying, after all, not the vast majority of audiences like science fiction themes, more than 150 minutes of time will make people sleepy.
Unlike the polarization of foreign countries, domestic industry insiders have given high evaluation. Chen Sicheng, who is preparing "Mozart in Outer Space", was deeply touched, saying that he could not wait to see the sequel, and also suggested that domestic staff study hard. Chen Sicheng said that this film is the highest goal that all directors dream of, and it is also the direction they pursue.
On October 22, "Dune" was released in anticipation and won the pre-sale championship on the opening day. The day before the release, the pre-sale box office exceeded 10 million, which was much higher than the "First Incense" released at the same time. There are still many people who worry about whether Dune, which invested $165 million (about 1.1 billion yuan), can recoup its costs.
Although praised by all actors as a good director who really knows how to create, he was questioned by many industry insiders when shooting "Blade Runner 2049", and the director of the old "Blade" said that the film could be cut for another 30 minutes.
Although it grossed $260 million worldwide, it still lost $80 million. The director himself said that after experiencing such a failure, some people let him shoot the expensive "Dune", and he felt very lucky.
The film begins with a dream by Paul (Timothy), heir to the Ertridi family, of a girl with blue eyes, Chini (Zandaa), and the endless desert. Paul's father was Duke Leto Ertridi, and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca), was a member of the Beni Jesserit Sisterhood.
From the conversation between Jessica and the Virgin Mary, it can be seen that the members of this ancient organization have "voice control", and in the prophecy all members will give birth only to girls, except Jessica. Jessica had always believed that her son was the son of prophecy, and Paul had passed the Gorm Thorn test.
Had it not been betrayed by traitors, Duke Leto would not have died at the hands of Duke Haknum. Paul's fighting coaches, Gonny (Josh), and Duncan (Jason), the swordsman, are both loyal to the Erridi family. Kearney was strict with Paul, always reminding him to be ready. Duncan used his life to save the mother and son.
The final guide paul out of it is the dream girl Chini (Zendaya), who embarks on an adventure with Paul. Although in this part, Zandaya does not play much, except for the occasional appearance in dreams, until the last 20 minutes of the film.
The macro scenes of the film are exciting, and there are many places that move the audience. Rebecca's performance is contagious, a scene where she cries outside the door, where her son is in a crisis, and she can't do anything as a mother. When she hears her son's screams, her performance makes it easier for the audience to believe, because this is a natural expression of mother-son love.
Jessica was not the wife of Duke Leto, but the two were surprisingly consistent in their approach to Paul's questions. Leto asked Jessica if she would protect her son, and her eyes were full of determination, "I will protect with my life." "Actress Rebecca is the actor who plays with Sweet Tea the most in the film, and the mother-son relationship is deeply touching.
Another touching scene is when the pair Jessica and Paul are besieged by Duke Hacknam's men. Duncan, the swordsman played by Jason, resolutely closed the door behind him. Despite facing a large number of opponents, he chose to sacrifice himself in exchange for the lives of his wife and heirs. The most painful thing was that after the middle sword fell, he pulled out his sword with all his strength, just to buy more time.
Zhang Zhen's role is small but very critical, he plays the "Doctor Yue" when his allegiance to the Erridi family is facing a crucial choice, and his performance makes the audience very touched. Zhang Zhen performed the entanglement and mystery of this tragic character, and was called the world's favorite actor by the director.
The 100% restoration of the dream in the film makes people who have seen the original book shout that it is too real. The phrase "Dreams are messages from the depths of consciousness" brings out the epic temperament of Dune. In order to present the scenery of different planets, the director led the team to shoot in many parts of the world, from the ice fields of Norway, the rock formations of Jordan to the deserts of Abu Dhabi, forming a beautiful science fiction picture.
The only condition the director proposed for filming "Dune" was that he wanted to shoot on the spot, rather than transporting the sand to a man-made location. Nearly half of the film's scenes were filmed in the desert, creating unique fortress-like structures on the planet Dune, and because of the high temperatures in the desert, they could only shoot in the early morning and midnight.
Lead actor Zhang Zhen revealed that the palace of the Erridi family was built on real scenes, which gave the actors a sense of reality and could enter the world of dunes. Because the scene was so dark, you couldn't even see each other's faces. The effect of natural light is presented in the film, which is very atmospheric. He also said that the glowing "spices" are not made of special effects, but are made of cosmetic mixed sand.
Director Dennis Villeneuve was fascinated by the novel "Dune" at the age of 14 or 15, and he confessed that the movie "Dune" was his love letter to the big screen, for such a dream work that devoted all his efforts. Many viewers said they were relieved to see him directing, because it was an impossible task.
Sweet Tea, who won an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for "Little Women," almost pleaded with the director for the first time, saying sweet tea was the first and only person he chose to play Paul. The director praised Sweet Tea for having all the qualities of playing Paul, and there was no alternative plan when casting.
Rebecca, who plays Mrs. Jessica, said she was lucky to play Sweet Tea's mother, and Sweet Tea praised Rebecca for her excellent acting skills. Zhang Zhen said that Sweet Tea is a very talented actor and has high requirements for himself. He said that Because Sweet Tea is an actor with method acting skills, he acts very hard and has to shut himself in Paul's world every day.
Director Villeneuve said in an interview that he was attracted to Zandaya's charm and filmed more and more scenes for her. The director said he was inspired by Zandaya and created something improvised. It is reported that in the sequel, Chini (Zendaya) will be the main character, and Paul is still the focus of the film.
The director confidently expressed great optimism about the sequel. Warner and Legendary Pictures are both supportive of the project, and will not make a sequel unless the box office is very poor, "because they love the film very much and are proud of it, and want to continue to promote the project." Foreign media have reported that Warner's booking of "Dune" spin-off drama "Dune: Sisterhood" is likely to create a dune film and television universe.
At the premiere of the Venice Film Festival, industry insiders said they had finally seen a decent Hollywood blockbuster. After the screening was closed, it received a standing ovation from the audience for 8 minutes, which also set a record for audience applause at the film festival.
This article is original by the author of "Exclusive Film and Television", "Ying Luo", without the authorization and consent of the author, any other platform account shall not reprint this article, and the offender shall be investigated for legal responsibility. Welcome to subscribe to "Exclusive Film", thank you for your support!