| 1 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dune2021_9.jpg]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:350:''[[{{Tagline}} Beyond fear, destiny awaits.]]'']] |
| 3 | %% |
| 4 | ->''Dreams are messages from the deep.'' |
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| 6 | ''Dune'', or ''Dune: Part One'' (stylized as ''ᑐ ᑌ ᑎ ᕮ''), is an epic SpaceOpera ScienceFiction film and an [[TheFilmOfTheBook adaptation]] of Creator/FrankHerbert's seminal 1965 novel ''Literature/{{Dune}}'', produced by Creator/WarnerBros and Creator/LegendaryPictures. It is directed by Creator/DenisVilleneuve and co-written by Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth, and [[DividedForAdaptation covers roughly the first two-thirds of the novel]]. |
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| 8 | The story takes place in the far future of humanity, in the Galactic Padishah Empire. By Imperial decree, Duke Leto of House Atreides is given stewardship of the dangerous desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune, the only source of the most valuable substance in the universe, the Spice Melange. The Spice is a drug that extends human life, provides superhuman levels of thought, and makes foldspace travel possible. |
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| 10 | Although Leto knows the opportunity is an intricate trap set by his enemies, House Harkonnen (who were in charge of harvesting the Spice on Arrakis before and had to withdraw), he takes his Bene Gesserit concubine Lady Jessica, young son and heir Paul, and most of his trusted advisers to Arrakis. Leto takes control of the Spice mining operation, which is made perilous by the presence of gigantic sandworms. A surprise attack by the Harkonnens and Imperial Sardaukar then overwhelms House Atreides, and Paul and Jessica flee in the desert in search of the Fremen, the natives of Arrakis. While on the run, Paul has visions of a possible destiny for himself, and a bloody one at that, which might change the galaxy forever... |
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| 12 | The cast is pretty [[AllStarCast star-studded]], with Creator/TimotheeChalamet as Paul Atreides, Creator/OscarIsaac as Duke Leto Atreides, Creator/RebeccaFerguson as Lady Jessica, Creator/{{Zendaya}} as Chani, Creator/StellanSkarsgard as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, Creator/DaveBautista as Glossu Rabban Harkonnen, Creator/JasonMomoa as Duncan Idaho, Creator/CharlotteRampling as Reverend Mother Mohiam, Creator/JoshBrolin as Gurney Halleck, Creator/JavierBardem as Stilgar, Creator/DavidDastmalchian as Piter De Vries, Stephen [=McKinley=] Henderson as Thufir Hawat, Creator/ChangChen as Dr. Wellington Yueh, and Creator/SharonDuncanBrewster as Dr. Liet-Kynes. |
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| 14 | The film was originally scheduled for release on December 18, 2020, but was pushed back to October 22, 2021 due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic. The film had its world premiere on September 3, 2021 at the Venice Film Festival and was released in most countries ahead of the US release. It was simultaneously released in theaters and on [[Creator/{{Max}} HBO Max]] in the US. |
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| 16 | ''Film/DunePartTwo'' was greenlit right after the release of ''Part One''. It covers the remainder of the book and was released on March 1, 2024. Villeneuve has also been announced to direct the pilot for ''Dune: Prophecy'', a live action SpinOff series [[ExpandedUniverse set in his film's universe]] and focusing on the Bene Gesserit, for Max. Diane Ademu-John is set to serve as showrunner. The RealTimeStrategy game ''VideoGame/DuneSpiceWars'', while technically not an adaptation of this movie, takes plenty of visual cues from it. |
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| 18 | For the other live-action adaptations of ''Dune'', see ''Film/Dune1984'' and ''Series/FrankHerbertsDune''. |
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| 20 | Previews: [[https://youtu.be/n9xhJrPXop4 Official Trailer]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g18jFHCLXk Official Main Trailer]]. |
| 21 | ---- |
| 22 | !!''Dune'' provides examples of the following tropes: |
| 23 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 24 | |
| 25 | [[folder:Tropes A]] |
| 26 | * AccentsArentHereditary: Baron Harkonnen has Stellan Skarsgard's natural Swedish accent, which is not shared by his nephew, Rabban. In the books, Rabban was born on a different planet from the Baron, which could explain it. In the sequel film, Feyd-Rautha has a very similar accent and speech pattern as the Baron and also shares his ruthless cunning. |
| 27 | * ActionFilmQuietDramaScene: In the middle of Paul and Jessica's desperate flight into a sandstorm, a loud and chaotic event, the film cuts to a quiet scene of Baron Harkonnen's convalescence. |
| 28 | * ActionPrologue: The movie begins with a group of Fremen, including Chani and Jamis, attacking Harkonnen spice harvesters. |
| 29 | * ActorAllusion: Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac) tells Paul that he always wanted to be [[Film/StarWarsTheForceAwakens a pilot]]. |
| 30 | * AdaptationalAttractiveness: |
| 31 | ** Gurney Halleck, described in the books as an "ugly lump of a man", is played by the ruggedly handsome Josh Brolin . |
| 32 | ** In the book, Rabban is described as short, ugly and fat, rather the opposite of everything his actor Creator/DaveBautista is. |
| 33 | ** In the novel, Gaius Helen Mohiam is a decrepit old mystic repeatedly described as a fairytale witch, complete with a SinisterSchnoz, while in the film she is portrayed by the queenly, elegant Creator/CharlotteRampling. |
| 34 | ** In the book, Mentats showed red stains on their lips caused by the Sapho juice they drink to boost their cognitive powers. In the film, this is represented more symbolically and artistically, with Mentats Thufir Hawat and Piter de Vries having just a black dot either painted or tattooed on their lower lip. |
| 35 | * AdaptationalBadass: |
| 36 | ** In the sense of having special powers where they originally had none. Suk Doctors are not supposed to have superhuman skills in the novels, with their most uncanny trait being their mental conditioning meant to impede them from inflicting harm to their charges. In the film, Dr. Yueh seems to have the ability to read someone's vital signs and state of health solely by touching and feeling them. This ironically makes him closer to a person with Bene Gesserit training (which he actually does have, courtesy of his wife, though it's mostly used to lie more convincingly as well as analyse the truth of the Baron's words in the novel). |
| 37 | ** Baron Vladimir Harkonnen becomes more badass partially due to the fact that his anti-gravity devices can enable him to fly and hover in the air, instead of just assisting him with walking (though this element has been present in both previous adaptations). [[spoiler:In the book, the Baron openly admits his physical weakness and him surviving the murder-suicide was a blatant DiabolusExMachina relying on a chain of [[ContrivedCoincidence unlikely coincidences]] that all inexplicably line up; later in the book's end the Baron becomes a prime example of a ZeroEffortBoss, as even a child was able and did kill him as soon as there was nobody constantly protecting him. However, in this adaptation the Baron survives Leto's murder-suicide by using his own wits and the aforementioned anti-gravity devices to fly higher where there is less poison and survive long enough until help arrives, thus proving that he is at least harder to kill than all his men that were with him in that room.]] Also, even without considering suspensors, he's strong enough to cut a person's head with a simple knife, one-handed. As Denis Villeneve himself said in the interviews, Baron is basically a ''rhino'' in human form. |
| 38 | ** Duncan Idaho is generally shown to be more competent here, lacking his pathetic drunk scene and other less than stellar moments. |
| 39 | * AdaptationalContextChange: |
| 40 | ** In the novel, the palm trees that lined the palace of a water-starved city were a sign of the Harkonnen reign, flaunting their water wealth to spite the native people. The movie describes them as sacred to the natives as representation of a dream for a better world,[[note]]the novel has a similar role with the palace having a climate controlled room full of greenery, which the Atreides spin as being held in trust for the people of Arrakis in anticipation of a terraformed planet[[/note]] and the trees are tragically burned during the Harkonnen attack. |
| 41 | ** In both the book and film, Paul is a vastly superior to Jamis during their DuelToTheDeath but repeatedly passes up opportunities to finish the fight, causing the Fremen to believe that he's JustToyingWithThem. In the book, this is because Paul has been trained to fight against shields and [[DamnYouMuscleMemory can't help but slow down his blows]] at the last moment, giving Jamis an opportunity to evade them. In the film, however, Paul is deliberately holding back because he is reluctant to kill Jamis. |
| 42 | * AdaptationalDumbass: |
| 43 | ** Rabban's moments of intelligence in the book, such as perceptively noting that the Harkonnens ought to do a head-count of the Fremen in case they become a threat or asking if the Emperor is aware that the Baron has managed to suborn a Suk doctor, are absent from the movie. He also tells the Baron that Paul and Jessica died in a sandstorm, a claim he appears to believe, making him come off as even less perceptive (in the book, the line is delivered by Captain Nefud, who the Baron notices acting twitchy when providing this report, suggesting that Nefud didn't fully trust it himself or knew the Baron would question it, but there's no indication of this in Rabban's demeanor). |
| 44 | ** The Baron accepts Rabban's statement that Paul and Jessica died from flying into a sandstorm, whereas his book counterpart flew into a rage when presented with this claim, knowing that it's premature to believe they're dead if the Harkonnens NeverFoundTheBody. Additionally, in the book Piter and the Baron develop the plan to bring the downfall of House Atreides. While the Emperor aided and supported him, it was largely The Baron's scheme. In the movie, The Baron is depicted as a junior, albeit extremely willing, partner in The Emperor's ploy. |
| 45 | * AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: |
| 46 | ** Rabban didn't appear until at least halfway through the novel, while the film shows him in the very first minutes of the prologue, in a flashback narrated by Chani about the Harkonnen government of Arrakis. |
| 47 | ** The Harkonnen's "pet" is a strange spider-like creature strongly implied to be either a mutated human or a human-monster hybrid. In the novels, the whole concept of mutated beings like that (with the exception of the Guild Navigators, which this clearly isn't) will not appear until ''Literature/HereticsOfDune'', set several millennia later, when the Tleilaxu show the ability to create genetically engineered cat-people named Futar. |
| 48 | * AdaptationalIntelligence: |
| 49 | ** Duke Leto activates his personal shield when he goes to check on Mapes lying on the ground, whereas in the book he considers it, but decides not to because he's in a narrow corridor and a shield will inhibit his movement and senses. [[spoiler:It gives him a few scant seconds before the poison dart drills through the shield and into him.]] |
| 50 | ** The Baron also activates his own shield while approaching Leto, something he neglected to do in the book. [[spoiler:His usage of it is more effective, as it helps him survive the poison gas.]] |
| 51 | ** The omission of the warnings about TheMole gives this to House Atreides. In the novel, assorted members are warned no fewer than three times that there is a traitor in their midst, with some evidence planted to implicate Jessica might be the traitor. As a result, it becomes somewhat bothersome that no one suspects the actual traitor (though to be fair, the traitor was ruled out because [[spoiler:Dr. Yueh had undergone conditioning intended to make him IncorruptiblePurePureness]]). In the film, the Atreides miss the traitor simply because they have no reason to suspect one exists. |
| 52 | * AdaptationalJerkass: |
| 53 | ** As in most adaptations, Gaius Helen Mohiam's most sympathetic moments towards Jessica are excised, leaving her as a creepy hag and little more. |
| 54 | ** This Chani is more distant and hostile towards Paul and Jessica when they encounter the Fremen, while in the book she was comparatively cheerful and helpful, only becoming funnily pushy when they started marching towards the sietch in haste. The change is especially visible in the duel against Jamis: in the novel, Chani gave Paul advice on how to kill Jamis, while in the film, all her help is to wish Paul a dignified death and assure him Jamis will make it quick. It reflects differences in the whole film's continuity, as those Fremen by default are almost uniformly hostile to non-Fremen as a result of the 80 years of Harkonnen cruelty, while in the novel the Atreides managed to have more contact with them and Liet before Jessica and Paul reached them, making them more trusting. [[spoiler:However, as per Fremen law, after winning the duel, Paul is now considered a Fremen as well.]] |
| 55 | ** Gurney Halleck is a gruff, stern soldier rather than the fun-loving guy of the book. |
| 56 | * AdaptationalModesty: Inverted for the Baron Vladimir, who has no qualms about meeting people while in the nude (first in a sauna, the second in a healing bath); his novel counterpart never did that, and in the book, his robes are a lot more flashy, though the good Baron still has a long trail on his dress to look impressive when he levitates. |
| 57 | * AdaptationalNiceGuy: |
| 58 | ** Ultimately, the Atreides themselves, as their more morally grey actions are erased. In this version, the Duke seemingly declared no kanly against the Baron at the beginning of the story, while the incursion to Giedi Prime that destroyed the Harkonnen spice reserves (which technically makes the Atreides those who attacked first in the conflict) is explicitly removed, with those reserves being mentioned to still exist afterwards. |
| 59 | ** The film's version of Dr. Kynes is noticeably more helpful and open with the Atreides at first, where the guy from the novel could be very aloof and spent more time detached from their workings and somberly judging them. This later extends to AdaptationalExpansion given that she takes a bigger role in their favor. |
| 60 | ** The Baron's personality change has the effect of making him look like a tired, contemplative man rather than a vicious psycho, even if he is just as evil. He is never seen verbally abusing his clansmen, unlike in the novel, and his sexual deviation is also excised. |
| 61 | * AdaptationalSecrecyDowngrade: In the books, the fact that the Sardaukar hail from Salusa Secundus is a closely-guarded secret (though Thufir Hawat figures it out, and makes the connection that the Fremen -- raised on an equally-harsh planet -- have the potential to match them in battle). The Baron certainly didn't know, having always assumed -- as the Emperor would have everyone believe -- that they're just the best recruits from among his regular levies. Here, it seems to be well-known to begin with: Piter goes to Salusa Secundus personally to negotiate their alliance with the Harkonnens, and the Sardaukar don't seem concerned about him knowing their origin, indicating they don't bother with secrecy in this continuity. |
| 62 | * AdaptationalSuperpowerChange: The Voice is portrayed much differently than is described in the books, both in aesthetics and effects. Rather than it being a subtle voice that ensnares the will of the speaker by smart talk, it is represented here as a hellish, visceral roar that can forcefully order the listener/target around. |
| 63 | * AdaptationalUgliness: |
| 64 | ** The Bene Gesserit typically have odd and forbidding fashion that make creepily stylish at best. Reverend Mother Mohiam in particular wears a spider-shaped headdress with a chain veil |
| 65 | ** In the film, everyone in House Harkonnen now has stark white skin and no hair whatsoever. |
| 66 | ** Sardaukar are described as looking just like anybody in the books, and as such they can pass as Harkonnen troopers with only a change of clothes. In this version, they are made to look like cultic barbarians, with wild hair and beards (officially patterned after [[TheBerserker berserkers]]), also including head tattoos, and whenever they speak, it sounds like some kind of BlackSpeech that shouldn't come from a human throat. |
| 67 | ** The Voice itself. In the novels, it is supposed to sound like a regular human voice, but in the film it is portrayed with sound effects that make it sound like a warped, demonic growl. |
| 68 | * AdaptationDeviation: |
| 69 | ** In the book, [[spoiler:Leto Atreides prematurely bites the poison capsule because in his delirium he mistakes Piter de Vries for Vladimir Harkonnen]]. In the movie [[spoiler:he is indeed confronted by Baron Harkonnen, but while everyone in the room is killed by the poison cloud, the baron is protected by his shield and then manages to float to the ceiling (where he presumably is safe from the gas) and can later be retrieved and healed]]. |
| 70 | ** The lesson about never turning one's back to the room's door is given by Thufir in the book, but it's instead given by Gurney in the movie. |
| 71 | ** As in the book, in the film it's explicitly stated shields can only be penetrated by slow-moving objects. However, this rule is then ignored for most of the film, where Duncan and the Sardaukar kill shielded opponents with full-speed slashes all the time, only needing to abide to the rule in very occasional and seemingly random instances. Given the mentioned characters are all physical specimens, it's possible shields in the movie simply don't work exactly as in the books and have now the additional vulnerability of being penetrable by overwhelming force regardless of the speed. |
| 72 | ** In the book, [[spoiler:Jessica using her voice on the Harkonnen soldiers is a lot more insidious and subtle, while in the film she flat-out orders them to kill each other]]. |
| 73 | ** The workings of the space travel are changed, as the Heighliners are now portrayed as a mobile PortalNetwork rather than mere space-folding transports. |
| 74 | ** Homing missiles are shown as being a standard part of any Great House' military arsenal. This contradicts the books' lore, by which any missile smart enough to home on a target by itself would normally be forbidden as a Thinking Machine (even what guided weapons do exist in the books must always have a human operator nearby controlling them in real-time). |
| 75 | * AdaptationDistillation: |
| 76 | ** While book readers will know that Dr. Yueh's diamond tattoo marks him as a Suk doctor, there is no reference to his conditioning and how he is theoretically [[spoiler:incapable of betrayal]]. |
| 77 | ** The Mentats are also relegated to a less important position in the plot; Paul's training as a Mentat is also not mentioned, with the focus being on his study of Bene Gesserit techniques. |
| 78 | ** Some scenes between the arrival of the Atreides on Arrakis and the Harkonnen attack (such as Jessica finding messages from Lady Fenring, the banquet hosted by the Atreides, and the subplot of Thufir Hawat [[spoiler:mistakenly suspecting Jessica to be a threat]]) are excised. |
| 79 | ** In the book, the Spice Harvester was lost to the worm because the Carryall was redirected by Harkonnen infiltrators, part of a larger campaign of subversion and sabotage in preparation of open hostilities. In the movie, it was simply due to faulty equipment because the Harkonnens took most of their hardware with them and left the Atreides only junk to mine with. |
| 80 | ** In the book, the initial appearance of The Baron is accompanied by a long section explaining both his plan and the steps he's taken to get there. In the movie, this is trimmed considerably, and the plan is shown to the viewer more than told. However, a few lines remain "When is a gift not a gift?" Conversely, Leto has long conversations about his plan to survive the Harkonnen plot, as well as his long-term plans for Dune. This is likewise cut down to a few lines about ruling through "Desert Power." |
| 81 | ** In the book, the Shield Wall is a mountain range that blocks coriolis storms from reaching Arrakeen. In the movie, the shield wall simply is the city's curtain wall that somehow stops 5000-meter high sand storms. |
| 82 | *** It should be noted that there is also a, somewhat modest by comparison, mountain range surrounding Arrakeen as a whole. So the film's portrayal seems to be more on a utilitarian side of natural and artificial barriers. |
| 83 | ** In the book, the [[spoiler:duel between Jamis and Paul]] occurs after the Fremen have moved to a more secure location, the Cave of Ridges. In the movie, presumably for reasons of pacing, this scene occurs much sooner, immediately after [[spoiler:Paul and Jessica meet with the Fremen]]. |
| 84 | ** The movie never mentions "kanly" or the war-of-assassins, the limited style of open warfare between houses in order to prevent innocents or third parties being caught in the crossfire. In the book, Duke Leto, responding to courteous Harkonnen diplomacy (which is to say, a blatant attempt to lull him in a false sense of security before the inevitable hostilities), declares kanly on the Harkonnens to force the issue. Arguably the Atreides strike the first blow by raiding the Harkonnen spice reserves on Giedi Prime with the help of Fremen volunteers. |
| 85 | ** Spice is primarily established as the substance that enables FTL travel (and thus automatically the most important substance in the universe). In the book, there is a conspiracy that is just starting to break down to keep people from noticing exactly how vital Spice is for the universe. In the book, Spice is life-prolonging and can induce limited prescience; in the film, the former is only briefly mentioned and the latter only present in Paul. Indeed, Spice is only described as a psychoactive with ceremonial usage for the Fremen, Dr. Yueh attributes Paul's Spice-induced vision as an allergic reaction rather than an expected phenomenon. |
| 86 | ** The movie never shows nor explains the effect of a laser hitting a shield - a critical element of the book that contributes to its SchizoTech universe. Hence, we are left to guess if the movie's universe keeps the deadly restriction, or if lasers are just ineffective against shielded targets. |
| 87 | ** The book has a scene set after the Harkonnen attack [[spoiler:with Thufir Hawat fleeing with a few other Atreides survivors and tagging along Fremens, then the party is wiped out by Sardaukars, who capture him. He's later handed over to the Harkonnens. In the film, Hawat disappears from the story when the Harkonnens attack Arrakeen.]] |
| 88 | ** Similarly, [[spoiler:Gurney Halleck's survival after the attack]] isn't shown, as the film doesn't have the scene where he is recruited by a party of smugglers; this is relegated to exposition in the sequel. |
| 89 | ** At the point where the movie ends, in the book Paul [[spoiler:has already found out through prescience that [[LukeIAmYourFather the Baron is Jessica's father and his maternal grandfather]]]], a revelation which only arrives late in the sequel. |
| 90 | * AdaptationExpansion: |
| 91 | ** The movie shows several scenes on the Atreides's ancestral planet which aren't in the book, like Jessica training Paul in the Voice, Paul asking Duncan to take him with him with the advance force to Arrakis, the coming of the Herald of the Change and representatives of the Imperial court and Spacing Guild, where Duke Leto officially takes on the responsibility of ruling Arrakis, and the departure of Atreides frigates from Caladan. |
| 92 | ** A scene unique to this movie shows just how precarious the Atreides' position on Arrakis is; a shot of a couple of containers containing spice harvested and refined by the Atreides on top of a single pallet, among many such pallets. In order to fulfill their Emperor-mandated quotum they will need to fill every single pallet. Every 25 days. Though not explicitly stated, failure to do so will surely invite the displeasure of the major powers in the galaxy, erode the power of the Atreides and even might force the Emperor to intervene, restore the flow of spice and punish the Atreides for their failure in their duty to the Empire, [[spoiler:a danger arguably worse than the Emperor secretly conspiring with the Harkonnens against them]]. |
| 93 | ** The [[spoiler:Harkonnen invasion of Arrakis]] happens mostly off-screen in the book, but is quite prominent in the movie, with [[spoiler:battles at the space port and the storming of the Atreides compound]] shot in Villeneuve's minimalistic visual style, and include scenes not in the book like [[spoiler:the Atreides air defense cannons opening fire on the attackers, the shield-buster bombs used to take out the Atreides frigates, the massive Harkonnen assault craft launching a missile barrage at the city and Idaho evading the beam of a ship-borne lasgun]]. |
| 94 | ** Very little of the Sardaukar's culture is shown in the books, with most of them appearing either to fight or to interact with superiors. In this film, an original scene set in their home planet Salusa Secundus shows them forming and performing bloody pre-war rituals. Interestingly, this addition expands a bit the ethnic lore of ''Dune'', as just like Fremen descend from Arabian culture, the Sardaukar here have (per [[WordOfSaintPaul Roger Yuan]] and ''The Art and Soul of Dune'') a mixture of feudal Japanese (fanatical devotion to the emperor, the way they use their swords) and Norse (beards, tall and muscular, overtone singing, human sacrifice and painting themselves with the sacrificial blood) culture. All of which go very well with the characterization of the Sardaukar as [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race Guys]]. |
| 95 | ** In the book, shields can only be penetrated by projectiles with low velocity, leading to the use of pistols with a muzzle velocity of a pellet gun to launch poison-tipped darts. In this movie, advanced propelled ammunition is used that can force its way through a shield. [[spoiler:They also come in the form of ordnance large enough to destroy frigates.]] |
| 96 | ** In the books, shields are so effective and commonplace no projectile weapons are used at all, save for a few low-velocity guns that could breach them. However, the Harkonnens, [[spoiler:suspecting the Atreides forces would take cover in an unshielded cave network, and possibly also ditch many of their shields as they are a liability on a planet infested with humongous sandworms enraged by them, brought heavy artillery (noted in-universe by the Harkonnens as being literal museum pieces) and other missile weapons with their invasion forces to take advantage of this even though it was unprecedented]]. In the movie, large projectile weapons seemed to be standard in a house's armory, [[spoiler:and are used in battle by the Harkonnen assault ship and the Atreides defense emplacements]]. |
| 97 | ** In the books, no reason is given for the sandworms' attraction to vibration and rhythm, since they are mostly filter-feeders with no surface-dwelling prey. The movie shows that the worms emit rhythmic calls and tunnel by vibrating the sand, suggesting that they may seek these things out as a way of locating others of their own kind. |
| 98 | * AdaptationExplanationExtrication: |
| 99 | ** Part One only explains the bare minimum for newcomers to understand the main conflicts, save for a few exposition scenes during Paul's studying sessions. Details like the role of Mentats, the Navigators or the Imperial Conditioning are left up in the air. |
| 100 | ** The movie doesn't explain Mentats, despite being an important element to the world of ''Dune.'' While Thufir Hawat's calculation and ProphetEyes imply he's not a regular human, one would have to read the books to understand that Hawat and the Baron's underling Piter de Vries are actually human computers. |
| 101 | * AdaptationPersonalityChange: |
| 102 | ** The Baron from the original novel was very polite and personable if his buttons weren't touched, and usually carried himself as a darkly funny guy. This films opts to portray him in a completely different manner, picturing the Baron as more monster than man, with a deep, growling voice, an inscrutable visage and a solemn demeanor of fewer words. The Baron in this film is also more willing to get his hands dirty, as he kills Dr. Yueh himself rather than have Piter do the deed as in the novel. |
| 103 | ** As in the first film adaptation, Piter de Vries is turned into a terse, taciturn servant, rather than the talkative psycho he was in the novel. |
| 104 | ** Rabban is made a violent LargeHam in this version. In the books, at least on-page, he was a subdued character, almost meek in comparison to the exuberant Baron (though this is how pretty much everyone but Piter behaves around the Baron, and it's still presumed he didn't earn the nickname "Beast" by being kind and nice). |
| 105 | ** Reverend Mohiam is much more ethereal and regal than her volatile, short-tempered literary version, only showing emotion when becoming smug in key moments. |
| 106 | ** The film makes a big emphasis on Jessica's inner conflicts, showing her often near to breaking down in tears, when in the book she was more of a stoic. Proof of it is that her filmic version can barely stammer the Litany against Fear whenever she needs it, while her novel version did it without trouble like a ZenSurvivor. |
| 107 | ** Stilgar is substantially more jaded and blunt than in the book, where he was expressive and lively enough to have his own BoisterousBruiser moments. |
| 108 | ** The Sardaukar as a whole receive a new characterization. In the book, they were stated to have a warrior religion, but were only pictured as just very disciplined and motivated soldiers, with most of their named members being of the OfficerAndAGentleman type. In contrast, the film opts to portray their religion as a blood cult: they are shown engaging in HumanSacrifice, anointing themselves with the victims' blood, and performing massive ceremonies directed by a muezzin-like throat singer. |
| 109 | ** [[spoiler:The Emperor in the book is both petty and paranoid and has very limited authority, constantly caught between the competing machinations of Bene Gesserit, the Navigator Guild, and the Choam Directorate. In fact, his motivation for attacking Dune in the books, aside from paranoia, is that he is all but ordered to by the Guild. In the film, not only is he firmly in charge but is TheChessmaster. He is the one who develops the scheme to crush House Atreides in a way that also exhausts House Harkonnen to the point of pliability. He also knows from the beginning that Kynes has turned and plans to have her killed indicating he knows a lot more about the Fremen than believed.]] |
| 110 | * AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: |
| 111 | ** In the book, there's an emotional distance between Jessica and the Duke, despite how they love one another, stemming from his refusal to actually marry her for political reasons and the fact that some of Leto's retainers openly do not trust her. In fact, Leto leaves Paul with a final message to Jessica should he die to tell her she always had his full trust. Here there's no sign of this or that Jessica is bothered at not being officially married to Leto. It's only the latter who expresses regrets over never tying the knot. |
| 112 | ** She and Thufir Hawat get along fine. In the book, Thufir is fairly openly distrusting of Jessica because he suspects her of trying to influence the Duke for the Bene Gesserit's benefit. |
| 113 | * AdaptedOut: |
| 114 | ** The Fenrings and Feyd-Rautha are both absent, with Rabban taking on the latter's function of being a recipient to the Baron's exposition. |
| 115 | ** Princess Irulan's narration is also absent. Instead, Chani's narration opens the film. |
| 116 | ** The Baron's sexual perversion towards young men are also removed, although the fact that he now has [[spoiler:the Duke]] stripped for him somewhat implies he might still have some twisted penchants in this field. |
| 117 | ** The film omits any specifics about Gurney Halleck's ugly history with the Harkonnens and Rabban in particular, with Gurney only testifying that the Harkonnens are inhuman and brutal. The books gave Gurney the backstory that he'd once been a slave in GladiatorGames on Giedi Prime, and that Rabban scarred Gurney's face, giving Gurney a lifelong hatred for the brute. |
| 118 | * AdvertisedExtra: Zendaya is heavily featured in promotional materials and has a prominent position on the poster, but Chani has very little screen time and only appears in the flesh in the final 20 minutes. |
| 119 | * AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: [[spoiler:House Harkonnen conspire with Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV to destroy House Atreides, first by having them take stewardship of the planet Arrakis to extract the Spice, then by having their troops (Harkonnen soldiers, buttressed by Imperial Sardaukars) invade Arrakeen, the capital city where Atreides troops are concentrated, in a surprise assault with the help of TheMole and wipe them out.]] |
| 120 | * AlternativeCalendar: The Dune universe uses a different calendar from that of present-day Earth. Years are not counted before and after the birth of Christ, but before and after the establishment of the Spacing Guild's monopoly, measured as '''B'''efore and '''A'''fter '''G'''uild. The film takes place in the year 10,191 A.G. |
| 121 | * AndIMustScream: The three guards [[spoiler:and Leto]] are totally awake but are paralyzed when Yueh disables the shields and sabotages the house to let the Harkonnens and Sardaukar into the city. The guards can move their eyes, but not their bodies. |
| 122 | * AndStarring: The cast list in the trailer ends with "with Creator/CharlotteRampling, with Creator/JasonMomoa, and Creator/JavierBardem". |
| 123 | * {{Arcadia}}: Rather than the hostile environments of [[ThirstyDesert Arrakis]], [[PerpetualStorm Salusa Secundus]], and [[PollutedWasteland Giedi Prime]], Caladan is a lush and beautiful world with large seas and grassy hills. |
| 124 | * ArmorIsUseless: PlayedWith. Personal shields are all but impervious to anything but slow-moving blades or specialized projectiles (at least theoretically, [[InformedAttribute not all the time onscreen]]) and have saved the life of at least [[spoiler:the Baron]]. However, if a shield does get penetrated it is usually treated as deathblow, which may be valid if the target wears nothing but his shirt under the shield, but harder to justify in the case of Atreides and Harkonnen soldiers wearing thick plates of armor, or the formidable-looking Sardaukar environmental suits. |
| 125 | * ArmorPiercingQuestion: Played with. Duke Leto asks Jessica "will you protect Paul?", to which she answers wholeheartedly "With my life!" [[spoiler:But that is not what Leto meant: "I am not asking his mother, I am asking a Bene Gesserit! Will your order protect Paul?!"]] Jessica is clearly taken aback, and she has no answer. It also reveals that despite their love for one another, they come from (and still live in) different worlds. |
| 126 | * ArtImitatesArt: Paul is dressed in a dark coat and overlooking the planet's waters as one of his family's ships rises out of it, a shot directly based on Creator/CasparDavidFriedrich's ''Art/WandererAboveTheSeaOfFog''. |
| 127 | * ArtisticLicencePhysics: Though somewhat pedantic in a franchise where everything from personal shields, flight and even interstellar travel is achieved via the fictional 'Holtzman effect', amusingly zig-zagged with the movie's lasguns: instead of the 'light-emitting bolts of pure energy' common in other science-fiction settings, lasgun beams are very much like real lasers; single straight beam, with low-but-nonzero divergence, continuous and invisible unless dust particles scatter some of its light towards the human eye. But it goes unexplained how a laser powerful enough to easily cut through massive metal doors leaves tiny dust particles intact long enough to scatter light. |
| 128 | * AscendedExtra: The Lieutenant Lanville, the bald MauveShirt seen with Leto and the military in several major scenes, is revealed in [[https://kungfukingdom.com/interview-with-roger-yuan/ interviews]] to be the film's version of the nameless gladiator that would later fight with Feyd-Rautha. The book just has a nameless (former) Atreides soldier tossed into the arena, a OneSceneWonder who has no back story or prior presence; in that sense, this expansion is a better job of storyteling. |
| 129 | * AsceticAesthetic: Compared to other adaptations of ''Dune'', which try to imagine a futuristic update of Baroque architecture, the set design in this film uses an angular, Brutalist style with most surfaces being bare stone. |
| 130 | * AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: Fremen are led by the strongest warriors. When Stilgar gets bested in front of his men, his authority is instantly questioned. |
| 131 | * AsYouKnow: In the beginning of the film, Paul says that Duncan is heading to Arrakis in advance the next day. Duncan (who would of course know this) agrees and repeats it back to him, although in an amused tone that almost makes it sound like he knows what Paul's going to ask next. |
| 132 | * AudibleSharpness: When Liet-Kynes tries to approach Leto in order to check on his stillsuit, everyone around draws their knife on her with the familiar "tzing" sound. |
| 133 | [[/folder]] |
| 134 | |
| 135 | [[folder:Tropes B - G]] |
| 136 | * TheBadGuyWins: By the end of the film, House Harkonnen and the Sardaukar have eliminated the Atreides forces and take over Arrakis once again with plans to exterminate the Fremen, Baron Vladimir survives Duke Leto's attempt to kill him with a DeadlyGas and Paul and Jessica [[CrossingTheDesert cross the desert]] to hide among the Fremen. |
| 137 | * BadassBoast: |
| 138 | ** Jessica tells Shadout Mapes "I know that whatever you're hiding, it won't be enough." [[spoiler:She later shows the truth of this by wiping the floor with Stilgar.]] |
| 139 | ** Duke Leto's words to the Herald Of The Change. |
| 140 | ---> We are House Atreides. There is no call we do not answer. There is no faith that we betray. |
| 141 | ** The Bashar gets two in quick succession, which his men later back up: |
| 142 | ---> We are the Sardaukar. The Emperor's blades. Those who stand against us fall. |
| 143 | ---> The Emperor commands it. It is done. |
| 144 | * BarefootCaptives: Paul and Jessica are barefoot when they're [[spoiler:captured by the Harkonnen soldiers]], with a shot emphasizing Paul's bare feet. |
| 145 | * BaseOnWheels: The Spice Harvesters from both House Atreides and Harkkonen are extremely large landships that act - as their name implies - mobile harvesting vehicles to collect and process the lucrative spice. They require over a dozen crew to function and rely on worm spotting aircraft to detect any nearby Shai-Hulud for an evacuation. |
| 146 | * BearHug: Duncan is happy to see Paul when they reunite with each other at Caladan at the start of the film, and gives him a hug and lifts him doing so. |
| 147 | * BeastlyBloodsports: The Atreides engaged in bullfighting up to the times of Paul's grandfather Paulus, who even died gored by a bull. A portrait of Paulus in Caladan shows him dressed in full matador regalia, with ''traje de luces'', ''estoque'' and ''capote'' in display, and a couple of sculptures in the palace represent bullfighters as well. |
| 148 | * BigWordShout: The Atreides forces sure love to yell out "Atreides!" a lot. The assembled troops on parade when the Duke receives the Emperor's Herald yell "Atreides!" in affirmation of Leto's acceptance of the decree. When the Atreides arrive on Arrakis, Gurney Halleck leads the newly-arrived troops in yelling "Atreides!" When they are down to barely twenty men during the Harkonnen invasion of Arrakis, the troops are still able to get in some "Atreides!". In the last case, however, it becomes a [[BattleCry rallying cry]] in the face of inevitable defeat. |
| 149 | * BilingualDialogue: The Sardaukar always converse in their own BlackSpeech, even when the other speaker is using English. Oddly, neither side seems to have a problem understanding the other. |
| 150 | * BlackSpeech: The Sardaukar speak an almost inhumanly harsh, snarling language among themselves, and seem to have effects added to their voices that make them sound demonically deep and resonant. They almost sound like literal [[Film/LordOfTheRings orcs]] at times. |
| 151 | * BlatantLies: Gurney's assurance to Leto that he ''is'' smiling during the Herald of the Change's official visit. Even better, and without turning around, Leto ''knows'' his War Master's lying (and can't call him out on it without breaking decorum). |
| 152 | * BloodlessCarnage: Cleverly used throughout the film: the shield [[SymbolicBlood apparates red]] in the exact location of a fatal wound, giving the illusion of PinkMist instead of actually showing it. |
| 153 | * BloodyHandprint: The stabbed housekeeper leaves her bloody handprint on Leto's white shirt. |
| 154 | * BuildingIsWelding: When the Atreides ramp up their spice mining operation at Arrakeen, there are several shots of workers on the airfield producing sparks as they get things ready. |
| 155 | * CanonForeigner: |
| 156 | ** The novel's lines about how much water a palm tree requires come originally from Dr. Yueh, but they are given to a random native gardener in this film. |
| 157 | ** The bizarre, spider-like mutant that acts as the Baron's pet is original to the film. |
| 158 | * ChallengingTheChief: [[spoiler:Jamis challenges Jessica seeing her besting Stilgar - rendering her the leader in Jamis's eyes. Stilgar rejects this, viewing Jessica as a Sayyadina, who cannot be challenged. He then asks who will fight in her name. Cue Paul stepping forward.]] |
| 159 | * CharacterExaggeration: In the book, the Baron had the CharacterTic of rubbing his temple while thinking. In the film, he instead rubs his entire head in a clear ShoutOut to Col. Kurtz of ''Film/ApocalypseNow''. |
| 160 | * ChekhovsGun: |
| 161 | ** Paul's vision of Duncan's death includes a beetle crawling nearby, alerting the audience to be on the lookout for it. |
| 162 | ** Duncan hands Paul a Fremen compass that comes in handy later when the latter is stranded in the desert with his mother. |
| 163 | * ChekhovsSkill: In the first few scenes, Paul is shown practicing his knife fighting and CompellingVoice. He uses both skills in the third act to save his life. |
| 164 | * CityPlanet: In contrast to the vast, natural expanses of Arrakis or the beautiful cliffs and oceans of Caladan, the ancestral home of the Harkonnens, Giedi Prime, is shown to be a sprawling, shadowy ecumenopolis. |
| 165 | * {{Cliffhanger}}: [[spoiler:At the end of the movie, [[DarkestHour the Harkonnens succeed in retaking Arrakis, killing Leto in the process]], and the Baron orders Rabban to take control and wipe out the Fremen altogether, all the while knowing that the Emperor's favour will only last as long as they can keep up spice harvesting. Duncan and several of the Fremen [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice themselves to help Paul and Jessica escape,]] Liet-Kynes is killed ([[TakingYouWithMe though she takes several Sardaukar with her]]) and Gurney Halleck and Thufir Hawat are unaccounted for in the aftermath of the massacre of House Atreides. Jessica is pregnant with her second child and Paul, after being forced to kill Jamis in a DuelToTheDeath, ends up joining the Fremen against Jessica's wishes to bring peace to Arrakis, while having visions of a potential future where he unleashes a wave of destruction upon the universe. As Chani mentions as the film ends, [[ItHasOnlyJustBegun "This is only the beginning."]]]] |
| 166 | * ClosestThingWeGot: Invoked by Gurney during his and Paul's sparring session early in the movie. As the House Atreides Weapons Master, normally Duncan Idaho oversees Paul's combat training. But with Duncan having been dispatched to Arrakis in advance, Gurney (as the House War Master) is the cloest thing they have to a substitute teacher. |
| 167 | * ColourCodedForYourConvenience: Personal shields glow blue when they stop a strike or a projectile and red whenever something goes through them. |
| 168 | * ComingInHot: Paul crash-lands the thopter in the desert after barely making it out of the DeadlyDustStorm. |
| 169 | * CompellingVoice: The Voice, a skill of Bene Gesserit sisters, and Paul is being trained in it by his mother. In the book, the Voice user must first hear the voice of a target, and then tailor the tone of the Voice to that particular target. In the movie, the speaker is only required to reach a certain tone, but to the viewer (and presumably the target) it seems like she is speaking with an inhuman VoiceOfTheLegion. It's also visually represented, from the recipient's point of view, as the speaker saying something with no audio for half a moment before the dialogue comes out and the recipient obeying even as they hear it. Paul finds himself yanked in front of the Matriarch before the words even hit his ears. |
| 170 | * CompositeCharacter: Stretching the definition of "character" somewhat but the palm trees of Arrakeen pull double duty both as metaphor for the ridculous wealth of both the Harkonnens and later the Atreides whilst also being a symbol of the Fremen dream of there one day being a green and verdant Arrakis. In the book, a terrarium of greenery hidden away in the Atreides castle served such a role, but it was cut from the film. |
| 171 | * {{Conlang}}: Creator/DavidJPeterson did the conlanging for the film, including Chakobsa, Sardaukar, and House Atreides' sign language |
| 172 | * ConspicuousConsumption: |
| 173 | ** The Emperor spends a massive amount of money and spice to send his Herald to Caladan for a meeting about something that's already been decided and which takes, generously estimated, ten minutes. Everyone knows it's a ridiculously wasteful farce, including the Herald himself, but they still have to go along with it. |
| 174 | ** The palace in Arrakeen has 20 imported palm trees, each requiring the same amount of water as five humans and demonstrating the wealth of the house that holds Arrakis as a fiefdom. |
| 175 | * ConvenientEscapeBoat: Jessica and Paul escape the Sardaukars in the desert camp via a thopter waiting for them. |
| 176 | * CrashingDreams: During one of Paul's [[GirlOfMyDreams dreams about Chani]], he hears her calling his name. The scene then cuts to his bedside where we see Jessica calling him. |
| 177 | * CrazyEnoughToWork: Dr. Kynes scoffs at Paul's idea of marrying one of the Emperor's daughters. [[spoiler:This isn't going to pay off until the sequel, but Kynes doesn't live to see it.]] |
| 178 | * CrisisMakesPerfect: Paul's CompellingVoice fails him until the last moments before the Harkonnen can throw him and his mother from the aircraft. |
| 179 | * CrossingTheDesert: Paul and Jessica have to travel the forbidding desert that covers most of Arrakis in order to reach the Fremen after escaping the Harkonnen. Dehydration, storms so powerful they can flay the flesh off of an unprotected human in seconds, and predacious {{Sand Worm}}s that are attracted to rhythmic movement all threaten the pair. They try to use the Fremen "dance" walk to avoid attracting {{Sand Worm}}s as Paul learned earlier with a filmbook, but it's to little effect. |
| 180 | * CrystalDragonJesus: The Sardaukar cult, while ostensibly based on the feudal Japanese, Norse and Mongolian, also has some decidedly Catholic elements played in a creepy light. They are shown kneeling like medieval knights, their female assistants wear nun-like scarves and rosary beads, their sacrificed men are tied in crucifix-like positions, and their blood ritual combines both Eucharist and Ash Wednesday, applying the blood of the sacrificed in their foreheads. This might be an intentional nod to how Norsemen eventually converted to Christianity. |
| 181 | * CultureChopSuey: |
| 182 | ** The Atreides evoke the Mediterranean and Spanish culture (their surnames come from Greek mythology, they engage in bullfighting, and they live by the sea), but also have Japanese influences--the [[https://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/a38066050/dune-set-design/ set designer]] was inspired by the simplicity of Japanese furnishings in designing their castle's interior, and there are bonsai displayed in the dining room. The cool, rainy atmosphere of the planet was also inspired by Canada in the fall, and the chain jewelry Jessica wears when arriving on Arrakis is similar to Indian wedding jewelry. There are also more typically British and European influences in the military uniforms they wear, as well as the fact that they play the bagpipes. |
| 183 | ** In the scene with the Herald of the Change, the Herald and members of the Spacing Guild wear richly embroidered robes that evoke Catholic clergy. |
| 184 | ** As noted above, the Sardaukar draw from Norse, Mongolian and feudal Japanese culture and some elements of Christianity. They could be considered a modern version of the Varangian Guard, an elite guard formed by Norsemen that served Byzantine emperors. |
| 185 | ** The name Harkonnen was inspired by the Finnish surname Härkönen, and they evoke the Nazis in a number of ways--they're pale-skinned, militaristic, dress in black uniforms, and at the movie's conclusion the Baron authorizes Rabban to enact a genocide of the Fremen. Their slaves, who are pale, bald and have solid dark eyes, resemble TheGreys; the Harkonnens' penchant for glossy black fabric and leather, and the strange gags that some of their servants wear, also suggest inspiration from [[BondageIsBad BDSM subcultures]], as a possible allusion to Baron Harkonnen's sadism in the book. |
| 186 | * CultureClash: |
| 187 | ** Duke Leto invites Fremen chieftain Stilgar to his palace for parlay. Not only does he, the appointed planetary overlord connected to the Emperor himself by blood, let the ragged native into his home; as a sign of mutual trust he allows him to get into knife range, much to his personal guard's chagrin. Suddenly, the native spits on the Duke's desk, and Gurney is about to repay the insult by gutting the insolent barbarian. [[spoiler:Then Idaho steps in, thanks Stilgar for showing them great respect by sharing his water with them, and spits on his lord's desk in response, urging the Duke to do the same. Though Stilgar is blunt and not deferential in the slightest, he promises not to interfere with Atreides mining operations so long as they stay out of the deep desert. Since the Atreides are hamstrung by the poor equipment the Harkonnens have left them, and cannot afford losses due to raids, this is already a huge victory for the Duke, and a good first step in securing an alliance. Still, Leto looks very uncomfortable flinging a loogie onto his own desk.]] |
| 188 | ** Paul offends the Fremen when [[spoiler:he demands Jamis yield during their duel. Those watching vocalize their displeasure,]] but Stilgar brushes it off by pointing out that Paul is unfamiliar with their traditions. [[spoiler:The Fremen also voice their displeasure at Paul taking his time killing Jamis, thinking he's playing with him, though Jessica explains it as the first time Paul has had to kill someone.]] |
| 189 | * CurbStompBattle: |
| 190 | ** The Atreides troops put up a solid fight against the Harkonnen soldiers. [[spoiler:Then the Sardaukar join in and the Atreides force is dead in seconds.]] |
| 191 | ** When [[spoiler:Stilgar]] decides that [[spoiler:Jessica]] cannot learn Fremen ways and is to be killed rather than become a liability to the tribe, [[spoiler:Jessica]] promptly proves otherwise by effortlessly putting [[spoiler:Stilgar]] in an inescapable chokehold. |
| 192 | * CurbStompCushion: Several examples are shown. |
| 193 | ** As the Harkonnen invasion of Arrakis opens, the Atreides retaliate instantly despite having been surprised in the middle of the night. Their anti-aircraft batteries immediately open fire at the approaching landing craft and manage to destroy a few. |
| 194 | ** Given the standard of their training and being true to their reputation as "the finest in the Imperium," the Atreides ground forces are capable of easily outfighting the Harkonnens man to man even if they are eventually overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Shown especially during the Atreides' [[LastStand final stand]] during which a small number of barely-armored soldiers who had been jostled from their sleep still fight in perfect coordination and manage to kill enough Harkonnens to make the rest temporarily stop their advance. |
| 195 | ** Unlike the Atreides soldiers, the Fremen are more than capable of readily besting the Sardaukar. They are alerted to the Sardaukar's already-silent approach and in the time it takes them to reach the Fremen position, the Fremen have already hidden themselves in an ambush. They catch the Sardaukar completely by surprise and kill a disproportionate number of them until as with the Atreides, the Fremen are overcome by the far larger Sardaukar force. |
| 196 | * CyanidePill: Doctor Yueh replaces one of Leto's molars with a poison tooth that will release a deadly gas if he bites down, saying if Leto chooses an opportune time, doing so can kill a roomful of people [[TakingYouWithMe including himself]]. |
| 197 | * {{Cyborg}}: |
| 198 | ** The Baron's anti-gravity suspensors are grafted to his spine in this version. |
| 199 | ** Various members of House Atreides, including Leto and Thufir, have communication devices just behind their right ears. |
| 200 | * DarkLordOnLifeSupport: After [[spoiler:This persists after the dying attempt on his life by Leto, the Baron must be submerged in a pool of brownish-gray goop to recuperate from the attack.]] Possibly previously to this as well, if [[spoiler:his moisture-filled sauna is not merely for hygiene and pleasure.]] |
| 201 | * DarkestHour: [[spoiler: The Harkonnens taking control of Arrakis and killing Leto, forcing Paul and Jessica to go on the run and hiding with the Fremen.]] |
| 202 | * DeadHandShot: After [[spoiler:Leto blows poison gas on Baron Harkonnen and his circle]], the next we see of this room is a shot of the former's limp hand, indicating his death. |
| 203 | * DecompositeCharacter: Dr. Yueh's speech about palm trees is said instead by a native gardener who tends them. |
| 204 | * DeflectorShields: Shields based on the fictional 'Holtzman effect' are widely used in the movie, from a training duel between Paul and Gurney, to [[spoiler:open warfare between the Atreides and the invading Harkonnens]]. While the personal devices were worn on belts in the books and earlier adaptations, in this film the Atreides wear them on the wrist, while the Baron carries one on his finger. Shields are also prominent on craft from small ornithopters to massive orbital landers. When in use shields flicker when activated but are invisible until struck, glowing blue when repulsing a blow and red when penetrated. |
| 205 | * DeliberateValuesDissonance: |
| 206 | ** The Fremen are desert dwellers to whom water is incredibly precious and have developed technology to recycle water to a ludicrous degree. Stilgar spits in front of Duke Leto when meeting him and the Atreides men nearly attack him for what they assume is an insult before Duncan hurriedly thanks Stilgar for gifting them some of his body's moisture and reciprocates. |
| 207 | ** When Stilgar encounters Paul and Jessica in the desert, he refuses what would have been a rich reward for aiding them in favour of killing them for the water in their bodies, agreeing to spare Paul only because he's young enough to be retrained in their ways. Jessica's hand-to-hand combat skills convince him she's also worth saving. |
| 208 | * DemotedToExtra: |
| 209 | ** In the book, Thufir Hawat is training Paul to be a Mentat and has an extended subplot where he tries to suss out TheMole. Neither of these aspects are present in the film, with the result that he only appears during the first hour of a two-and-a-half-hour film. |
| 210 | ** The Baron's right-hand Mentat Piter de Vries appears but is never named, and his unique personality and role in the plot have been stripped away. |
| 211 | ** Dr. Wellington Yueh only appears briefly in the film [[spoiler:prior to betraying Leto, fitting him with the poison tooth and being killed]]. In the book, he has a number of scenes throughout the early chapters, including multiple focused on his perspective [[spoiler:(which out him as TheMole before the characters learn of it, and describe his motivation for betraying the Atreides much earlier)]]; as noted in DecompositeCharacter, some of his dialogue is instead given to a native gardener. |
| 212 | * DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: |
| 213 | ** In the novel Dr. Yueh is stabbed by Piter de Vries in the back at the Baron's nod, and has time for a few last spiteful words. In the movie the Baron himself beheads Dr. Yueh. |
| 214 | ** In the novel Dr. Kynes is left to die in the deep desert without a stillsuit by the Harkonnens, and he's caught in a naturally-occurring spice explosion while ruminating in his delerium. In the movie, she's mortally wounded by Sardaukar pursuing Paul and Jessica while she's calling a sandworm to ride, and she pounds on the sand to summon it faster and lets herself and them be consumed by it. |
| 215 | * DisappointingPromotion: Leto's decision to accept the stewardship of Arrakis from the Emperor comes out of a belief that he can bring peace to the Fremen. Of course, upon arriving there, he's faced with multiple problems, faulty equipment, an improbably high quota to reach for the very thing that ensures humanity's survival, and of course, a coup by House Harkonnen, the original stewards, endorsed by Emperor Shaddam IV. |
| 216 | * DividedForAdaptation: The film covers only half of [[Literature/{{Dune}} the book]] with the planned sequel covering the other half. It aims at solving the problem of the [[Film/Dune1984 1984 version]] [[CompressedAdaptation condensing too much of the story]] and abusing narration TimeSkip. |
| 217 | * DrawSwordDrawBlood: After the Fremen stand down from their standoff with Paul and Jessica, they scratch their arms with their crysknives before resheathing them, indicating this trope is at play. In the book, when Jessica was given a crysknife by Shadout Mapes, Jessica chastised her for sheathing the blade unbloodied, making this serve as a MythologyGag. |
| 218 | * DreamingOfThingsToCome: Paul answers a blunt "yes" to the Reverend Mother's question about often having dreams of things that end up happening. |
| 219 | ** While still at Caladan, Paul begs Duncan to bring him along with the advance force to Arrakis, as he had a dream where he saw Duncan die, and he is desperate to save his friend. [[spoiler:Ironically Duncan dies ''because'' he's there, to HoldTheLine so Paul and Jessica can escape.]] |
| 220 | ** Paul receives a spice-vision of [[spoiler:a great holy war he will lead, and sees himself and Chani standing above his forces who have just conquered Caladan. He also sees a tattooed Jessica holding a baby - possibly Alia]]. |
| 221 | ** Paul's visions show a number of possible futures, including [[spoiler:one where Jamis wins the duel, one where Jamis becomes a mentor, and one where Chani stabs him to death. None of these come true]]. |
| 222 | * DreamingTheTruth: The first verse of the Sardaukar throat song apparently translates as "dreams are messages from the deep," which suggests this incarnation of them share their literary counterparts' penchant for dream interpretation, as mentioned in ''Literature/ChildrenOfDune''. |
| 223 | * DroneOfDread: Can be heard on the soundtrack whenever a sandworm is nearby. |
| 224 | * DudeWheresMyRespect: |
| 225 | ** In the trailer ([[NeverTrustATrailer and only the trailer]]), Reverend Mother Mohiam is completely dismissive of Duke Leto Atreides, one of the most powerful men in the universe. |
| 226 | --->'''Mohiam:''' You have proven you can rule yourself. Now you must learn to rule others... something none of your ancestors learned.\ |
| 227 | '''Paul:''' My father rules an entire planet.\ |
| 228 | '''Mohiam:''' He's losing it.\ |
| 229 | '''Paul:''' He's getting a richer one.\ |
| 230 | '''Mohiam:''' [[TraumaCongaLine He'll lose that one too.]] |
| 231 | ** In the movie, there is a similar but shorter interaction before the gom jabbar test. When the Reverend Mother orders Jessica out of the room, Paul angrily calls her out for dismissing his mother in her own house, which the Reverend Mother responds to by making him kneel in front of her with the Voice. He takes offense at that too. |
| 232 | * EmergencyCargoDump: Duke Leto Atreides has three vehicles trying to rescue a crew of 21 spice harvesters from an approaching SandWorm, but each vehicle has room for only six more people, so they calculate they would need to [[ColdEquation leave three behind]]. Fortunately, Leto's son Paul tells them to dump the vehicles' shield generators, which makes enough room to rescue them all. |
| 233 | * EnemyEatsYourLunch: The Baron helps himself to the Duke's food across the table from a drugged naked Duke. |
| 234 | -->'''Vladimir''': You have a wonderful kitchen, cousin. |
| 235 | * EnergyWeapon: Lasguns present in the movie, from man-portable equivalents of real-life anti-tank weapons, to ship-borne versions. Their continuous beams can cut through thick metal doors, or even [[spoiler:whole sections of Arrakeen city]]. Contrary to the book, no instance is shown where a lasgun hits a shield, where this leads to a "microfusion" followed by a kiloton-range sized explosion destroying the shield bearer, the gunner, and most of the immediate battlefield (though in the battle where Duncan fights the Harkonnens to keep them from catching Paul and Jessica, the soldier with the lasgun notably doesn't take part). |
| 236 | * EverythingsLouderWithBagpipes: House Atreides' arrival on Arrakis is heralded by a single bagpiper marching ahead, soon joined by the rest of the house's pipers. They build up until the sound almost drowns out everything else on the soundtrack. |
| 237 | * EvilCounterpart: Salusa Secundus is presented as somewhat of an evil reflection of Caladan. Both have rainy, blue-colored landscapes, but while Caladan houses a noble family whose ancestors sacrificed bulls, Salusa harbors a creepy blood cult that sacrifices people. |
| 238 | * EvilIsPetty: In a single stroke, Baron Harkonnen has [[spoiler:reclaimed Arrakis, destroyed House Atreides, killed its heir and his mother (or so he thinks), and captured his arch-enemy Duke Leto]]. The baron cannot resist rubbing it in by [[spoiler:forcing the Duke to watch the Baron eat his food and gloat on his house's fall, while being drugged, paralyzed and stripped of all of his clothing]]. |
| 239 | ** The Harkonnens also violated the Rules of the Change and sabotaged all the Spice Harvesting equipment for the incoming Atreides out of spite. [[spoiler:Justified, as the conspiracy was already underway and the Baron knew Shaddam would turn a blind eye and not cut the Atreides any slack.]] |
| 240 | * ExactWords: |
| 241 | ** Occurs twice with Baron Harkonnen: |
| 242 | *** First he promises [[spoiler:Reverend Mother Mohiam]] that he "will not harm" [[spoiler:Jessica and Paul]]. Instead, he orders Rabban to have them [[spoiler:dropped in the desert, where they'll be exposed to the harsh elements and ''the desert'' will kill them.]] |
| 243 | *** He apparently promised [[spoiler:Dr. Yueh]] that [[spoiler:he'd "deliver [his] wife from her agony," that he would "set her free" and that Dr. Yueh "could join her." Cue him chopping off Dr. Yueh's head.]] |
| 244 | ** This is directly invoked by some Harkonnen soldiers, with one telling another they can't simply cut the throats of [[spoiler: Jessica and Paul]] because they might end up in front of a Truthsayer and so need to be able to honestly say they didn't kill them. Instead, they will put their captives in a situation where they will surely die. |
| 245 | * FacialMarkings: |
| 246 | ** Mentats have a black squared mark on their lower lip. |
| 247 | ** Sardaukar, for their part, have a line of black dots tattooed on the right side of the forehead, and they additionally anoint themselves with sacrificial blood in a ''bindi''-like manner over the eyes (a detail that also echoes the Christian practice of priests marking the foreheads of churchgoers with ashes on Ash Wednesday, fitting the CrystalDragonJesus flavor of their rituals). |
| 248 | ** Dr. Yueh has a diamond-shaped tattoo on his forehead. In the book, this was a sign of his having graduated the Suk school of Imperial Conditioning, rendering it impossible for him to harm or betray anyone under his care as a physician. [[spoiler:His conditioning has been broken by the Harkonnens, and Dr. Yueh is their mole.]] |
| 249 | * FailedASpotCheck: In the middle of a desert, Sardaukar manage to sneak up and stab [[spoiler:Liet Kynes]], who was waiting for a ride. Paul later discovers that Chani has done the same to him; she only stays her blade because Stilgar orders it. |
| 250 | * FanDisservice: There are several instances of near-full nudity with only a SceneryCensor, but they're either of the grotesque Baron Harkonnen, or, in the case of the far more attractive Leto, [[spoiler:when he has been captured by Harkonnen, subjected to a ShamefulStrip, and is about to commit a suicide attack with the false tooth Dr. Yueh gave him]]. |
| 251 | * FantasyGunControl: Standard guns are rare-to-nonexistent aside from a small pistol Paul takes off a Fremen and uses in the ensuing standoff. Shields, which block fast-moving projectiles and melee strikes, have rendered most such armaments worthless on the battlefield. The rest of the projectile weapons we see are specially designed to break through shields by drilling through them slowly, as darts from a handheld projector, or as a large anti-air missile that freezes in place when it hits the shield and slowly pushes through. The Fremen developed their maula pistol [[SubvertedTrope specifically because shields are worse than useless on Arrakis]]; their frequency vibrations drive sandworms into a killing frenzy. |
| 252 | * FeudalFuture: As an adaptation to one of the OG Trope Codifiers, this is not a surprise. Part One really shows how feudalistic the future has become, with various competing noble households waging war for land and resource rights under the perview of an Empire. |
| 253 | * FooledByTheSound: {{Discussed}} after Duncan leaves for Arrakis. Paul is practicing his {{knife fight}}ing on a dummy when Gurney Halleck strides in for their training session and admonishes him for standing with his back to the door. |
| 254 | -->'''Gurney:''' Don't stand with your back to the door!\ |
| 255 | '''Paul:''' I could tell it was you by your footsteps, Gurney Halleck!\ |
| 256 | '''Gurney:''' Someone might imitate my stride.\ |
| 257 | '''Paul:''' I'd know the difference. |
| 258 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: |
| 259 | ** Chani's opening monologue ends on the note of asking who the next people to oppress her people will be. The next character shown is Paul Atreides, hinting at his dark future as their Emperor. |
| 260 | ** Paul has several encounters with desert mice on Arrakis and after learning of them with holographic encyclopedias. His Fremen name will canonically be "Muad'Dib", the Fremen name of these rodents. |
| 261 | ** Duncan's debriefing about his hunt for the Fremen and becoming accepted by them. Duncan starts to recount how a Fremen warrior was sent out to kill him, hesitates, and hurriedly ends by saying he's never come that close to dying. Initially, it seems that even the Ginaz Swordmaster was spooked by the martial skills and ferocity of the Fremen. [[spoiler: It's only later when Paul duels Jamis that it becomes clear ''why'' Duncan was uncomfortable: To pass the test and be accepted by Stilgar and his people, Duncan ''had'' to kill the warrior -- just as Paul now has no choice but to kill Jamis.]] |
| 262 | ** When Mohiam visits Geidi Prime, her shuttle passes a small flotilla holding position in a stationary orbit. While it ''can'' be seen as a home guard for the Harkonnen homeworld, or an honor guard meant to greet and escort a representative of Shaddam, [[spoiler: it's also presumably the fleet the Baron is assembling for the attack on Arrakis. That he's assembling it out in the open (which would be a security concern given Thufir's spy network), combined with Mohiam's orders, all indicate the planned strike is immiment.]] |
| 263 | ** When the Herald of the Change arrives on Caladan, Thufir uses his Mentat abilities to calculate the estimated travel cost for the Emperor's delegation. It turns out to be a very expensive bit of Imperial pomp and pageantry, thus establishing that Spacing Guild travel ''ain't'' cheap. [[spoiler: This plot point comes back into play towards the end of Part One where the Baron reveals to Rabban the rough financial cost of launching a full military strike on Arrakis. Unsurprisingly, it turns out to be a ''far'' more expensive bill than the Herald's political theater and the entire operation has thus essentially left House Harkonnen completely broke.]] |
| 264 | * FreezeFrameBonus: While Paul and Jessica are walking toward where they think is the sietch that Duncan lived, the film cuts to a group of Fremen before focusing on one - [[spoiler:it's one of Paul's waking dreams, and the one it focuses on is Duncan]]. |
| 265 | * FunnyBackgroundEvent: During Paul's vision [[spoiler:of his holy war. One of the Fremen [[https://i.redd.it/nuxb2pzovgx71.gif jumps hitting a Sardaukar's head with his crotch.]]]] |
| 266 | * GainingTheWillToKill: Paul has never killed anyone before his duel with Jamis, and seems to think subduing his adversary repeatedly without killing him will suffice. Then Stilgar makes it clear that it's a DuelToTheDeath, and so [[spoiler:Paul ends the duel by killing him.]] |
| 267 | * GirlOfMyDreams: Paul first sees Chani in his dreams right at the start of the film and also at other points before finally meeting her at the end. |
| 268 | * GoingNative: |
| 269 | ** Liet-Kynes initially denies being part of the Fremen and claims the prophecies of a deliverer is just native superstition. Later she acknowledges that she's Fremen and the movie shows that she is an actual believer. |
| 270 | ** When Duncan reports his findings on the Fremen and their ways, Gurney jibes that Duncan's "gone native". He brushes that off but doesn't deny it. |
| 271 | ** Paul's vision reveals he and Jessica will likewise go native. [[spoiler:This is revealed to be true after Paul kills Jamis. Stilgar considers him "one of us now." Paul accepts, despite Jessica's plea to Stilgar to smuggle them to Caladan.]] |
| 272 | * GoneHorriblyRight: [[spoiler:When meeting with the Baron to relay Shaddam's orders for the attack on Arakkis, Mohiam orders that Jessica be spared (as she's under the Bene Gesserit's protection and Paul's a Kwisatz Haderach candidate). She wants the pair to be allowed the dignity of exile...which the Baron then tries to get around with ExactWords and LoopholeAbuse. However, thanks to his attempted circumvention, Jessica and Paul ''do'' ultimately end up in exile after all. Unfortunately for all the conspirators, their exile leads them to seek sanctuary with the Fremen -- thus setting off a chain of events that ultimately blows up in the faces of all the conspirators come Part Two.]] |
| 273 | * GoryDiscretionShot: Many fatal blows throughout the film are entirely obscured from the audience's view, such as [[spoiler: Dr. Yueh's beheading]] or [[spoiler: Paul's final blow on Jamis during their duel]]. |
| 274 | * GratuitousRape: The guards taking Jessica and Paul out into the desert decide to rape Jessica even though they are under orders not to harm her and are afraid of being interrogated by a truthsayer. Their threats prompt Paul to attempt escape. |
| 275 | [[/folder]] |
| 276 | |
| 277 | [[folder:Tropes H - Z]] |
| 278 | * HandInTheHole: The Reverend Mother's test requires Paul to put his hand into a mysterious box which turns out to be pain-inducing. |
| 279 | * HandOnWomb: [[spoiler:Jessica]] touches her belly a couple of times near the end of the film to emphasize her being ImperiledInPregnancy. |
| 280 | * HandSignals: Used among House Atreides ([[AllThereInTheScript identified as a "Battle Language" in the screenplay]]) to communicate quickly and silently, particularly by Jessica so she can signal guards or send a message to Paul silently in the same room and by Paul himself back to Jessica to encrypt it when the Stilgar and his Fremen ambush them. |
| 281 | * HealingVat: Baron Harkonnen barely escapes death from poison gas, but not as unscathed as in the book, requiring him to be submerged in an unspecified liquid to aid his convalescence. The liquid has a [[OminousObsidianOoze black oily]] appearance with a drizzle of gold, making him appear even more monstrous than he did already when he emerges from it. It's also a good visual metaphor for how he is, of course, an oil baron. |
| 282 | * HeirInLaw: While on the run Paul briefly considers marrying one of the Emperor's daughters, since the latter does not have a male heir. Liet-Kynes is aghast that he would make such an unabashed play for the throne. |
| 283 | * HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic: Major characters are regularly seen going without their stillsuit face masks so that we can see who's talking. |
| 284 | * HidingBehindTheLanguageBarrier: |
| 285 | ** Paul and Dr. Yueh have a private conversation by speaking in Mandarin in Jessica's presence. |
| 286 | ** House Atreides has HandSignals that they use to communicate to their guards and each other without being understood or heard by others. |
| 287 | * HighSpeedMissileDodge: When Paul and Jessica escape from Kyne's Sietch in an Ornithopter, they're followed by Harkonnen troops in three other Ornithopters until they all bump into a [[DeadlyDustStorm sandstorm]]. Paul and Jessica go straight into the storm, the Harkonnens stay outside and launch three [[HomingProjectile homing missiles]] against them, and Paul maneuvers to dodge the missiles and have them all be destroyed by the storm. |
| 288 | * HollywoodTactics: The Atreides troops make their stand in the courtyard of their fortress palace, instead of making use of its thick walls, or the roofed, narrow streets of the city. As a result, the jetpack-equipped Sardaukar envelope them from behind with ease. |
| 289 | * HonorBeforeReason: When a Harkonnen assassin nearly kills Paul, Thufir feels honor-bound to turn in his resignation over having not prevented the attack. Duke Leto asks if he really means to deprive the House of his service right after it's been proven they are in danger and tells him to redeem himself by catching the rest of the Harkonnen spies. |
| 290 | * HopeSpot: After the Spice Harvester incident, Leto has the proof that the Harkonnens didn't follow the rules of the Change; all their equipment has been sabotaged and House Atreides has been set to fail. As the Judge of the Change witnessed this firsthand, Leto hopes this will buy them goodwill and an extension from Shaddam Corrino to get Spice Production. Alas, it quickly becomes clear Kynes has been ordered to turn a blind eye -- meaning the Emperor's tipping the scales even more than Leto feared and that they're in even worse, more imminent danger than he'd already feared. |
| 291 | * HumanNotepad: In a vision, Jessica appears with scripture all over her skin. [[spoiler:This will come to pass in Part Two.]] |
| 292 | * HumanResources: Stilgar and his Fremen band wanted to kill Paul and Jessica to extract the fluids from their bodies until the ducal pair beat them down. |
| 293 | * IHaveYourWife: Baron Harkonnen compels Dr. Yueh to do his bidding and betray the Atreides by capturing his wife. |
| 294 | * InformedAttribute: Paul's sparring with Gurney establishes personal shields stop high-speed objects and can only be penetrated by cutting or piercing slowly. However, this is not demonstrated in the film proper -- characters do occasionally have to press slowly to cut necks, but otherwise they slash and stab successfully through shields with no slowdown whatsoever, to the point it's reasonable to assume there is an additional, non-stated rule that shields can be ruptured the old way with enough momentum. |
| 295 | * InstantDeathStab: During their DuelToTheDeath, Paul strikes [[spoiler:Jamis]] once with his crysknife, and the latter falls over and dies within half a minute. |
| 296 | * ItsQuietTooQuiet: After the Atreides forces have settled on Dune, Leto notes how quiet things have been. Gurney Halleck agrees and adds that it's worrying him. |
| 297 | * ItsRainingMen: The Sardaukar use some sort of suspensor device to arrest their falls, gently descending to rapidly cross-vertical terrain or attack from unexpected angles, [[spoiler:like when they dropped in behind the Atreides soldiers defending the palace from the Harkonnen, or when they entered the ecology station via the cistern]]. |
| 298 | * ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne: Paul has the gift of prophecy. Or rather, [[BlessedWithSuck the curse of it]]. He is horrified to see visions of himself [[spoiler:leading a terrible crusade that will drag the universe into mass bloodshed and chaos, when he's not seeing visions of [[ForeseeingMyDeath his own death]] instead]]. |
| 299 | * JabbaTableManners: The Baron loudly chews and burps while [[EnemyEatsYourLunch eating at Leto's table]]. |
| 300 | * JediMindTrick: Paul and Jessica manage to escape their captors by using [[CompellingVoice the Voice]] to make one of Harkonnens free them from their bonds and kill his fellow Harkonnens. Paul is inexperienced with the Voice due to being forceful with the pitch, but he's able to get the Harkonnen to free his mother's gag, where she demonstrates her mastery of the Voice through elaborate commands. |
| 301 | * JustToyingWithThem: Paul has Jamis at his mercy several times during their DuelToTheDeath but holds back on a killing blow, enraging and humiliating Jamis. Stilgar asks Jessica if Paul is deliberately toying with Jamis, but Jessica explains that Paul has never killed anyone before. The audience also knows that Paul had visions of Jamis becoming a mentor to him, causing him to be particularly reluctant to kill Jamis. |
| 302 | * LandSeaSky: Duke Leto Atreides mentions that House Atreides commands Caladan with airpower and seapower. On Arrakis', House Atreides must gain desertpower in order to survive. |
| 303 | * LastStand: Several are shown in the movie: |
| 304 | ** During the climactic battle, Gurney Halleck leads all the troops he can muster in a desperate charge against the overwhelming Harkonnen forces landing on the airfield. |
| 305 | ** Minutes later, the surviving Atreides, numbering barely twenty, face down the oncoming Harkonnen battalions at the top of a staircase. Bonus points for bravery- the Atreides not only prepare to fight but advance down the steps to meet their enemy. They manage to cut down the first two rows and cause the Harkonnens to stop their advance until the Sardaukar jetpack in from behind them and they are promptly slaughtered. |
| 306 | ** [[spoiler:Duncan Idaho]] gives his life to buy enough time for Paul and Jessica to escape. |
| 307 | * LeaningOnTheFourthWall: As this is just the first part of the story, it's fitting the movie ends with Chani saying, [[ItHasOnlyJustBegun "This is only the beginning."]] |
| 308 | * LectureAsExposition: Paul repeatedly listens to audio material and reads books about the Fremen, which helps the audience to get to know them better. |
| 309 | * LetsGetOutOfHere: Line said by Paul to Jessica in the desert when they sense a sandworm close by. |
| 310 | * LighterAndSofter: Downplayed; while it still has plenty of grim moments and an ominous tone, this version is more accessible to those who have not read the book. It is not as dark, brooding, and nightmarish as the Lynch version. There is also a downplaying of gratuitous weird and bizarre elements in favor of focusing on the characters' personalities and relationships, with more warm-hearted interactions and bonding moments between the characters. |
| 311 | * LodgedBladeRecycling: During his LastStand, [[spoiler:when Duncan is stabbed by Sardaukar soldiers, he removes the blade and kills several soldiers with it before dying]]. |
| 312 | * MacrossMissileMassacre: Harkonnen ships rain down missiles on Atreides soldiers during their assault, firing off dozens at a time. |
| 313 | * MenacingHandShot: Employed for [[https://imgur.com/KutHSvQ this shot]] of a Sardaukar approaches wounded Liet-Kynes in the desert to deliver a Coup de Grâce. |
| 314 | * MillionMookMarch: During Chani's OpeningMonologue, there is a shot of the massive Harkonnen army waiting for their departure from Dune. |
| 315 | * TheMomVoice: In a bit of a meta joke, Paul is told to demonstrate [[CompellingVoice The Voice]], an ability passed down by [[AncientConspiracy the Bene Gesserit]] to more-or-less mind-control people, by his mom in a naggy-mom kind of tone. |
| 316 | * MonstrousHumanoid: That ''thing'' in the Harkonnen throne room, with far too many human-like limbs at improbable angles. The Reverend Mother sending it off by using the Voice implies that it may actually once have been human. |
| 317 | * MoodyTrailerCoverSong: The trailer features a cover of Music/PinkFloyd's "[[Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon Eclipse]]". This may also be a shout-out to Jodorowsky's abandoned adaptation, as the director had wanted to have Pink Floyd provide the score to that film. |
| 318 | * {{Mordor}}: The film shows us two such locations. |
| 319 | ** Giedi Prime, homeworld of House Harkonnen, is a lightless, polluted hell of gigantic, toxic factories and stark, angular palaces where the vast majority of the population labor as diseased slaves for their feudal masters. The atmosphere is so saturated with toxic fumes that the sun can't penetrate through the atmosphere, and as a result people born on the planet are almost invariably hairless albinos. The Harkonnens are furthermore shown to keep at least one bizarre, spiderlike creature as a pet, which, judging by its humanlike hands and susceptibility to the Voice, means it's probably not native wildlife and more likely somebody who displeased them. |
| 320 | ** Salusa Secundus is an utter DeathWorld that, due to its inhospitable environment, serves as both a prison planet and as training ground for the Sardaukar, the Emperor's most elite warriors. The one scene that takes place there shows it to be a barren, storm-wracked place where the Sardaukar practice blood sacrifices to the Emperor under the watch of sinister priests. |
| 321 | * MysteriousVeil: |
| 322 | ** Reverend Mother Mohiam wears a bizarre spiderweb-like veil when she meets Paul. |
| 323 | ** Upon landing in Arrakis, Jessica and the rest of Atreides women are shown covered in see-through veils resembling Indian ghoonghats, probably to keep desert sand and dust out of their faces. |
| 324 | * MythologyGag: Enough to deserve its own [[MythologyGag/Dune2021 page]]. |
| 325 | * NeverTrustATrailer: |
| 326 | ** The 2020 trailer contained a handful of elements that aren't in the film, such as Paul's and Mohiam's longer dialogue, Paul screaming in the pain box, and the Sardaukar uttering a war cry where in the film they are silent. |
| 327 | ** In the 2020 trailer, the Baron is shown saying "Kill them all" as part of the montage about the Harkonnens' attack on the Atreides. In the actual film, [[spoiler:he says it after the Atreides are all (believed to be) dead, and is referring to the Fremen]]. |
| 328 | ** In the 2020 trailer, a key scene is shown occurring in broad daylight; in the actual film, the scene takes place at night. |
| 329 | ** The trailers show multiple scenes from Paul's visions with no context, as though they were actual current events of the story itself rather than [[spoiler:possible]] dreams of the future. |
| 330 | ** Much of Paul's dialogue in the trailers doesn't appear in the final movie: "There's something happening to me. There's something awakening in my mind, I can't control it"; "There's a crusade coming" (he says "holy war" in the movie instead); "This is an extermination. They're picking my family off one by one." Paul recites the Litany Against Fear in the trailers, while in the movie only Jessica is heard saying it. |
| 331 | ** The July 2021 trailer confuses Harkonnen and Sardaukar thanks to a montage featuring a scene where Gurney tells Paul about Harkonnen brutality, immediately followed by footage from the ''Sardaukar'' ceremony. |
| 332 | ** In one trailer, Duncan says "Let's fight like demons" just before scenes of him fighting the Sardaukar. However, in the actual scene in the movie, he says "They fight like demons" when describing the Fremen during his report to Leto after House Atreides arrives on Arrakis. |
| 333 | * NobodyPoops: In this adaptation, Kynes doesn't mention how urine and feces are processed during her explanation of how stillsuits work. |
| 334 | * NoEnding: Due to this being the first part of the story, the movie abruptly ends when [[spoiler:Paul and Jessica are accepted by Stilgar's Fremen tribe]], while none of the plot's threads have been resolved. |
| 335 | * NoOneCouldSurviveThat: Rabban assures his uncle that Jessica and Paul are dead since nothing could survive a DeadlyDustStorm like that. [[PlotArmor Naturally]], he is wrong. |
| 336 | * NothingIsScarier: |
| 337 | ** The Baron keeps a horrific spiderlike creature, with ''human hands'' at the ends of its arms, as a pet; and when Piter claims it doesn't understand what they're saying, Gaius Helen Mohiam [[CompellingVoice commands it to leave]] and retorts that [[ItCanThink "It understands."]] What this creature is (or ''who'' it might once have been) is never revealed, leaving the audience to wonder. |
| 338 | ** Paul and Jessica's escape from the Ecological Testing Station. While Paul readys their Ornithopter for takeoff, Jessica remains focused on the darkened entrance into the hangar. They know the Sardaukar are on site and could easily and quickly emerge into the light at any moment. When the Ornithopter initially struggles to start, attention is kept on the entryway as seconds go by and the tension builds. |
| 339 | * NunsAreSpooky: |
| 340 | ** The Bene Gesserit are an all-female religious order with a shadowy agenda whose long black robes and face veils resemble the habit of nuns. Their scenes are set in darkness and backed up by ominous music, giving them an aura of mysticism and menace. |
| 341 | ** Sardaukar are shown to have female officiants that wear nun-like headscarves and chains resembling rosary beads in their sleeves. Those women assist them in their human sacrifices, retrieving the blood and applying it to the warriors' foreheads. |
| 342 | * OffWithHisHead: The Baron decapitates [[spoiler:Dr. Yueh]] in one stroke with his knife. |
| 343 | * OdessaSteps: During the Harkonnen attack on Arrakeen, the Atreides soldiers walk down the steps in a shot lifted almost exactly from ''Film/BattleshipPotemkin''. |
| 344 | * OhCrap: |
| 345 | ** When Gurney sees [[spoiler:the monstrously sized Guild Heighliner in low orbit, signifying a massive Harkonnen invasion has come.]] |
| 346 | --->'''Gurney Halleck:''' ...God in heaven... |
| 347 | ** The look on Jamis' face when he notices that he just managed to maneuver himself into a DuelToTheDeath with an opponent he expected to kill with ease, but who turned out to be far superior to him. |
| 348 | *** Stilgar also gets a minor one during the duel when he asks Jessica if Paul is toying with Jamis...only to learn that Paul's actually hesitating because he's never killed another man before now. Stilgar's reaction can be interpreted as shock that someone who's never spilled blood is dominating one of his best fighters and/or horror at having thrust this boy into a life-or-death situation where, even if Paul wins, he'll never be the same. |
| 349 | ** The Atreides soldiers get this when they get flanked by the Sardaukar on their backs. |
| 350 | * OneWomanWail: A significant part of the soundtrack is dedicated to the high, keening wail of a female vocalist, used during particularly dramatic moments. |
| 351 | * OpeningScroll: The Sardaukar Priest throat-sings the the line at the start of the page and the translation is flashed on black before the opening logo. |
| 352 | * OrbitalBombardment: The [[spoiler:combined Harkonnen and Sardaukar attack on Arakeen]] opens with a devastating series of orbital strikes (that, or very high altitude ones) that takes out [[spoiler:the Atreides fleet]] before they can really mobilise. |
| 353 | * PoorCommunicationKills: A varitation with Duncan when he's recounting his time with the Fremen to Leto, Paul, and company. [[spoiler: While Duncan recounts the duel with the Fremen Warrior, he omits that he had to kill the Warrior in order to be accepted by Stilgar and his people. This nearly ends up biting Paul in the ass during his duel with Jamis in the climax. Paul (who's never killed another man) doesn't initially realize he ''has'' to kill Jamis for him and his mother to receive the same welcome that Duncan got.]] |
| 354 | * PortalNetwork: Heighliners seem to be essentially mobile portals, as planets and stars can be seen through their mouths when smaller ships go in and out. |
| 355 | * PracticallyDifferentGenerations: [[spoiler:Paul is around fifteen years old, if not slightly older]] [[note]][[spoiler:his age isn't specified in the film and Creator/TimotheeChalamet was in his twenties; in the book he's stated to be fifteen]][[/note]]. [[spoiler:Using his powers of foresight, Paul realizes his mother is several weeks pregnant with her second child, meaning his future sibling will be over a decade younger than him, potentially bordering on two decades younger]]. |
| 356 | * PragmaticAdaptation: |
| 357 | ** The book is framed as a historical treatise written by Princess Irulan, whose epigraphs mark chapter titles and provide some exposition. Since it is a very literary way of guiding the story, it is done away with in the film. |
| 358 | ** To emphasize its nigh-supernatural qualities and importance in an audiovisual medium, the Bene Gesserit Voice is monstrous-sounding in the film; in the book it was merely described as altering the speaker's tone. Lampshaded as after Jessica uses her Voice to get her and Paul's captors to kill each other, she chastises her son for not using the right tone. |
| 359 | ** In the book, Yueh is a doctor whose capabilities and loyalty are attributed to graduating from the prestigious Suk school of medicine. This backstory is excised in the film; his skill is instead shown by his ability to discern a patient's vitals simply by touching them. |
| 360 | ** The book features numerous characters saying different things than what they're really thinking, which the first film portrayed with characters constantly whispering their thoughts in voiceover. This film has them using sign language whenever this needs to happen. There are also long scenes (such as the dinner on Arrakis) where the reader's only access to the true intentions of characters are through subtle clues that the enhanced perceptions of characters like Jessica can pick up on, such as subtle speech patterns indicating that a person is associated with the Harkonnens; many of these moments are cut. |
| 361 | ** As it would probably make fight scenes too slow and lengthy, the rule about shields being only vulnerable to slow-moving strikes is only occasionally followed, otherwise being ignored for most of the film, where characters instead routinely pierce enemy shields with regular-speed strikes. |
| 362 | ** In the book, Paul has difficulty killing Jamis in spite of their large disparity in skill because Paul's fighting style accounts for shields, which Jamis isn't using. This would be hard to demonstrate with choreography, so Paul's difficulty instead focuses on his reluctance to take a life and visions he's had of them as friends. |
| 363 | ** Only Fremen have the blue-within-blue Eyes of Ibad. This is a sign of spice addiction, which the Fremen have from living on a world where spice is abundant. In the books, most people who live on Arrakis have the Eyes of Ibad, as do a few other characters (notably, Piter). This has been dropped in other adaptations, since explaining the Eyes isn't entirely necessary, and not explaining would lead audiences to wonder why Baron Harkonnen has a Fremen working for him. |
| 364 | * PragmaticVillainy: [[spoiler:Piter's alarmed when he realizes the Baron lied to Mohiam and intends to defy the Bene Gesserit's orders to spare Paul and Jessica. This of course isn't out of any concern for Paul and his mother's lives. Rather, Piter's alarmed that his liege is prepared to make an enemy of the Emperor's Truthsayer herself, let alone the entire Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, just to get Leto and his family. However, Piter's concerns are (more or less) ameliorated once the Baron explains the loophole he carefully inserted into his [[ExactWords pledge]] to Mohiam.]] |
| 365 | * ThePromisedLand: As seen in one of Paul's visions, the Fremen believe Arrakis will one day be turned into a water world that's almost as wet as Caladan. |
| 366 | * ProperlyParanoid: A trait that all House leaders are required to cultivate to survive the brutal politics of the Imperium. |
| 367 | ** Baron Harkonnen never fails to use ExactWords when making deals with others that will allow him to [[LoopholeAbuse exploit situations to his benefit later]], knowing that this is the only way to protect oneself from being implicated by a Bene Gesserit Truthsayer. [[spoiler:Also shows up during his interaction with Duke Leto -- when the man starts whispering prayers through his drug-induced paralysis, the Baron immediately triggers his personal shield (despite the other man being paralyzed and naked) before daring to get close enough to hear them. This is what ultimately saves his life [[TakingYouWithMe when the Duke triggers his poison gas tooth]]]]. |
| 368 | ** Subverted with Duke Leto. He was fully aware that by granting him overlordship of Arrakis the Emperor had maneuvered him into an inescapable trap. [[spoiler:He just wasn't paranoid enough to realize that the trap would be triggered by [[TheMole one of his own trusted servants]]]]. |
| 369 | * ProphetEyes: The Mentats develop these briefly when they are performing calculations. It is the only hint in the film that they aren't quite normal humans. |
| 370 | * ProphecyTwist: One of Paul's visions of Jamis tells him that he will teach him the ways of the desert. When they finally meet in the climax of Part One, Jamis ''does'' indeed teach Paul. [[spoiler:Their duel and Jamis' death at Paul's hands ''is'' the lesson. On Arrakis, the way of the desert is death and it's kill or be killed.]] |
| 371 | * PuttingOnTheReich: Inverted, as the members of the most honorable house in the galaxy wear snazzy black dress uniforms with jackboots as well as drab grey battle armor. Also played straight with the Harkonnens, who are all pale-skinned, wear black armor and plan to engage in a genocide of the Fremen, and [[spoiler:the Sardaukar are dressed in light grey Stormtrooper-esque gear, with the shots of them standing in massive formations possibly referencing Leni Riefenstahl's work]]. |
| 372 | * PyrrhicVictory: [[spoiler:The Harkonnens gain back control of Arrakis, kill Duke Leto and wipe out House Atreides, but Paul and Jessica get away and join up with the Fremen, the Baron is almost killed by poison gas and is left severely weakened, and the Harkonnens are now caught in the same trap that the Atreides were, trying to produce enough spice to satisfy the Emperor at the risk of his ''severe'' displeasure.]] |
| 373 | * QualityVsQuantity: On Salusa Secundus, the Sardaukar Bashar questions why they are being ordered to assist Baron Harkonnen, since his soldiers outnumber those of House Atreides. Piter de Vries patiently explains that, thanks to [[BadassTeacher Gurney Halleck and Duncan Idaho]], ''"the Atreides legions are the finest in the Imperium"'' (present company excepted, of course). This is fulfilled when the Harkonnens storm the entrance to the Arrakeen Palace, and a single line of Atreides soldiery is enough to hold them at bay, until the Sardaukar intervene from behind. |
| 374 | * RaceLift: |
| 375 | ** Dr. Liet-Kynes is portrayed by Sharon Duncan-Brewster, who is black. In the novels, Kynes is mentioned to have sandy blond hair and turns out to have a redhead daughter, making him likely either Caucasian or, given the desert theme, Berber (as they can be fair-haired in real life), if not some mix of races. |
| 376 | ** Chani, portrayed here as having a definitely black mother, is played by a biracial actress. In the novels, Chani was described as AmbiguouslyBrown at most and having tawny red hair. |
| 377 | ** Downplayed with Duncan Idaho, who is played by Creator/JasonMomoa (an actor of white, Native Hawaiian and Native American descent). In the books, Idaho is described as looking both Mediterranean and Asian, with dark skin and curly hair (which Momoa has) and epicanthic folds (which Momoa doesn't have). |
| 378 | ** In case you haven't read the books, this was actually averted with the Atreides family - a few parodies cracked jokes that Chalamet (of French descent) doesn't look like he's the son of Oscar Isaac (of Latino descent), but that's actually how they're described in the novel: Paul is said to have his mother's pale skin tone and most of her bone structure, except for his keen eyes, which closely resemble those of his father (Gurney Halleck actually remarks on how much he thinks Paul looks like Leto's father). Otherwise, Duke Leto is described as having olive-toned skin, thus vaguely "Mediterranean" looking - fitting the Greek-mixed-with-Spanish-bullfighters aesthetic of Caladan. Thus Oscar Isaac actually looks a lot closer to how Leto is described in the books than either of the two prior actors who played the role in other adaptations. |
| 379 | * RayOfHopeEnding: [[spoiler:While the Harkonnens succeed in recapture Arrakis, Paul joins the Fremen, and will one day lead a rebellion to defeat the Harkonnens once and for all.]] |
| 380 | * ReactionlessDrive: Most spacecraft and orbital landers have no visible thrusters, rocket engines, or other signs of propulsion, yet navigate just fine. |
| 381 | * RealIsBrown: The film is desaturated with the prominent color being brown/orange. |
| 382 | * RecycledSoundtrack: The four-note motif that Music/HansZimmer uses as the main ''Dune'' theme (heard in "Leaving Caladan", "My Road Leads Into the Desert", and "The Shortening of the Way" in the Sketchbook album) is a slowed-down portion of the bridge from Zimmer's ''Film/ManOfSteel'' theme ("What Are You Going to Do When You Are Not Saving the World?"). |
| 383 | * RemakeCameo: In the Japanese dub, Creator/HochuOtsuka, who voice Gurney Halleck, previously voiced Feyd-Rautha in the TV Asahi dub of the [[Film/Dune1984 1984 film]]. Likewise, Creator/JunkoMinagawa (Lady Jessica) previously voiced Princess Irulan in the dubs [[Series/FrankHerbertsDune of the TV]] [[Series/FrankHerbertsChildrenOfDune adaptations of the books]]. |
| 384 | * RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: Baron Harkonnen has compelled Dr. Yueh to betray the Atreides family [[IHaveYourWife in exchange for saving his wife]]. After Yueh fulfills his part of the bargain and is brought before the baron, the latter contemptuously refers to him as a traitor and kills him, using ExactWords to justify his action. |
| 385 | * RidiculouslyCuteCritter: The little desert mouse that Paul keeps seeing. Also applies in real life, as the audio that was used for the mouse's squeaks came from [[https://twitter.com/DaniConnorWild/status/1451622177476907012 wildlife photo/videographer Dani O'Connor's]] recordings of [[https://twitter.com/DaniConnorWild/status/1275349417508384768 Baby Pear]], an orphaned red squirrel she helped raise. |
| 386 | * RunOrDie: Jessica and Paul running from the sandworm and barely escaping it. |
| 387 | * SandWorm: Shai-Hulud, of course. Its individual ''scales'' are the size of buildings. And the one which attacks the spice harvester crew earlier on appears to be considerably bigger than that. These are creatures you would worship too if you had to live with them. |
| 388 | * SayMyName: Two instances one in the real world and one in Paul's dreams: |
| 389 | ** The Atreides army likes to repeat the house name as part of their battle cry. |
| 390 | ** The voices in Paul's dreams repeat his name - especially that of Chani. |
| 391 | * SceneryCensor: [[spoiler:Leto]] finds himself in a very precarious situation while completely naked, although any indecent parts are covered by [[spoiler:a large dining table and his chair]]. |
| 392 | * SceneryPorn: Villeneuve's artistic depictions of the various worlds, and Arrakis above all, is simply incredible. The visuals are Creator/RidleyScott levels of jaw-dropping. |
| 393 | * SchizoTech: As the norm for the franchise, technology levels run the gamut from medieval to futuristic, landing at just about every point in between. Sword combat is juxtaposed with high-tech shields and lasers (high-tech shields actually being the ''reason'' blades have come back into prominence). Flying craft with flapping wings and hot-air balloons are juxtaposed with space flight. Paul, meanwhile, learns about Arrakis from filmbooks that display holograms as well as paper books bound in leather. |
| 394 | * ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After killing a couple of Harkonnen guards at an airstrip, Duncan intimidates the remaining guards to run away as he commandeers an ornithopter. |
| 395 | * SequelHook: [[spoiler:Paul and Jessica finding and joining the Fremen, along with Paul seeing a sandworm being rode and beginning his connection to Chani as well]]. |
| 396 | -->'''Paul:''' [[spoiler:Desert power.]]\ |
| 397 | [[spoiler:'''Chani''':]] This is only the beginning. |
| 398 | * ShoutOut: |
| 399 | ** Two to ''Film/ApocalypseNow'': |
| 400 | *** The BaldOfEvil Baron Harkonnen exits a sauna rubbing his head the same way Colonel Kurtz does, both while monologuing. |
| 401 | *** Later, he rises from a pool of oil akin to Willard at the film's climax. |
| 402 | ** The clash between the Atreides line and the Harkonnen ZergRush was deliberately modeled on the iconic OdessaSteps sequence from ''Film/TheBattleshipPotemkin''. |
| 403 | * ShowDontTell: In stark contrast with the InfoDump-heavy Lynch film, Villeneuve tried to use as little exposition as possible unless absolutely necessary, focusing on visuals and organic dialogue to present the world and characters. [[AdaptationExplanationExtrication This comes at the cost of leaving some elements ambiguous or unexplained]], though the core of the plot remains relatively easy to follow. |
| 404 | * SilkHidingSteel: Jessica is the concubine of a leader of a Great House, and spends much of the first half of the film wearing one PimpedOutDress after another. But she's ''also'' been trained as a Bene Gesserit, still has the confidence (and advice) of their Reverend Mother, and is a skilled enough hand-to-hand combatant that she's able to best a Fremen leader in single combat. |
| 405 | * SingleTear: |
| 406 | ** Paul sheds one while [[spoiler:having visions of the holy war that will be waged in his name]]. |
| 407 | ** One runs down Duke Leto's face [[spoiler:as he sits paralyzed and forced to listen to the Baron Harkonnen narrate the death of House Atreides, while waiting to use his poison tooth which will also end his own life.]] |
| 408 | * SittingDuck: After [[spoiler:Doctor Yueh]] disables the palace's shields, a surprise Harkonnen assault destroys most of the Atreides fleet before they can leave the ground. |
| 409 | * SpannerInTheWorks: |
| 410 | ** [[spoiler: The Baron's plan to strand Jessica and Paul in the desert after the massacre. As Jessica's a Bene Gesserit, his soldiers are careful to gag her to prevent her from using the Voice. However, the plan fails because the Baron ''didn't'' know Jessica had been instructing Paul in the Sisterhood's arts (against Bene Geserit rules), or that he'd be able to (more or less) finally use the Voice himself [[CrisisMakesPerfect when it mattered most]]. It can also be justified in-story as Yueh seemingly did ''not'' pass on what intel he saw about Paul's Bene Gesserit abilities to the Harkonnens.]] |
| 411 | *** The earlier assassination attempt on Paul also fails for similiar reasons: [[spoiler: As the Baron didn't know about Paul's home schooling in the Bene Geserit arts, the Harkonnen assassin had no way of knowing that the Atreides heir's reflexes had been honed to the point where he could move faster than a Hunter-Seeker. Since the operative kills himself to prevent being taken alive by Thufir, the Baron doesn't learn ''why'' the assassination failed. And again, presumably Yueh did not pass on his suspicions or intel to Geidi Prime.]] |
| 412 | *** [[spoiler:The attempted stranding of Paul and Jessica also only happens because Mohiam explictly ordered the Baron to not harm Jessica or Paul (as she needed the latter for the Kwisatz Haderach program). The Baron of course had planned to kill all the Atreides and has to work around the Bene Gesserit edict through some clever ExactWords and LoopholeAbuse. Had he been able to just kill them straight up during the siege of the Residency, the events of Part Two and the ultimate downfall of the conspiracy at Paul's hands would never have come to pass.]] |
| 413 | ** Once Lyet Kynes [[spoiler: defects and sides with Paul and Jessica, the plan is for her to contact the Landsraad and expose Shaddam's betrayal and House Harkonnen's complicity. Doing so will allow the House Atreides survivors to rally political and military support against the Emperor. Unfortunately, Kynes is ambushed by the Sardaukar before she can leave the Ecological station. With Paul subsequently choosing to remain on Arrakis rather than flee offworld, the Landsraad is thus left in the dark about what really happened on Arakis.]] |
| 414 | ** When Paul and Jessica seek out the Fremen [[spoiler: following the massacre, the hope was to try and use their resources and contacts to smuggle Paul off-world to safety. What Jessica didn't anticipate was that Paul's visions and the ritual combat with Jamis would change her son's mind and convince him to remain on Arrakis with the Fremen.]] |
| 415 | * SpitefulSpit: PlayedWith; Stilgar spits in front of Leto, which the Atreides retainers interpret as an insult. However, Duncan (who has spent time with the Fremen) recognizes it as a respectful gesture; the Fremen (as a desert people) highly value bodily moisture, and so Stilgar is showing respect. |
| 416 | * StackedCharactersPoster: [[https://schicksalgemeinschaft.files.wordpress.com/2021/09/dune-part-one-poster.jpg Several]] [[https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BN2FjNmEyNWMtYzM0ZS00NjIyLTg5YzYtYThlMGVjNzE1OGViXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTkxNjUyNQ@@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg movie]] [[https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Chinese-sandworms-and-explosions-Dune-poster.jpeg?q=50&fit=crop&w=740&h=1036&dpr=1.5 posters]] follow the trend of stacking all main characters into a column. |
| 417 | * StrangeSalute: House Atreides' battle salute consists of holding a blade vertically and touching the fist holding it to the heart, then rotating the blade horizontally and touching the flat of the blade to the forehead. This symbolizes that the heart and mind are a warrior's weapons as much as the blade. We see Duncan Idaho do it to Paul before his LastStand. It is also Paul's response to Jamis' Fremen PreAsskickingOneLiner "May thy knife chip and shatter." |
| 418 | * SuddenSoundtrackStop: During the crawler rescue, Paul steps out into the deep desert to direct the workers towards their evacuation ships. He is then engulfed by a wave of sand tossed up by a departing thopter, causing the BGM to cut out. (This then gets PlayedForDrama when the wave of swirling sand includes spice, which has a galvanizing effect on his senses.) |
| 419 | * SuddenlyShouting: |
| 420 | -->'''Rabban:''' Uncle, how can we let this happen? How can the Emperor... TAKE! EVERYTHING WE'VE BUILT! AND GIVE IT TO THAT DUKE?! HOW?! |
| 421 | * SummonBiggerFish: After the Sardaukar stab [[spoiler:her, Liet-Kynes pounds on the sand to draw the sandworm she called with her thumper in faster, [[TakingYouWithMe so it will eat her attackers as well as her]].]] |
| 422 | * SymbolicBlood: |
| 423 | ** The personal DeflectorShield used by most combatants will flicker blue when weapons are being deflected away from the wearer, but will flicker red when something gets through. In massive battle scenes, the red flicker happens a lot, [[BloodlessCarnage though very little actual blood is seen]]. |
| 424 | ** When [[spoiler:Liet Kynes is stabbed in the back]], water dramatically spurts out of her breached stillsuit instead of blood to show how dangerous the loss of moisture is out in the desert. |
| 425 | * TableSpace: |
| 426 | ** When Jessica and Paul are having breakfast at the palace, they sit spread apart on a large table which emphasizes an emotional distance between them. |
| 427 | ** Also the shot of the Baron talking to the captured Leto at the other end of an extremely long table. |
| 428 | * TakingYouWithMe: |
| 429 | ** [[spoiler:Duke Leto bites down on a poison gas capsule in an attempt to take down the Harkonnens. He takes out everyone in the room (including Piter de Vries) except for the Baron himself. Lampshaded; when Yueh tells him about it, he mentions that this breath would also be his last.]] |
| 430 | ** During his LastStand, [[spoiler:Duncan Idaho takes out multiple soldiers before being fatally stabbed. And then he ''[[LodgedBladeRecycling removes the blade he was stabbed with]]'' and takes down more before finally dying]]. |
| 431 | ** After being stabbed by the Sardaukar, [[spoiler:Liet-Kynes [[SummonBiggerFish pounds on the sand to draw the sandworm she called with her thumper in faster]], so it will devour her attackers as well as her.]] |
| 432 | * TestOfPain: Paul must pass the gom jabbar test to prove his abilities. Reverend Mother Mohiam puts the gom jabbar (a needle coated in a lethal poison) to his neck, and he must keep his hand in a box that inflicts tremendous pain on it, otherwise he will be killed by the poison. Interestingly, [[spoiler:the mental struggle Paul goes through to master the pain seems to help awaken his abilities]], which the Reverend Mother reacts to with noticeable unease. |
| 433 | --> '''Paul:''' Why are you doing this? |
| 434 | --> '''Mohiam:''' An animal caught in a trap will gnaw off its own leg to escape. What will you do? |
| 435 | * TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Gurney tries to remind Stilgar of this to no avail, Leto calms things by having him back off. |
| 436 | -->'''Gurney:''' You will address as "my lord Duke" or "Sire"\ |
| 437 | '''Leto''': Gurney, just a moment. |
| 438 | * AThicketOfSpears: One scene in the Battle of Arrakeen shows Atreides legionnaires using a formation of swordsmen supported by pikemen behind them to defend the palace from Harkonnen soldiers (projectile weapons being mostly useless in the setting because of the ubiquity of DeflectorShields). They easily fend off the Harkonnens' initial charge, but this is only a diversion from the Sardaukar [[ItsRainingMen air-dropping in behind them]]: the ensuing two-pronged attack goes much better for the attackers. |
| 439 | * ThirstyDesert: While this is nothing new to the franchise, the aspect of how arid and dry Arrakis is expounded upon in great detail. What makes Arrakis more alien in this adaptation is how the three other worlds in the movie all have abundant amounts of water: Caladan [[{{Arcadia}} has vast oceans and lush vegetation]], Salusa Secundus [[PerpetualStorm is hit with heavy rain]], Geidi Prime [[ExcessiveSteamSyndrome has constant humidity leaking everywhere]]. Arrakis has none of those things. The planet is very, ''extremely dry,'' and water is valued as more precious than gold. It further drives [[DeathWorld just how inhospitable Arrakis really is]]. The scene of watering the date palms is just one of many examples illustrating the arid brutality of the planet. |
| 440 | * Title1: The film's true title is ''Dune: Part One'', since the novel has been DividedForAdaptation. ''[[Film/DunePartTwo Part Two]]'' was released in March 2024. |
| 441 | * TitleDrop: Courtesy of Baron Harkonnen: "My desert. My Arrakis. ''My Dune.''" |
| 442 | * TitleIn: All locations (like Caladan and Giedi Prime) are first announced with on-screen labels. |
| 443 | * TorosYFlamenco: The Atreides family has Mediterranean roots according to supplementary materials, and this is reflected by them having practiced bullfighting up to the previous generation, with artwork in Caladan still representing the sport. No flamenco, as the Atreides musicians favor bagpipes instead, although, fittingly, the ''gaitas'' or bagpipes are representative of Spain too, in this case of the northern land of Galicia (and to add another reference, their first piper plays in Arabic scale, possibly referencing Al-Ándalus). |
| 444 | * TrailersAlwaysSpoil: |
| 445 | ** Viewers familiar with the book will be able to tell from the first trailer that [[spoiler:Paul becomes the new Duke of House Atreides, as Duncan addresses him as such.]] It's only not a spoiler for everyone else because [[spoiler:the trailer avoids calling Leto a Duke too]]. |
| 446 | ** Zig-zagged when the main trailer goes a step further and outright spoils that [[spoiler:Leto dies by giving focus to him being stabbed InTheBack, and him giving Jessica an "if anything happens to me" talk]], regardless of whether or not the viewer knows how it happens in the book. [[spoiler:The trailer does not, however, depict the scene from the novel where Leto actually dies attempting to assassinate the Baron by means of a [[CyanidePill poisonous fake tooth]].]] |
| 447 | ** Even before the trailers, the first wave of promo pics counts as well for book readers since [[spoiler:one appears to show Duncan's last stand, confirming it happens more similarly to the book in contrast to prior depictions]]. The trailers themselves [[spoiler:show it, but they and the image in question don't otherwise telegraph his fate]]. |
| 448 | * TrialByCombat: Paul has to fight Jamis to the death in order to prove his worthiness to the Fremen. |
| 449 | * UnderwaterBase: The Atreides seem to have built bases in Caladan's lakes, as at least one of their frigates is seen emerging from underwater before taking off. |
| 450 | * UnflinchingWalk: During the Harkonnen invasion, Gurney Halleck and his men walk away from the airfield with a DeterminedExpression on their faces while their airships are exploding in the background. |
| 451 | * UnrelatedInTheAdaptation: Chani is Kynes's daughter in the novel, but in the film there is no indication of any familial connection. |
| 452 | * UnwantedGiftPlot: PlayedForDrama in a very dark way. Being granted stewardship of Arrakis is supposedly a sign of the Emperor's favor instead of the massive trap that it is. |
| 453 | * UsedFuture: But only on Arrakis where everything is subject to the harsh desert conditions, plus Harkonnen made sure to leave only worn-out equipment. |
| 454 | * WaifFu: The film doesn't bother pretending we won't notice Timothée Chalamet's slender frame, with Duncan playfully ribbing Paul about not putting on muscle. Also, his mother looks very classically feminine and delicate. But both are products of selective breeding and well-trained in advanced forms of close combat and easily trounce skilled and muscular warriors. |
| 455 | * WarmPlaceWarmLighting: Paul's visions are given a bright, golden hue -- the color of spice. |
| 456 | * WatchingTroyBurn: Paul and Jessica crest a dune and see the burning city of Arrakeen after escaping the Harkonnens. |
| 457 | * WeHaveReserves: In the opening scene, the Harkonnen harvester drives off a Fremen attack by indiscriminately [[MacrossMissileMassacre firing rockets into the melee]], seemingly killing a number of their own men. |
| 458 | * WeNeedADistraction: It might be a coincidence, but right when the Ornithopter carrying Paul and Jessica to their (deniable) deaths takes off, the Harkonnen launch a saturation bombing of the city, ensuring everyone else will be looking over there instead (or dying). |
| 459 | * WeWillWearArmorInTheFuture: |
| 460 | ** The film is set in 10191[[note]]as noted elsewhere, likely in After Guild as in the books, rather than Common Era, with AG starting some time after 11,000 CE[[/note]] and Leto, Gurney and a battalion of the Atreides army (though neither Paul nor Jessica) wear plated suits of armor when landing on Arrakis. |
| 461 | ** Among the baddies, the Harkonnen fatigues consist of partially armored suits. The Sardaukar curiously avert it, wearing comparatively softer pressure suits, presumably because they prefer freedom of movements. |
| 462 | ** In one of Paul's holy war dreams, the suit he wears in battle against the Sardaukar looks more medieval-ish and plated than the usual Fremen stillsuits. |
| 463 | * WhamShot: Paul tells Jessica about his spice-induced vision of the future, and we see an army of white-clad warriors led by a graceful DanceBattler. When his mask opens... it's Paul himself, with the blue eyes of a Fremen. |
| 464 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler:Gurney Halleck]] disappears after [[spoiler:the Harkonnen attack on Arrakis]], and [[spoiler:Thufir Hawat]] only appears before the film's halfway mark (due to this character's major SubPlot being AdaptedOut). Even worse, only ''one'' of them appears in the sequel. (The other filmed scenes that were left on the cutting-room floor.) |
| 465 | * WhyDontYouJustShootHim: [[spoiler:This is the one of the key mistakes the Sardaukar make at the Ecological Station. They manage to mortally wound Duncan, but they punch him to the ground rather than just finishing him off then and there. This oversight costs three more Sardaukar their lives ''and'' their chance to get Paul and Jessica when the dying Duncan rallies to one last attack.]] |
| 466 | * TheWorfEffect: House Atreides' troops are said to be among the best in the Imperium and actually do a good job holding back the Harkonnen. Then the Sardaukar appear and demonstrate their own lethality by mowing through the Atreides. And then the Fremen show their own prowess by taking on the Sardaukar and killing a good number of them before being overwhelmed. |
| 467 | * {{Wormsign}}: Created by the {{Sand Worm}}s, naturally. |
| 468 | * WrestlerInAllOfUs: When fighting the Sardaukar in the corridor of the palace, Duncan takes down the fourth of them with Wrestling/YoshihiroTakayama's jumping knee before cutting his throat. |
| 469 | * YouDidntSeeThat: [[spoiler:Judge of Change Liet Kynes, the person who is tasked to determine and report whether the handover of Arrakis is done properly, and without foul play, was ordered by the Emperor to not only turn a blind eye to the fact the Harkonnens left the Atreides no good equipment to harvest spice with, but also ignore the blatantly obvious fact that the Emperor's own elite soldiers are openly supporting the Harkonnen attack against the Atreides.]] |
| 470 | -->'''[[spoiler:Liet]]:''' I am commanded to say nothing. |
| 471 | * YouShallNotPass: When the Harkonnens' troops march into the Arrakeen Palace, a line of Atreides soldiers blocks the entrance to the foyer. They are holding their own quite well against the Harkonnen ZergRush, until the Sardaukar appear behind them. |
| 472 | * ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld: On Arrakis, lighter-than-air dirigibles are used alongside other modes of flight, in particular the Carryalls that deploy balloons when lifting one of the massive harvesters. Also, the [[spoiler:Harkonnen troop landers]]. |
| 473 | [[/folder]] |
| 474 | ---- |
| 475 | ->''[[Music/PinkFloyd ♫ And all you create\ |
| 476 | And all you destroy\ |
| 477 | And all that you do\ |
| 478 | And all that you say... ♫]]'' |
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