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Comment by keiferski | Hacker News Reader

I said "a few decades from now" because I wanted to highlight the fact that the recent Dune movies are unremarkable and similar to other films made today, whereas the 80s Dune is fairly unique, even for the 80s. In other words: in 2050, Dune 2021 will be perceived as just another sci-fi film, whereas Dune 1984 will still be weird and unique.

As a side note: does anyone take RT or the Oscars seriously anymore? That whole line of argument isn't very compelling to me, but I guess it is for some.

And as a final comment: note that I didn't say Dune 1984 was an amazing film, I just said it would be looked at more favorably than the current films because of its uniqueness. This tends to happen to older films: the solid-but-boring ones get forgotten, while the weird-but-unique ones develop a cult following and get re-evaluated positively.

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> In other words: in 2050, Dune 2021 will be perceived as just another sci-fi film, whereas Dune 1984 will still be weird and unique.

Just like The Room is "weird and unique"? :)

> As a side note: does anyone take RT or the Oscars seriously anymore? That whole line of argument isn't very compelling to me, but I guess it is for some.

How much would you agree or disagree with this 'ranking' of Lynch's works?

* https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/david-lynch/

The Room is an extreme example because it’s mostly remembered for being so bad that it’s funny, but sure: it has had a thousand times more influence than the hundreds of competent but procedural thrillers that came out at the same time. It will still be watched in fifty years.

I don’t like that list at all and think it’s basically a list of how “traditional” the Lynch film is. I’d put Mulholland Drive first personally.

Only had to look at the first two spots to strongly disagree.

the room is pretty well known, and is more memorable / has probably had a bigger impact on cinema than at least half of the entries in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_in_film#Highest-grossing_...

"good" or "bad" is sort of irrelevant

>good" or "bad" is sort of irrelevant

To whether something is looked on favourably?

It’s using RT’s scoring, which tends to favor movies that are broadly likable over movies that are more willing to take risks that don’t connect with all of their audience.

A big-budget Hollywood blockbuster will have a high RT score even if it’s kinda bland. A filmmaker like Lynch will have a lower RT score, but the people who connect with his movies are more likely have a deeper experience than someone who connects with the blockbuster.

> the fact that the recent Dune movies are unremarkable

What makes this a fact? Why are they so unremarkable?

I can think of no memorable visuals despite having seen it on IMAX.

I can remember plenty of interesting visuals from the Lynch one despite thinking many other aspects of it were horrible, and having seen it in my room 4 years ago.

The new one is basically unfinished, it's a nice setup for part 2.

Of course you're right, somehow Lynch did more in less time, but also maybe (hopefully!) part1-2 together will be a valuable take on Dune.

I have one vivid memory from the Lynch one. The Baron's blood torture contraption seared into my mind about 25 years ago, and I have some half faded ones about the last attack, the Imperial palace, and ... that's it probably.

For me Dune was more about vibe, atmosphere, scale, grand space opera mindfuck than concreteness and still images.

> I can think of no memorable visuals despite having seen it on IMAX.

Off the top of my head:

* The arrival of the Imperial delegation for the 'signing ceremony'.

* The fight training sequence.

* The view from behind Paul's head, with the Gom Jabbar at his neck.

* The opening of the doors on arrival at Arrakis.

* The starting of the ornithopters' engines.

* The found hunter-seeker operator.

* The cockpit view dive of the ornithopter.

* The view of the spice harvester being swallowed from the ornithopter ramp.

* The bombs penetrating the ship shields and the contained explosions.

* Paul and Jessica on the top of the hill, viewing the aftermath of Arakeen.

* The wide dining room shot with the Barron on the left and the Duke on the right.

* Paul 'tripping' in the tent.

don't remember any of these except maybe the second to last

A few you didn't mention that stand out to me, just because it brings me joy: - Jessica meeting Mohiam in the unrelenting rain of Caladan - The first time a transport picks up a harvester - Paul's vision of Jessica holding Alia - Salusa Secondus... - Sardaukar dropping into the research station, and the Fremen revealing themselves from the sand to attack

It’s hard for me to think of any one specific scene that is visually memorable, because _the entire movie_ is visually memorable to me. It’s easily one of the most visually and auditory impressive films I’ve seen in the past decade, whereas Lynch’s seemed like a low-budget SyFy film in comparison.

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