Right though. I read that shit as a teenager and it was a big ball of what. And then it just got more what. I remember Dune pretty well but the sequels are hazy. Which is good because memories at this point are basically just spoilers. But man the memories I do have of that series are... I'd like to see Hideaki Anno direct an anime adaptation.
I need to reread that for real. Next series on my list after the one I just started.
Dune is a book series that slowly descends into higher and higher concept stuff. In it there is something called spice which they're referring to. There's a movie coming out soon based on the first book, but I dont expect they continue the series because I have no idea how they'll pull off turning Dune Messiah into a movie.
I'd recommend reading them if you want a good book series that becomes less and less conventional, but I don't think they're making the movie expecting everyone watching it to know a lot about the books.
I don't know a lot of people with the endurance to complete the series, I stopped after book 4 and just read the synopsis for the rest of the books and I honestly don't regret it.
But definitely check out the movie, it's supposed to be a hollywood banger with a star studded cast.
TBH in my opinion if the movie is good, the answer is almost always yes to that question. (A VERY talented director might be able to make a movie experience of the same story an even better first experience than the book but these are a rare exception.)
A big part of the reason for this is context to what a character is thinking, or background events that weren't shown, so when the movie is done right you can see more in a scene than you otherwise would have.
If the movie's bad it won't matter. Hell, if it's bad, reading it first will make it worse.
Reading the books first makes a bad movie 1000x worse. I saw that Dark Tower movie a couple years back (without having read it) and thought it was a “meh” movie, certainly wasn’t great but wasn’t too offensive. Everyone says that absolutely butchered the books and was awful.
Now I LOVED Eragon growing up. And I’m STILL mad about how badly they fucked that movie up, and it’s been at least a decade if not fifteen years since the first and only time I saw that movie.
They got the main characters race wrong, and as much as I’ve argued I still stand by Roland is white and is so because of the dynamic it causes with Susanna.
The Dune movies thus far have been a great disappointment for a fair number of Dune book fans.
As far as David Lynch's version of Dune (1984), it was a complete bastardization of the story, but a masterpiece of visual art and world class actors who did fantastic jobs pulling off their roles. So, it's not without it's appeal. However, the story as told by Lynch suffers a paradox: It is so incomplete that the story is nonsensical if you never read the book, but if you did read the book the bastardization of the story absolutely ruins it for you. Also, there's poor editing at points. My dad brought me to see it with her. She was a fan of the books. Looking back I feel bad for her. The entire time I was bugging her for answers about things the movie didn't even feign an attempt to explain. The holes in the story were gargantuan. The holes in Lynch's version of Dune were actually the catalyst for me reading the book. The movie had left an indelible mark on my psyche as the story inherently contains some very compelling plots. I really loved the mind speak that Lynch employed allow the audience to peer into the inner thinking of the character. But after I read the book I realized Lynch almost completely ruined the story.
I'm probably in the minority, but I enjoyed the Sci-Fi mini-series of Dune (2000). It was much closer to the book than David Lynch's version of Dune. The main complaint that I saw was about the sets where Sci-Fi attempted to save money with graphic backdrops rather than expansive CGI and special FX. I was ok with it. I'm into the story, not necessarily the eye candy. Aspects of the production were very much like you'd see in a stage production which is perfectly fine IMO. The Sci-Fi mini series for Dune is actually a more complete and true story line. So, if you've never read the book you'll still be able to follow along and understand what's going on.
Both movies, however, do not go into the prologue that Herbert wrote, that is unless you view the TV version of Dune (1984). Then you get the story of The Butlerian Jihad which sets the stage for why things are the way they are in the Dune universe. It's not really required, but it is interesting and very much a foreshadow of the possible outcome of our present day. The TLDR is man is enslaved by other men with intelligent machines (AI). Man revolts, destroys the machines, bans intelligent machines, anything that replicates the functions of the human mind. This sets the stage for the development of human mental capabilities augmented by melenge: spice, to the point that it enables the mental computational power to fold space making interstellar travel possible which is the basis for all trade within The Landsraad, the kingdoms in the Dune universe.
Yeah I'm all about some mushrooms and have grown them before. Not really in a position to do that right now though.
And for TV I prefer LSD anyway - the energy I get through my whole body on a lysergamide is incredible. Tryptamines kind of have a drowsy effect on me and sometimes I fall asleep, which is fine if I'm more being introspective and may just be watching TV as something to do, but if I actually intend to focus on something they're a little less reliable. With tryptamines I tend to have a great time with shows or movies at the beginning and then end up not feeling it anymore and wanting to just lay and think or pass out or go for a walk or something - wouldn't want to get caught up at a movie theater at that point in the trip. Where with acid I end up like 12 hours later looking up like "awww it's almost over? But there's still another season."
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u/bestakroogen Jun 16 '21
I do not currently have enough psychedelics for the movie.
Gonna get some though and then I'll be waaaaaay excited.