Name: Anish Mall

ID:2021A8PS1138P
Movie: Dune Part 1 (2021); Director: Denis Villeneuve
Book: Dune (1985); Author: Frank Herbert

BEST SCENES

1. Emperor’s Herald arrives (6:40-9:51)

2. Paul and Duke talk (12:24-15:37)
3. Paul and Gurney spar (15:46-18:00)
4. Reverend Mother tests Paul; Gom Jabbar scene (22:35-28:51)
5. Paul v/s Hunter seeker (42:50-45:20)
6. Reverend mother talks with the Harkonnens (45:30-47:09)
7. The first interaction with the Fremen (49:38-53:10)
8. Spice harvesting (56:31- 59:39)
9. Worm attacks the harvester (59:40-1:05:26)
10.Harkonnens attack Arrakis (1:13:53- 1:18:49)
11.Hueh’s betrayal and plan (1:18:53-1:20:00)
12.Paul and Jessica escape (1:24:03-1:27:39)
13.Duke and the Baron “talk”(1:28:51-1:32:16)
14.Paul has another vision about his destiny (1:34:00-1:37:28)
15.Paul and Jessica are attacked again; Duncan’s sacrifice (1:44:45-1:48:09)
16.Escaping a sandworm (2:04:01-2:07:10)
17.Paul’s first kill (2:15:05-2:20:05)

{P.S. The scenes are arranged in chronological order and are referred to by their assigned
numbers in the later sections of the assignment.}

DOCUMENTARY LINKS

1. Making Of DUNE (2021) - Best Of Behind The Scenes, On Set Bloope…

2. Making Of DUNE Part 2 - Best Of Behind The Scenes, On Set Blooper…
3. https://youtu.be/uILh1UpoMqM
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lJdoI0JuEA
5. Why Dune's Editing Feels Different
CHARACTER

Paul Atreides is the most distinguishable character in Dune in that he’s the one
destined to change the fate of the universe. In the beginning, he is a strong but
cautious boy from his interactions with Gurney Halleck and Duncan Idaho.
Throughout the movie, we also see him as a resistive character, always trying to
resist the path destiny has in store for him. He has seen the bloodshed and war
that will happen through his rise to power. However, Paul wants to believe there
is another way, one that does not cause so much suffering and death. He even
tries not to kill Jamis but has to give in once he accepts that it is his destiny. He
is also mature, stoic and composed, through his words in court and the way he
understands the peril in which his family is in throughout the movie and his
handling of the hunter-seeker sent to kill him. He also quickly overcame the
grief of his father’s death, realising that the future of his house was now resting
on his shoulders.

ANTI-HERO TROPE

When we say Paul is an anti-hero, we don't mean he's got a villain locked away
in his heart of hearts. What we mean is that Paul serves as a deconstruction of
the archetypal hero while at the same time being that hero. As William Touponce
put it: Herbert saw heroes as painful for society and superheroes as a
catastrophe, because their mistakes involve so many of us in disaster (source).

See, Paul is everything a hero is supposed to be. People admire his strength,
skills, and cunning. He decides on a particular goal, and he meets every
challenge standing between that goal and victory. He defeats an evil Baron. Then
he marries the princess, and he brings peace to the land under his protection.
Well, except for that last part. Instead of peace, Paul sets the plague of jihad
across the universe. Oops.

Throughout the story, Paul often sees the future jihad and vows to stop it. But as
he takes steps toward preventing the jihad, Paul becomes a hero to the Fremen
people. This means he "cannot do the simplest thing without its becoming a
legend". By the time he defeats the Harkonnens and the Emperor, the legend of
Muad'Dib has grown far more powerful than Paul the man. The "jihad would
be". There is nothing Paul can do to stop it anymore.
The warning of Paul's heroism is that sometimes the hero and the person can be
two totally different things—and when people worship the hero, rather than
follow the person, the mistakes can grow exponentially to fit the size and scope
of the legend. Although Dune seems to want you to admire the hero Paul
Atreides, the superhero and legend Muad'Dib is a source of catastrophe rather
than hope for the universe.

NAME BREAKDOWN

Paul Atreides.
Atreides is a name from Greek mythology. It's given to the descendants of
Atreus, and the most famous of these descendants was Atreus's son,
Agamemnon. Agamemnon would go on to make a name for himself by going
medieval all over Troy during the Trojan War. Things get a little complicated
when Agamemnon returns home after the war: his wife Clytemnestra axes him
to death for killing their daughter Iphigenia (he sacrificed her for good winds to
sail to Troy). An anti-hero if there ever was one.
Paul, on the other hand, seems a tad run-of-the-mill, especially with characters
like Vladimir Harkonnen running about the novel. But it's a name heavy in
allusion all the same.
In the Bible, there once was a guy named Saul. On his way to Damascus, Saul
saw a vision of Jesus Christ, which blinded him (source). When his eyesight
returned, Saul became Paul and converted to Christianity. He was later
instrumental in the conversion of gentiles (non-Jewish peoples) into the
Christian faith.
So, within these two names, we get hints about Paul's purpose in the novel. The
allusion to Atreus and Agamemnon shows that Paul will be a conqueror (and one
with a questionable moral compass). Meanwhile, the allusion to the Bible
character shows Paul's eventual spiritual awakening and his destiny as a
religious figurehead.

PLOT

1. Beginning- At the start, we see Paul unaware of the danger the Emperor has
imposed upon his family by handing them Arrakis. It is through his
 conversations with his father and Gurney Halleck that he begins to
comprehend the peril they are in and the responsibility he must assume if
they are to succeed in surviving there. (Scenes: 1-3)
2. Revelation- His brief interaction with the reverend mother also affects Paul a
lot and gives us more insight into the importance and power his character has.
The brief mention of the Kwisatz Haderach by the reverend mother gives
Paul a doubt that he might possess immense powers and that the fate of the
universe might be lying on his shoulders. (Scene 4)
3. Rising Action- When the Harkonnens attack the Atreides and Paul and
Jessica are kidnapped, Paul understands how his father had been set up to fail
from the start. He embraces the new responsibilities placed suddenly on him
and during their escape when he has no choice but to successfully use “The
Voice” (which he was still learning how to control at the beginning of the
movie) for his and his mother’s survival, he is able to compose himself and
manages to do enough to save them. (Scenes: 10,12)
4. Falling Action- After Paul and Jessica escape and have to spend the night in a
tent in the desert, Paul has another vision of the future. He foresees a war
being fought under the name of religion and everyone shouting his name. He
finally accepts the power and influence that he could have, and this is alluded
to when he blames his mother and the Bene Gesserit for “making him a
freak.” (Scene 14)
5. Climax- In the final scene of the movie, Paul’s transformation from a boy to a
man is finally completed through his killing of Jamis. Prior to the duel, Paul
sees a vision of Jamis killing him. A woman’s voice says that Paul must die
in order for the Kwisatz Haderach (the god-man of the Dune universe) to rise.
She says that if he takes a life, he takes his own. Stilgar, too says, “a life for a
life,” after Jamis is defeated. If Paul Atreides must die for the Kwisatz
Haderach to rise, Jamis took that place in death. A life for a life, Jamis gave
his own in Paul’s stead. Jamis’ defeat ushers Paul into his future as the
god-man and, consequently, the war against the Empire. (Scene 17)

THEME
The Dune novels profoundly deal with themes ranging from imperialism, faith,
political showmanship, and ecology but mostly deals with the great burden of
power and the sacrifices it constantly demands. In Frank Herbert’s own words,
“The bottom line of the Dune trilogy is - beware of heroes. It is much better to
rely on your own judgements and your own mistakes.” However, this great
power burden and its effect on heroes is only hinted at in the first movie, it being
the foundation of what the book(s) are actually about.
Upon watching Dune: Part1 and considering the subsequent part of the book, the
central theme can be identified as imperialism/colonialism (a form of power and
corruption), with identity and fate and free will being a couple of the
sub-themes; and these being the foundational themes of the story (and the
second movie) is developed upon.

IMPERIALISM
Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and
dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and
economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic
and military power) but also soft power (cultural and diplomatic power). Dune:
Part One opens in a universe ruled by the Padishah emperor and the Great
Houses having considerable power but fighting for the edge over each other. We
quickly learn that the Harkonnens want to vanquish House Atreides in its
entirety to stop them from becoming too powerful and put an end to the
long-existing rivalry between them. The Emperor, who is also vary of the
Atreides’ growing power on Caladan and their relations with the smaller houses,
conspires with the Harkonnens and strategically gives them control (soft power)
over the desert planet Arrakis, rich in “melange” (or spice). Duke Leto Atreides
cautiously accepts, but upon taking control of Arrakis, he soon realises that he’s
been set up to fail. The Harkonnens attack the Duke and his family on Arrakis
(with the help of the emperor’s forces) and kill Leto, forcing Paul and Jessica to
escape (hard power). Thus, the major part of the movie uses the themes of
Imperialism to showcase how the Harkonnens and the Emperor take control over
the Imperium.

IDENTITY
Identity is an underlying theme highlighted continuously in the movie. Paul
struggles with his identity throughout the movie (and across the first two books,
actually). He is shown as a mature and powerful character at the beginning itself
but is clear that he is still a boy, yet to experience life outside his home world
and the politics that govern the Imperium. He is unsure whether he wants to
embrace the responsibility that comes with being a Duke’s son (Scene 2) or not.
Over the course of the movie, he both becomes more experienced and, when
responsibility is thrown upon his shoulders, embraces it with calm and poise. In
the end, he accepts that he is someone who can change the fate of the universe
and sets out to exact revenge on the Harkonnens and take control over the
Imperium.

FATE AND FREE WILL

Fate and Free will are also two co-related sub-themes within the story. Paul
Atreides has the ability to see the future in his dreams, but he views the future as
a spectrum of possibilities. In other words, he is fated to a variety of different
futures, but his ‘free will’ will determine which future ultimately becomes
reality. Thus, in a way, Paul does not have to deal with fate like the other
characters do.

TONE
Epically Epic

Herbert wrote Dune with one word in mind: epic. Then he said to himself, "Why
stop there? Why not make this beast of a book epically epic?" And so he did.
Everything in Dune happens on a grand scale. In fact, the characters can often
get buried beneath all the information the reader has to sift
through—information given (let's be real) to ensure that the scope of the story
can grow larger, more impressive. But this tone conveys itself through more than
just the story. Even the bits and pieces surrounding the story help to lift Dune
into the realm of the epically epic. Every chapter starts with a quotation from a
song or book in Herbert's universe, serving to help the reader feel that a larger
universe exists beyond the one we can access directly. Then there are the
appendices at the end of most editions, which flesh out the religion, genealogies,
characters, languages, and politics of the universe.

SETTING
Dune is set in the year 10,191 A.G. (After Guild) on the desert planet of Arrakis.
Arrakis is one of the defining forces that move the novel’s plot, and the movie
does well to capture this. It is, perhaps, the ecology of Arrakis that makes it such
an important part of the story. It is almost like an intertwining web of
consequences, with Arrakis at its centre. The political structure of Dune's
universe centres on the spice of Arrakis, a rare substance essential for space
travel such that the entire economy of the universe depends on its production
(leading to the formation of an Imperial society where the control of spice is the
most important thing). Another way the ecology of Arrakis shapes the story is
how it shaped the Fremen. The Fremen religion is constructed entirely around
the idea of oppression. The environment oppresses them, so they dream of a
paradise to compensate for their suffering. This leads the Fremen to accept Paul
as their Messiah (developing the theme of faith and free will). The importance of
Arrakis and its ecology is so much that it could also be considered as a
protagonist of the story and the Harkonnens and the Fremen, both wanting to
change its ecology for their own benefits, as the antagonists. On the surface, the
planet of Arrakis appears to be based on Middle Eastern ecology. But when
politics, religion, and economics are considered as part of Dune's ecology, the
result is a distinctly American vibe.
The ultimate message of Dune is that humans can never find balance with their
ecology. Either nature will destroy mankind, or humans will destroy it.
POINT OF VIEW
The Point of View (P.O.V) in Dune is Third Person Omniscient. In the novel, we
have access to the thoughts and feelings of many characters, often one after
another. It is worth noting that throughout the first half of the movie (and the
book), the narration of the plans of Leto Atreides and Baron Harkonnen provide
tension. Ultimately, Baron’s POV proves to be the reliable one. Paul’s visions
also provide us with a perspective view into possible futures, although the
reliability of some of these visions is yet to be seen.

INTERTEXUALITY
Perhaps the most significant influence on Villeneuve's approach to Dune is
David Lean's 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia. He introduced the film at the
Toronto International Film Festival in 2021, it being one of his favourite films,
and its grand political narrative in the sweeping desert landscape certainly
reverberates in Dune. The story of T.E. Lawrence is one that also influenced
Herbert's book, with Paul's recruiting of the Fremen evoking Lawrence's role in
the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire in World War One.
While most of Villeneuve's influences for Dune come from sci-fi film and
literature, one of the more important films he draws on outside of sci-fi is
Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. While Coppola's approach to war
filmmaking certainly will have influenced Villeneuve, including the ornithopters
that evoke the US helicopters invading Vietnam, one of the more direct
influences comes from Marlon Brando's casting as Kurtz. Villeneuve has
confirmed to SlashFilm that Kurtz was an influence for his take on Baron
Harkonnen, with the shot of the Baron's head emerging from a mudbath evoking
his performance in particular.

2001: A Space Odyssey- Using futuristic settings to explore complex religious

and political ideas. While on the surface 2001 may be very different from
Herbert's narrative, there are thematic ideas that run between the two of them.
The influence of psychedelia in both is a crucial feature, although Dune
introduces a more tactile form through the spice melange, and also the idea of
technological advancement through human evolution is central to the narratives
of both.

Scene : Baron eating (1:27:50-1:28:19) is very similar to Denethor eating

tomatoes in LOTR:ROT (don’t have the timestamp) as Pippin sings for denethor
while he feasts.