I'm a D U N E freek ah zoid and I absolutely love your channel. If I could give you 5k as tribute, I would. How the heck is D.V. going to pull of Messiah? good lord !
It was cheep theatrics like everything in the dennis dune movies is a desecration of the books. The Harkkonnen are not bald, they are red haired and the royalty were all very very tortuously gay. Somehow these relevant facts didn't make the denni films, he was too busy race and gender swapping characters while burying the fact the Bene Gesserit are the bad guys. The sisterhood controls the emperor and every duke on every throne besides Barron Harkkonen and Duke Leto. All the rest are slaves to their benegesserit imprinters. Every horrible thing in the imperium is the way the bene gesserit want it because all they care about is creating their super profit and using him to actually enslave the galaxy by seeing the future and reacting to it before it happens.
@@JackfrostAtreidesOmegaXZero You need to learn to understand what you read, because if paul's mother followed orders they sisterhood would have had the profit as one of their imprinted slaves 25 years later. She did not cause the prophecy she helped it happen one generation early. The super profit was going to be produced either way. The Benegeserit are the bad guys pure and simple.
I agree such a cool scene and man that quick neck slice.That's definitely fades special move ha ha He does that so much whether you're a combatant or just a bystander 😂😮
Frank Herbert once said, "If you want to write about the distant future, learn of the world of the distant past." All the gladiator type preatices pulled from the past to help illustrate a future.
The arena guards have an aesthetic thats like monochromatic harlequins but also like macabre court jesters. That’s as odd as you can get without heart-plugs.
There’s something stylish about heart plugs. Simply slashing a throat without looking to test a knife doesn’t have quite the same depravity as a heart plug.
the arena was pretty much exactly the same as the (at the time) epitome of human culture, the romans. i think they actually made feyd a LOT more heroic in the film than previously portrayed. sadistic of course, but he had a sense of honor that his uncle did not.
I noticed they have a resemblance to the creatures in Pitch Black. They're head dress is like the head of the creatures from Pitch Black. Also, they are bloodthirsty just like the handlers.
Wish the Salusian bull fight on Caladan was portrayed , I believed the Old Duke refused picadors . Good Governance vs Extraction , Harkonens view the individual as grist for the mill .
In my first year of Latin class during my high school years, we had a whole ass unit on Roman gladiatorial games, even watching a movie of the Priscus vs Verus fight. Watching this arena fight on the big screen was an absolute joy to my heart. Having the Roman gladiatorial knowledge still bouncing around my head truly enhanced my viewing of Feyd's fight and the Harkonnen guards.
Excellent analysis. The Harkonnen arena scene is the one that stands out from the second movie the most for me. An idea for future content - you could do one for the harkonnen announcer, along with the language they used. Great job and thanks for the content!
The Arena handlers' design gave me the chills. It was very satanic and demonic, which was fitting given how Giedi Prime is and who rules over the world. After watching Part 2. I low-key have become highly fascinated by the Dune series. I'm so very happy and grateful to come across your videos. They have educated and enlightened me on this deep and complex world greatly. Thank you for doing them😁🤗
@@NerdCookies Oh, you're so highly welcome. I should thank you for putting such great work into making these gems. And they have most certainly helped get in and understand the rich world that is Dune. Thanks to your videos, I've come to like Duncan Idaho way more than I originally did. He is so cool.
I liked how the fabric covering their faces would have made it nearly impossible for the fighters in the arena to be able to tell where the attendants were looking, which is actually pretty important if you want to further distract/unsettle them. It further reinforces the overall theme of a brutal dictatorship where you could never be sure if the enforcers were looking at you.
One of your best videos yet. I was intrigued by these eerie figures in the arena scene and didn't expect such a thorough analysis with so little to reference. Excellent work!
Only about a week before you uploaded this video I was trying my best to learn more about what the creatures were and there was VERY little I could find online apart from a couple select stills from the film and a couple Reddit posts. Thanks for making a video delving more into these menacing and interesting characters
The only thing I think missing in Dune 1 and 2 is how each of the planets produce food. Maybe in Dune 1 , I saw a bit of the plants in Arrakis, but what about Giedi Prime, Caladan , etc? I loved the Harkonnen guards and the fight scene.
The description of the city , event. Is very revealing, it shows how vulnerable the baron was , how the great houses or letos friends, or the emporer, would turn there attention to the baron . Margo , noticed the guards weapons were used often. There was regularity used . ( the baron is learning how much victory cost him ) Also the baron lost his spice stockpiles. ( big mistake in the movie) He spent 80 billion on transport costs alone, imagine the cost of his military, his fleet, ? Training , equipment. His stockpiles would have made him a fortune. Now he was sort of money ,and the wrong time. While his opposition made a killing.
Production-wise I thought it was interesting that the costume designer had to figure out on the fly how to get the costumes to show up as black on an infra-red camera.
I recognized an eerie similarity between the Attendants, and H.R. Giger's Alien. Turns out that Giger did the original designs of the Harkonnen planet-world for Jodorowsky's (unfinished) Dune. His influence appears evident in the architecture of Giedi Prime. (Think, 'derelict spaceship' from Aliens.) I believe there is a credit given in Dune, Part 2 .
Damn this movie was a real masterpiece it pays respect to real world gladiatorial/arena practices while seeming so new and fresh. Gotta appreciate the way they headpiece looks like bulls horns
Its no wonder the arena scene has developed a cult following. It captures the essence of the scene from the book with visuals that echo the Giger concepts from the Jodorowsky project. There is a sense of both intimate hand-to-hand combat and vast. epic scale. It blew my mind on the big screen. The only thing I would have changed is that I loved the moment in the book where the Atreides warrior lashed the barbs to his arms and used them as shields.
Could you please make a video about the Attraides military or a video about the Harkeonen military or a video on both but you do not have to make the video but I hope you do I think it would be very interesting.
Finally, someone made a video about these "creatures".While watching the movie, i was wondering what these figures are. Aliens? Harkonnen in a costumes? They made a weird sound like the Alien
Thanks for yet again another well-made Dune video! I found the arena attendants visually quite intriguing just like the spider-pet. Would you consider making a video on the Harkonnen planet/aircraft/military monitoring human-machine hybrids?
So when the Harkonnens use barbs like a cruel bullfighter, they're showing their evil brutal nature, but when the Old Duke fights a literal bull then it's a noble sport? Double standard there. None of the great houses are truly "good" or "evil" That's the point.
Just on a side note a bill hook is a weapon of war , it wasn’t meant for controlling animals at all , it was designed to cleave through shields and armor and it was also cheap to manufacture so it was cheap to equip a bunch of dudes with them
Just wanted to say thank you for providing cultural context for the attendants in this scene. 🙏 As you pointed out, since everyone in the Dune universe traces their ancestry back to Earth there are so many echoes from the past. And I’ve said this elsewhere, I’m older than dirt but the scenes on Geidi Prime are the most chilling and disturbing depictions of a dystopia that I’ve ever seen. So, any context and analysis of those scenes are greatly appreciated by me.
for me they closely resemble the bronze sculptures '' the sentinels'' from Philip Jackson. Look into his work , he made several victorianesque sculptures with similar headdresses.
I really enjoyed the film adaptation, especially Fade's change to being an almost noble psychopath. Shown by the shield being turned off. There was one aspect that I really wish they had shown though. The barb being used as an omprovised shield in the Lt's arm. I think that part dhiwed the amazing grit & ingenuity of Atreides troops. There wasn't enough of that in the film I feel. Especially considering that it was just that quality of troop that made the Emperor fear Duke Leto so much. One Atreides man was supposed to be the equal of many others.
That's an unfortunate reality of human civilization in general. Dune just takes it a bit further, while at the same time dropping the facade. Which I prefer over the bullshit gaslighting our leaders use now
My pet theory was, forgetting the description in the book, that-like the drugged and twisted Atreides Feyd’Rautha fights, these picadors are (perhaps in the same way that many-including me--theorize that the first movie’s spider pet was a ruined Wanna--I guess) a twisted, defiled and ruined lot of Fremen. Those hooks remind me of the tools that Fremen use to ride the worms--fremhooks. The whole scenario then, with the sand of the gladiator floor, the Atreides, and the -if this is true-diabolically genetically modified Fremen--would become a picture of the Harkonnen triumph over Dune-both in what they had done in the past, and in Feyd’s ascension to controlling Dune himself which he is literally granted right after this conflict. Not real, I know. (But it’s a thought.)
I recall reading Dune as a kid and asking my Finnish Dad what Harkonnen meant and being told "One of the Ox or Bull". I had also read that Herbert found the name in a phonebook. There is no way that the name was a coincidence or random pick.
While we're on the Harkonnens, why was it genius of Feyd to use artillery against the Fremen sietch? How is this better than the missiles that Rabban was using?
Yeah, not really sure on that one. As you probably know, that's not in the book so until I hear a good theory on this I'll have to assume that its just "plot reasons".
That's actually a good point. The idea of using artillery in Arrakis is considered ingenious because shields can't be used in the desert because of worms. The point of shields is to protect from ballistic weapons such as missiles and artillery, rendering them kinda obsolete. But since shields aren't an option for the fremen, you've got yourself a cheap and effective weapon against them. In the novels, the Baron was the one using artillery on the Atreids during the Harkonnen raid on Arrakis. But in the movies, Villeneuve relayed that idea to Feyd oppressing the fremen. Why make this change, I don't know. Creative liberties, I guess. The main point, though, is why is this more effective than Rabban's attack I'm not really sure why honestly, but I guess Rabban was aiming blindly and probably missed his shot, or the frement had time to reach safety. Beside, he only blasted a random mountain. Feyd, on the other hand, was aiming for a sietch, a vital stronghold full of unsuspecting fremen, and used much more strategic and precise strikes, which is obviously more effective. I don't claim to have the right answer, this may be a simple inconsistency in the movie, but this explanation is the most logical to me
Missiles weren't in the book if I remember correctly. Remember, a missile is a rocket with a guidance system, be it laser targeted, heat-seeking, or radar guided. This may have been viewed as in violation of making a "thinking machine". Artillery though usually doesn't have that (some do, but most people don't hear about it), and only go off by a proximity acoustic fuse similar to the light system and not "thinking".
Because artillery was so old compared to the technology available. It’d be like you expecting a team of navy seals coming to kill you but you get shot with a bow and arrow. It’s “genius” because it’s such a damn surprise. Also I’m pretty sure the only person giving the Baron praise for his plan is just himself and his lackeys if I’m not mistaken. Not even a genius plan he’s just an egotist
@@DemitriVladMaximov Although in the movie they literally have like floating lamps that can follow you around. I doubt guided missiles are much more complicated than that.
I'm somewhat ambivalent about the 'Goading Curs' [[ _...That's my own label for these undeniably visually arresting creatures -- a 'cur' is kind of dog, but one held in a mixture of fear and contempt... To goad is to provoke and/or incite a desired reaction or behavior... Their mannerisms and vocalizations reminded me of a pack of feral dogs; clearly deferential to Feyd, their 'alpha'... hence 'Goading Cur'_ ]] My ambivalence is between full-on appreciation for the design and concern about there might've been some just barely(?) subtle-enough 'borrowing' [[ ....stealing?!? ]] of visual/conceptual design from one of my personal favorites, the artist and author Wayne Barlowe... If you're unfamiliar with his work, I entreat you to please explore... most especially his seminal work _'Barlowe's Inferno'_ ...Once you look upon it, I'm sure you'll see what I mean and wherefore my ambivalence.... EDIT:: Addendum: 07:48 I most certainly _did NOT_ know about that -- neither the inspiration nor its source!😅
In the audio subtitles of the film the character who is attending to Baron with binoculars is described as a Bene Tleilax. Or a servant of House Tleilaxu the despised genetic engineering, mutation and manipulation masters of the imperium. The Harkonnens had good ties with them and shared a mutual understanding that human life meant nothing compared to profit and prosperity. It would make sense that the Harkonnens would have many genetically engineered animals, humans and hybrids. As Stilgar say the Average Harkonnen soldier’s blood and life water is poisoned with chemicals, stimulants and other unnatural substances. They are a fabulous addition to the film and genuinely freaked me out as did Dr Yuen’s wife as a spider pet 🤮. They are the introduction of the Bene Tleilax of House Tleilaxu who have a major part to play in Messiah with their Flesh Vat Grown Ghola’s and Facedancer assassins. If Denis can pull off Messiah I would love to see him try to adapt them all together until the end of the golden path. He wisely used very creepy creatures to subtly introduce another antagonist for Messiah Long live the Fighters!
Also note, the jester is seen on DMT,many say they can be funny or very mean,very very mean like pull your teeth out.thry also bend in and can be hard to see...spice looks like DMT
I was struck by the very parallels you identified here when I first watched the movie (and loved it). One other detail that struck me occurred outside of the arena; the salute given by the Harkonnen subjects. If I am not mistaken, it is the same exact gesture of loyalty shown towards Big Brother in the movie adaptation of Orwell's 1984. I canot help but think that this was the director's nod to Orwell's timeless warning about the evils of fascism.
@@raggedoldflag1914 Animal Farm was Orwell's direct jab at the former Soviet Union. Ingsoc was Orwell's "both barrels" blast at totalitarianism under Stalin *and* the propaganda and censorship practices of Nazi Germany. At the end of the day, it's all *tyranny.*
At no point did Deny realize that this scene completely undermines Pauls fight with Feyd at the conclusion. This fighter is no drugged BUT HE IS SEVERELY INJURED, HUNGRY, AND DEHYDRATED. FEYDs victory here is a farce....a stage production...not a true contest. This simple fight shows Paul is also a manufactured entity.
I didnt feel them (Harkonen) to be very original. They feel like the cookie cutter model one would come up with based on an Alien/Prometheus/Borg mash up.
The Brits won because the OG marched on in squares & could only fire about 180 were the Brits were in a line & could fire about 500. But I do like the OG
Thank you for watching this video! If you enjoy my content, please consider supporting me on PATREON: www.patreon.com/nerdcookies
I'm a D U N E freek ah zoid and I absolutely love your channel. If I could give you 5k as tribute, I would.
How the heck is D.V. going to pull of Messiah? good lord !
You are a robot
You know the guards are not called guards in the movies the subtitles call them picadors in reference to Spanish bull fighting
0:33 narrator keeps saying gladitorial. The word should be glad·i·a·to·ri·al
If someone makes a Dune chessboard it’d be a waste not to make these part of the Harkonnen set
Pawns
Idk, those Harkonnen troops died a lot and very easily. 😂
@@grinningbuck judging by the headgear I’d make those tamers the bishops
@@theccpisaparasite8813 Why pawns?
The headgear would make them be fitting as bishops
I thought I was hallucinating when I first saw them. Something in the way they moved. They were a great addition to the scene.
@johnbiggans a little intense
Tf do you mean you thought you were hallucinating? They’re not THAT weird
The way they came out of the shadows of the arena walls was most excellent
Dude same thing happened to me in the theater, i really liked that scene.
They looked so resembling to Boisvert character.
Geidi Prime in infrared was cinematic genius
It was cheep theatrics like everything in the dennis dune movies is a desecration of the books. The Harkkonnen are not bald, they are red haired and the royalty were all very very tortuously gay. Somehow these relevant facts didn't make the denni films, he was too busy race and gender swapping characters while burying the fact the Bene Gesserit are the bad guys.
The sisterhood controls the emperor and every duke on every throne besides Barron Harkkonen and Duke Leto. All the rest are slaves to their benegesserit imprinters. Every horrible thing in the imperium is the way the bene gesserit want it because all they care about is creating their super profit and using him to actually enslave the galaxy by seeing the future and reacting to it before it happens.
@@From-North-JerseyHe never hide that thing, in fact he show it more when make Paul's mother the directly cause for prophecy being fulfilled.
@@JackfrostAtreidesOmegaXZero You need to learn to understand what you read, because if paul's mother followed orders they sisterhood would have had the profit as one of their imprinted slaves 25 years later. She did not cause the prophecy she helped it happen one generation early.
The super profit was going to be produced either way. The Benegeserit are the bad guys pure and simple.
@@From-North-Jersey womp womp keep crying loser you are the only person crying this hard over a amazing movie
@@From-North-Jersey I think you might be a bit too obsessed with sexuality, race, and gender, bud...
I loved the arena scene. Everything about it was captivating.
I agree such a cool scene and man that quick neck slice.That's definitely fades special move ha ha He does that so much whether you're a combatant or just a bystander 😂😮
Frank Herbert once said, "If you want to write about the distant future, learn of the world of the distant past." All the gladiator type preatices pulled from the past to help illustrate a future.
"You cannot see the future without seeing the past"
Fights in the coliseum is now wars spectated virtually
The arena guards have an aesthetic thats like monochromatic harlequins but also like macabre court jesters. That’s as odd as you can get without heart-plugs.
There’s something stylish about heart plugs. Simply slashing a throat without looking to test a knife doesn’t have quite the same depravity as a heart plug.
I love how you first notice them in the background. They are so menacing!
I think the handlers' hats can also be seen as a brutal evolution of the Spanish bullfighter's hat called the "montera hat".
They primarily reminded me of venetian harlequins
Genius
the arena was pretty much exactly the same as the (at the time) epitome of human culture, the romans. i think they actually made feyd a LOT more heroic in the film than previously portrayed. sadistic of course, but he had a sense of honor that his uncle did not.
I noticed they have a resemblance to the creatures in Pitch Black. They're head dress is like the head of the creatures from Pitch Black. Also, they are bloodthirsty just like the handlers.
I said the same thing when i saw them!
I have seen Spanish Bull Fighting. No explanation needed. These fulfil the same function as the Picadors.
Wish the Salusian bull fight on Caladan was portrayed , I believed the Old Duke refused picadors . Good Governance vs Extraction , Harkonens view the individual as grist for the mill .
In my first year of Latin class during my high school years, we had a whole ass unit on Roman gladiatorial games, even watching a movie of the Priscus vs Verus fight. Watching this arena fight on the big screen was an absolute joy to my heart. Having the Roman gladiatorial knowledge still bouncing around my head truly enhanced my viewing of Feyd's fight and the Harkonnen guards.
The growl is everything
Excellent analysis. The Harkonnen arena scene is the one that stands out from the second movie the most for me. An idea for future content - you could do one for the harkonnen announcer, along with the language they used.
Great job and thanks for the content!
The Arena handlers' design gave me the chills. It was very satanic and demonic, which was fitting given how Giedi Prime is and who rules over the world.
After watching Part 2. I low-key have become highly fascinated by the Dune series. I'm so very happy and grateful to come across your videos. They have educated and enlightened me on this deep and complex world greatly.
Thank you for doing them😁🤗
Thank you for your kind words! I'm thrilled to hear that my videos have helped you delve deeper into the Dune universe.
@@NerdCookies Oh, you're so highly welcome. I should thank you for putting such great work into making these gems. And they have most certainly helped get in and understand the rich world that is Dune. Thanks to your videos, I've come to like Duncan Idaho way more than I originally did. He is so cool.
Yeah to me the arena handlers looked like evil jesters
I liked how the fabric covering their faces would have made it nearly impossible for the fighters in the arena to be able to tell where the attendants were looking, which is actually pretty important if you want to further distract/unsettle them.
It further reinforces the overall theme of a brutal dictatorship where you could never be sure if the enforcers were looking at you.
Thanks Elaine. They remind me of medieval art.
For me without a doubt to Boisvert character.
One of your best videos yet. I was intrigued by these eerie figures in the arena scene and didn't expect such a thorough analysis with so little to reference. Excellent work!
Much appreciated!
New Nerd Cookies video,instant like. Thanks for the video/content to you and your team. My favorite host/channel on YT.
I appreciate the support, Dane!
It's not entirely selfless,I can't get enough of your nerdy talk. Thanks for filling my stomach with Cookies.
Dune + nerd cookies = a good day!❤
The best Dune themed channel on RUclips.
I agree
Quinns ideas carries that moniker
Only about a week before you uploaded this video I was trying my best to learn more about what the creatures were and there was VERY little I could find online apart from a couple select stills from the film and a couple Reddit posts. Thanks for making a video delving more into these menacing and interesting characters
The only thing I think missing in Dune 1 and 2 is how each of the planets produce food. Maybe in Dune 1 , I saw a bit of the plants in Arrakis, but what about Giedi Prime, Caladan , etc? I loved the Harkonnen guards and the fight scene.
The description of the city , event. Is very revealing, it shows how vulnerable the baron was , how the great houses or letos friends, or the emporer, would turn there attention to the baron .
Margo , noticed the guards weapons were used often. There was regularity used . ( the baron is learning how much victory cost him )
Also the baron lost his spice stockpiles. ( big mistake in the movie)
He spent 80 billion on transport costs alone, imagine the cost of his military, his fleet, ? Training , equipment.
His stockpiles would have made him a fortune. Now he was sort of money ,and the wrong time.
While his opposition made a killing.
This is a fantastic video! Excellent readings into purpose, reasoning, and lore. It’s a tough subject to do this well! Kudos, looking forward to more!
A lesser-known (but closer to the heart) planet in the Geidi system is called Geidi Lee.
I get that reference! 🇨🇦
Has a single moon named Tom Sawyer, doesn't it?
A modern-day warrior
Mean, mean stride
Today's Tom Sawyer
Mean, mean pride, lol - if you know - your\ know
Let's not Rush to conclusions shall we?
The visuals for that entire sequence were right out of classic Heavy Metal/Metal Hurlant.
Production-wise I thought it was interesting that the costume designer had to figure out on the fly how to get the costumes to show up as black on an infra-red camera.
Great deep dive! Like the spider pet, more small details that draws so much attention to viewers and demands a closer look. Creepy as all heck too!
This is another great interpretation! This is an excellent Dune lore channel! Keep ‘em comin’ please!
Thank you kindly!
I recognized an eerie similarity between the Attendants, and H.R. Giger's Alien. Turns out that Giger did the original designs of the Harkonnen planet-world for Jodorowsky's (unfinished) Dune. His influence appears evident in the architecture of Giedi Prime. (Think, 'derelict spaceship' from Aliens.) I believe there is a credit given in Dune, Part 2 .
Can you do a video what happened to gedi prime after house harken fall
The design of the Harkonnen Arena Guards reminded me of the bioraptors from Pitch Black.
Excellent episode Elaine. Thank you very much.
They look like some sort of dark and twisted jesters, while also ressembling horned creatures.
Damn this movie was a real masterpiece it pays respect to real world gladiatorial/arena practices while seeming so new and fresh. Gotta appreciate the way they headpiece looks like bulls horns
Fellas if you’re worries about going bald just adopt the Harkonnen aesthetic and become a fucking boss
I dunno man, being bald, pale white bdsm vampires clad Ieather isn't as cool without interplanetairy political power
Its no wonder the arena scene has developed a cult following. It captures the essence of the scene from the book with visuals that echo the Giger concepts from the Jodorowsky project. There is a sense of both intimate hand-to-hand combat and vast. epic scale. It blew my mind on the big screen. The only thing I would have changed is that I loved the moment in the book where the Atreides warrior lashed the barbs to his arms and used them as shields.
Could you please make a video about the Attraides military or a video about the Harkeonen military or a video on both but you do not have to make the video but I hope you do I think it would be very interesting.
Another good video into the world of Dune.
I always found the Atreides bullfighting more in line with Harkonnen thinking. It's still killing for sport and entertainment.
I don’t know how many people are familiar with the artist Jim Woodring, but they very much remind me of his character “The Grim”.
They are so hauntingly cool though
Such a beautiful beautiful video
Atreides - Rule through loyalty
Carrino - Rule through martial force
Harkonnen - Rule Through Stick and Carrot
And fire brands, whips and dirty surgery tools.
@@azuredragonofnether5433 That’s the stick. The carrot is the shows they put on.
Finally, someone made a video about these "creatures".While watching the movie, i was wondering what these figures are. Aliens? Harkonnen in a costumes? They made a weird sound like the Alien
Maybe they're genetically modified humans by the Bene Tleilax. There are no aliens in Dune.
A very nerdy analysis, well done
They would be at home in a painting by Hieronymus Bosch.
Good to hear a fellow Bosch fan. Not many people are familiar with his work.
@lapineee Agreed
Thanks for yet again another well-made Dune video!
I found the arena attendants visually quite intriguing just like the spider-pet. Would you consider making a video on the Harkonnen planet/aircraft/military monitoring human-machine hybrids?
So when the Harkonnens use barbs like a cruel bullfighter, they're showing their evil brutal nature, but when the Old Duke fights a literal bull then it's a noble sport? Double standard there. None of the great houses are truly "good" or "evil" That's the point.
These were by far the most interesting aspect of this movie so well done
--I heard from somewhere that the arena guards were called picadors--
They give me creepy black cricket vibes
Just on a side note a bill hook is a weapon of war , it wasn’t meant for controlling animals at all , it was designed to cleave through shields and armor and it was also cheap to manufacture so it was cheap to equip a bunch of dudes with them
Just wanted to say thank you for providing cultural context for the attendants in this scene. 🙏 As you pointed out, since everyone in the Dune universe traces their ancestry back to Earth there are so many echoes from the past.
And I’ve said this elsewhere, I’m older than dirt but the scenes on Geidi Prime are the most chilling and disturbing depictions of a dystopia that I’ve ever seen. So, any context and analysis of those scenes are greatly appreciated by me.
My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed the analysis.
for me they closely resemble the bronze sculptures '' the sentinels'' from Philip Jackson. Look into his work , he made several victorianesque sculptures with similar headdresses.
The arena guards look like Don Giovanni from Amadeus.
I really enjoyed the film adaptation, especially Fade's change to being an almost noble psychopath. Shown by the shield being turned off.
There was one aspect that I really wish they had shown though. The barb being used as an omprovised shield in the Lt's arm.
I think that part dhiwed the amazing grit & ingenuity of Atreides troops. There wasn't enough of that in the film I feel.
Especially considering that it was just that quality of troop that made the Emperor fear Duke Leto so much. One Atreides man was supposed to be the equal of many others.
First time watching Dune 2 and seeing them, I was like: "Oh yeah... Pose for the Vogue Magazine, baby."
Those distractors remind me a lot the Selk'nam culture from the Chilean and Argentinian Patagonia.
Based on their appearance, I shall call them... Harlequin Harkonnen🃏
It's relatively impossible to maintain any level of power in the Imperium unless you're at least a little bit brutal.
That's an unfortunate reality of human civilization in general. Dune just takes it a bit further, while at the same time dropping the facade. Which I prefer over the bullshit gaslighting our leaders use now
To me they look exactly like the character from the youtube channel Bois Vert. Not sure if they took direct inspiration from it but they are creepy
Best way to enjoy my day off 🖤
My pet theory was, forgetting the description in the book, that-like the drugged and twisted Atreides Feyd’Rautha fights, these picadors are (perhaps in the same way that many-including me--theorize that the first movie’s spider pet was a ruined Wanna--I guess) a twisted, defiled and ruined lot of Fremen. Those hooks remind me of the tools that Fremen use to ride the worms--fremhooks. The whole scenario then, with the sand of the gladiator floor, the Atreides, and the -if this is true-diabolically genetically modified Fremen--would become a picture of the Harkonnen triumph over Dune-both in what they had done in the past, and in Feyd’s ascension to controlling Dune himself which he is literally granted right after this conflict. Not real, I know. (But it’s a thought.)
I thought they were Facedancer at first
Geidia Prime, now renamed Prime Target.
The 1st planet that felt the footfall of Muad'dib's Fremen warriors...
These movies were both masterpieces
nice to know you also saw a resemblance to the Selk'nam
I recall reading Dune as a kid and asking my Finnish Dad what Harkonnen meant and being told "One of the Ox or Bull". I had also read that Herbert found the name in a phonebook. There is no way that the name was a coincidence or random pick.
Ah, the cologne ad scene 😅
Anyone else reminded of Room from Boisvert?
I thought they were done really well, different from the book but we'll suited for the visual medium
Villeneuve used N. Korea as a model for Giedi Prime
There's a regular gladiator match in North Korea?
I would sorta assume he meant in architecture... At least I hope.
Aren’t they from the game MDK?
It smiled at him after lololol “Don’t sit on me again”
While we're on the Harkonnens, why was it genius of Feyd to use artillery against the Fremen sietch? How is this better than the missiles that Rabban was using?
Yeah, not really sure on that one. As you probably know, that's not in the book so until I hear a good theory on this I'll have to assume that its just "plot reasons".
That's actually a good point.
The idea of using artillery in Arrakis is considered ingenious because shields can't be used in the desert because of worms. The point of shields is to protect from ballistic weapons such as missiles and artillery, rendering them kinda obsolete. But since shields aren't an option for the fremen, you've got yourself a cheap and effective weapon against them.
In the novels, the Baron was the one using artillery on the Atreids during the Harkonnen raid on Arrakis. But in the movies, Villeneuve relayed that idea to Feyd oppressing the fremen. Why make this change, I don't know. Creative liberties, I guess.
The main point, though, is why is this more effective than Rabban's attack
I'm not really sure why honestly, but I guess Rabban was aiming blindly and probably missed his shot, or the frement had time to reach safety. Beside, he only blasted a random mountain.
Feyd, on the other hand, was aiming for a sietch, a vital stronghold full of unsuspecting fremen, and used much more strategic and precise strikes, which is obviously more effective.
I don't claim to have the right answer, this may be a simple inconsistency in the movie, but this explanation is the most logical to me
Missiles weren't in the book if I remember correctly. Remember, a missile is a rocket with a guidance system, be it laser targeted, heat-seeking, or radar guided. This may have been viewed as in violation of making a "thinking machine". Artillery though usually doesn't have that (some do, but most people don't hear about it), and only go off by a proximity acoustic fuse similar to the light system and not "thinking".
Because artillery was so old compared to the technology available. It’d be like you expecting a team of navy seals coming to kill you but you get shot with a bow and arrow. It’s “genius” because it’s such a damn surprise. Also I’m pretty sure the only person giving the Baron praise for his plan is just himself and his lackeys if I’m not mistaken. Not even a genius plan he’s just an egotist
@@DemitriVladMaximov Although in the movie they literally have like floating lamps that can follow you around. I doubt guided missiles are much more complicated than that.
I'm somewhat ambivalent about the 'Goading Curs' [[ _...That's my own label for these undeniably visually arresting creatures -- a 'cur' is kind of dog, but one held in a mixture of fear and contempt... To goad is to provoke and/or incite a desired reaction or behavior... Their mannerisms and vocalizations reminded me of a pack of feral dogs; clearly deferential to Feyd, their 'alpha'... hence 'Goading Cur'_ ]]
My ambivalence is between full-on appreciation for the design and concern about there might've been some just barely(?) subtle-enough 'borrowing' [[ ....stealing?!? ]] of visual/conceptual design from one of my personal favorites, the artist and author Wayne Barlowe...
If you're unfamiliar with his work, I entreat you to please explore... most especially his seminal work _'Barlowe's Inferno'_ ...Once you look upon it, I'm sure you'll see what I mean and wherefore my ambivalence....
EDIT:: Addendum: 07:48 I most certainly _did NOT_ know about that -- neither the inspiration nor its source!😅
In the audio subtitles of the film the character who is attending to Baron with binoculars is described as a Bene Tleilax. Or a servant of House Tleilaxu the despised genetic engineering, mutation and manipulation masters of the imperium. The Harkonnens had good ties with them and shared a mutual understanding that human life meant nothing compared to profit and prosperity. It would make sense that the Harkonnens would have many genetically engineered animals, humans and hybrids. As Stilgar say the Average Harkonnen soldier’s blood and life water is poisoned with chemicals, stimulants and other unnatural substances. They are a fabulous addition to the film and genuinely freaked me out as did Dr Yuen’s wife as a spider pet 🤮. They are the introduction of the Bene Tleilax of House Tleilaxu who have a major part to play in Messiah with their Flesh Vat Grown Ghola’s and Facedancer assassins. If Denis can pull off Messiah I would love to see him try to adapt them all together until the end of the golden path. He wisely used very creepy creatures to subtly introduce another antagonist for Messiah Long live the Fighters!
Those guards are 🔥🔥 AF
The design of the harkonnen arena attendants is weird and terrifying just what I'd expect from them
oh i was hoping there'd be a video about these kids
I thought the last Atreides was huey
I thought the same, of the connection between the arena gaurds and the spider-human
Dune-iverse 🤭
Remined me of some enemy's in Bioshock infinite. The boy of silence
The Harkonnen culture change a bit from my ol days!
Ah yes!
*_The Gladiatrix/Harlequin/Arrancar/Boisvert/Picador Arena Guards!_*
We came up with a friend with the hypothesis that those could be Face-Dancers in their non metamorphic form. Anyone else had that thought?
They also reminded me of hammerhead worms, which are disturbing and disgusting
Also note, the jester is seen on DMT,many say they can be funny or very mean,very very mean like pull your teeth out.thry also bend in and can be hard to see...spice looks like DMT
The remind me of the creature in Pan’s Labyrinth
When I watched Dune 2, the subtitles called these guys, picadors. Like from bullfighting
I want to be a sword-clown like these guys.
Pans Labyrinth
They need a show based on Geidi Prime
I was struck by the very parallels you identified here when I first watched the movie (and loved it). One other detail that struck me occurred outside of the arena; the salute given by the Harkonnen subjects. If I am not mistaken, it is the same exact gesture of loyalty shown towards Big Brother in the movie adaptation of Orwell's 1984. I canot help but think that this was the director's nod to Orwell's timeless warning about the evils of fascism.
Ingsoc isn’t fascism lol
@@raggedoldflag1914 Animal Farm was Orwell's direct jab at the former Soviet Union. Ingsoc was Orwell's "both barrels" blast at totalitarianism under Stalin *and* the propaganda and censorship practices of Nazi Germany. At the end of the day, it's all *tyranny.*
No speech, no face. That makes them very non-human, like puppets.
At no point did Deny realize that this scene completely undermines Pauls fight with Feyd at the conclusion. This fighter is no drugged BUT HE IS SEVERELY INJURED, HUNGRY, AND DEHYDRATED. FEYDs victory here is a farce....a stage production...not a true contest.
This simple fight shows Paul is also a manufactured entity.
I agree, I think this fight undermines Rauthas authority, like he's not able to fend for himself if the opposition is not severely weakened.
I didnt feel them (Harkonen) to be very original. They feel like the cookie cutter model one would come up with based on an Alien/Prometheus/Borg mash up.
The Brits won because the OG marched on in squares & could only fire about 180 were the Brits were in a line & could fire about 500. But I do like the OG
DEMONIC