From the sandworm ride, to Feyd's Rautha arena
sequence and the ending fight between him and Paul, there are many scenes in Denis Villeneuve's
Dune Part 2, that in my opinion stand out as being classic sequences in a Sci-fi film. But after multiple watches of the movie, one
scene has stood out the most with it's merging of performance, sound design and narrative
power. The particular scene I'm talking about is
the Paul Atreides arrival and speech at the Fremen war council, a sequence that since
reading the book I have anticipated seeing on the big screen. It's a moment that is cinematically powerful,
it effectively displays the turn of Paul Atreides and it plays with perspective and sound in
a way that I wasn't was ready for before watching it. So in this video essay, I'm going to be discussing
why the speech scene in Denis Villeneuve's Dune Part 2 is a perfect moment for the film
and the journey of Paul Atreides. Before I get into it though, if you want to
keep up to date on any of my future content on Dune Part 2, then don't forget to support
this upload by giving it a like rating, subscribing to the channel and turning on your notifications. But without further a do, lets dive into the
perfect scene from Dune Part 2. So there are many scenes in Dune Part 2 that
absolutely gripped me, cinematically moved me and made me feel the change that Paul Atreides
was going through as the film progressed. The final moments with the fight between him
and Feyd, the unleashing of the Holy war and Chani's reaction to what was going on, was
an impactful ending that left me grappling with all the big questions that Dune deals
with. Then there's Paul's Sandworm ride, which on
a cinematic and filmmaking level was an extroadinarily visceral sequence brought to life by the filmmaker. And then there's the arena scene with Feyd
Rautha which I thought effectively introduced us to a new planet and character with alien-like
visuals, a sense of the brutality that is associated with the Harkonnens, and an idea
of the true purpose of Feyd's character within this story. They are all unbelievable sequences that being
as good as they are leave fans with different opinions on what the best scene actually is. But with that said and after watching the
film more than once, I can only speak for myself when it comes to what I think the best
scene is. For me, one that communicates the true turn
of Paul Atreides and the ultimate storytelling power of Dune Part 2 on the big screen, is
the character's arrival and speech at the Fremen war council. It's a moment that needed to be done right
because after seeing Paul struggle over deciding which route would be the best course of action,
this sequence would be one that cements his path forward towards an emotional climax. He knows that whatever route he takes it will
lead to that Holy war coming to fruition. If he goes in the direction of one of the
failed paths, then it will only urge the rest of the fremen on in his absense. And if he chooses the narrow way through,
then we get what happened at the end of Part 2, with Paul unleashing the holy war himself
against the great houses. So with him choosing that route after taking
the water of life, the council speech needed to be a clear indicator of what was to come. And both Villeneuve's adaptation of it and
Chalamet's performance in between needed to be truly engrossing. If the director's adaptation was to be effective
at delivering on the core theme that Herbert aimed to accomplish with his original book,
one that demonstrates the threat of charismatic leaders, then the final act needed to execute
those ideas. And in my opinion, it was the council speech
that truly delivered on this as an incredible example of making the audience feel both moved
and conflicted all at the same time, using performance, sound and imagery. So coming to what happens in that scene, many
would consider the actual speech by Paul as the beginning of this powerful sequence. But for me, the scene actually begins during
Paul's arrival outside, as just through the use of cinematic tools, perspective and Timothee
Chalamet's performance, the audience is made to feel the big shift in the story. As Paul walks through an assembled crowd of
Fremen, we instantly feel a change in tone, one that is darker and one that is imbued
with a complete sense of power. To signal this shift, Villeneuve, his cinematographer
Greig Fraser, his editor Joe Walker and composer Hans Zimmer, play with individual elements
filmmaking to enhance this moment on screen. Greig Freiger presents almost religious-looking
imagery when Paul arrives to make us feel his rising presence. We feel it right from the beginning with that
genuinely terrifying shot of a Paul’s silhouette, Shai-hulud rising in frame behind him and
then also after, when we get the questioning look of fremen faces around, not knowing what
to make of him but showing him respect nonetheless. We see Paul's forbidding figure then slice
his way through the fremen crown and his face veiled in shadow. It presents the turning point where Paul loses
his common humanity as a prescient Messiah, takes upon the mantle of Lisan Al-Gaib and
commits to the holy war, whatever the cost. Add on the incredible imagery from above and
a further shot of Lady Jessica watching on too, and we see that Fraser wants us to feel
the reaction of those around him. Yes we do also get Anakin-looking close ups
of Paul, but with a majority of the shots in this sequence being establishing frames
it makes us aware of a shift in perspective. Hans Zimmer helps to communicate this change
as well, re-playing his recognisable theme, but this time with a ripping cello and almost
tribal-like drum beats. The soundtrack captures the outright ferociousness
of the character's turn and in many ways it makes us think more about the arrival of the
holy war than it does a single character turning up at a war council. So just by a change in cinematography, how
that's edited together and the way it's then elevated by Hans Zimmer's music, it means
you as an audience member truly feel this moment and react to the central character
slightly differently. And this brings me to the essential importance
of the scene, because when we get inside the caves, they fully commit to that mentioned
perspective shift. We open the speech scene with the perspective
of Chani who is trying to get Stilgar to put a stop to Paul's gaining of control through
the prophesy. It's an impossible situation because she can't
stop it and even when she tries to, making her voice heard in hall, she is silenced by
those around. Gurney Halleck is one of those in attendance,
and once yanking her to the ground, he tells her that this is about revenge against the
Harkonnens who have inflicted all of their suffering. I think it's key to point out that her abandoning
of the prophesy doesn't mean she's abandoning her love for Paul. She's angered that all of her people are one
by one are transitioning to the prophesy that the Bene Gesserit planted. Her love for Paul remains and I think we'll
see that by the time we reach Messiah, even if that film changes things in a few ways. But yes, the actual speech part of this scene
in the cave, has essentially shifted its perspective to those for and against Paul's rise to leadership. We spent most of part one and a majority of
part 2 coming to understand the struggles that Paul has faced through his perspective
and now we have to look on as he embraces the narrow way through. And this is where Paul enters the scene himself. He arrives at the war council with all of
the gathered fremen, due to make a speech about that mentioned way forward. He takes control by persuading them that there
is no need to eliminate Stilgar, emphasizing the importance of keeping good fighters alive. And he poses them the question, "Do you destroy
a weapon before a battle?" Paul leverages the Fremen's religious beliefs,
portraying himself as their faultless prophet by demonstrating that he can see into the
past and see everything that happened to certain individuals there. The fremen acknowledge this by bowing to him
and he puts on his father's ducal ring, yelling that he will take them to the great paradise. And with Stilgar supporting this move, the
Fremen unite with him in chanting lisan al Gaib in acknowledgement of his rise to authority. He presents himself as a prophet who can do
no wrong and the Fremen see this as their opportunity to take control of Arrakis. Right from the moment where Paul yells at
Stilgar that he's pointing the way, you feel that Timothee Chalamet's performance is about
to go up a notch. And boy does it do that. Now that Paul can see the way, it was this
moment where a performance needed to deliver authority and present an aspect of fear as
well. And the way Chalamet alters his voice from
an almost whispery one at first to a now commanding one, makes us truly see that. We don't just focus on Chalamet as he brings
them around though, because like at the beginning of the scene we cut to the faces of Fremen
watching on, seeing how they are convinced by his new sense of leadership and his ability
to see the way. By telling them that he can see the paradise
in the future, they believe that this is the way forward. The scene and Chalamet's performance portray
both a sense of immatchable power and yet also a shade of darkness, one that we haven't
seen from Paul previously. And by ending it on the shots of Paul putting
on his father's ring, declaring himself duke of Arrakis and playing the Atreides theme
over that, the scene still maintains a level of emotion, to make the audience have a connection
to it. It's not just the idea of seeing him as this
dark figure that's leading the fremen into a holy war. We are left feeling conflicted by the situation
and that is exactly what Villeneuve aimed to accomplish with his adaptation, and what
Herbert aimed for with this character on the page. So now that I've described why I think it's
the perfect scene, I thought I would end my essay by briefly pointing out how this moment
is different from the book, because I think it really showcases how Villeneuve brought
it to life in his own powerful way. In Frank Herbert's Book, the scene is very
similar in context, but there are two small differences that make it more powerful for
the cinematic language. Rather than only focusing on the news that
Rabban has been cut off and is now vulnerable, in the film, Paul is presented as being more
direct towards the Fremen. In the book, he doesn't demonstrate to the
Fremen there that he can see into individual's past and point out examples. By doing so in the film, it helps to communicate
better to them why they should follow him and it clearly spells out to us that after
drinking the water of life, Paul can now clearly see the way forward. It's a great addition that for me, enhances
the power of the moment and the idea of the prophesy that half of the fremen were against
at the beginning of the film. It means that he has to really persuade them
and earn their trust by showcasing that he can see into their past. And the other main difference is what I kind
of touched on before in that by having the different perspective of Chani, it elevates
the meaning of this moment. Her rejecting the prophesy as it unfolds isn't
in the book and a moment like this links well into enhancing her overall journey, the ending
moments with her and what that truly means for this story. By having this difference in perspective,
Villeneuve is able to show the audience the looming sense of darkness surrounding Paul's
upcoming quest. It's not a moment to celebrate, it's a moment
to fear and one that should create anxiety. And by having Chani be this altered perspective
it brings more intensity to the scene and again reflects exactly what Herbert wanted
audiences to get out of his Dune story. The countless interviews of him discussing
how he wrote Dune Messiah to correct people's viewpoint of Paul in the original novel is
something that Villeneuve took to heart in making his adaptation, and the way this scene
is put together, acted and framed, is a perfect example of delivering on that central message. But that was my video discussing my favourite
scene from Denis Villeneuve's Dune Part 2. Through acting, cinematography, sound and
writting, this scene becomes one of those moments from Dune Part 2 that I will never
forget. It only became more powerful on rewatch and
I think director Denis Villeneuve did a great job of adapting it from the book and using
this moment to fuel the revenge that Paul and the Fremen would go after in the moments
that followed. It's probabaly my 2nd favourite scene in a
film from the last few years, just behind that of the Oppenheimer victory speech, and
do I find it quite interesting that my favourite moment from both of these films involve delivered
speeches from the main characters. Both are absolutely effective, and from the
individual perspective of Dune Part 2, the execution of that speech was essential in
delivering on the themes of the film's ending. But what do you think towards the speech scene
in Dune Part 2 and do you agree that this is one of the standout moments from Denis
Villeneuve's adaptation. Let me know your thoughts down below in the
comments section alongside your favourite scenes from the film. For much more videos and news on Denis Villeneuve's
Dune universe, then subscribe to the channel and turn on your notifications. Also if you enjoyed this video remember to
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been Cortex and as always make some noise.
