I like the creativity of the shields where nothing passes through unless under a certain velocity, that way people can move and breathe but not be shot. Definitely a creative way of bringing back sword combat into the far future.
House Corrino essentially did with the Sardaukar what greedy companies do: they build up a reputation for quality and then once they have the market cornered, they abandon quality in favor of mass production.
It's more like the Sardaukar were trained and raised in an extremely harsh environment, they used this strength and hardiness to conquer the empire for House Corrino. Once they became essentially a police force for the Emperor, they got rich and lazy and lost their edge. The Fremen still have their edge considering the environment they live in on a daily basis. Hard times breed hard men and all that
It's more the Sardaukar are actually quality soldiers but, were getting evened out with other houses as they were used for a police force. *Spoiler* God Emperor Leto actually uses a marriage with House Corrina to gain control of the Sardaukar and enact his peace
From ehat i remember of the origonal series, the sarducar were actually pretty dam good. The reason the atradies were killed off was brcause their soldiers were getting comparable.
In the later novels, it is shown that the Sardaukar actually admired Duke Leto for his strong leadership abilities and honour. They also secretly held a deep contempt against the Padishah Emperor for his short-sighted pettiness and incompetence. If the Emperor hadn't been so stupid he could have betrothed Irulan to Paul and peacefully passed on his throne, but tyrants could never see past their own needs.
@@Stevie-L-n8g think about it the move would have been to wed Paul to Irulan beforehand. This ended up happening anyway after much upheaval and disruption. Again Leto’s ambition and the Emperor’s jealousy got in the way.
I love how in the book, after the initial Harkonnen/Sardukar Assault a fremen is telling Hawat about an assault the Fremen put down. He laments that they killed 100 Sardukar but, alas, lost 2 men. When Hawat points out they were Sardukar he is visibly delighted, saying it was a pretty good fight. 😂 Moments later a fremen kamikaze runs a Sardukar transport of 300 with a single Ornithopter. The guy just watches and casually calls it a good exchange.
And yet, 5 mins later, those same Fremen gets ambushed and wiped by another Sardaukar unit they did nto see coming because a lot like the Sardaukar, they think high of themselves and didnt expect to be attacked after that.
And I think the two that they lost were adolescents. The Fremen were amused with the Sardukar's spirit and fighting abilities but not at all intimidated. It makes me ask if any former Sardukar came to Dune in order to join Emperor Paul's elite fighting Fremen. They were probably really good building material with the warrior mindset of constant training and fighting spirit.
My theory is that this scene will be in the second film, like at the start of the movie. bc this part of the books show just how nonchalant the Freman are at fighting or exchanging troops
Spoilers: in the books the Fremen are like 100x better than Sardukar. They've grown and prospered in an equally if not more inhospitable environment, indoctrinated into a life of "the tribe" the individual is nothing when compared to the success of the tribe. A handful of old men, women, and children. Kill literally a couple hundred Sardukar with a loss of about 2/50 while every Fremen are trained for combat. Those were far from the death commandos or higher class warriors. I can't wait for more movies :D
What made the Sardaukar more frightening than the Atreides forces was their method of silent approach. The Atreides were bold but they were loud, and they were trying to let them know they were there, and they were there to fight and defend. "Here I Am, Here I Remain". In contrast, while the Sardaukar weren't trying to hide either, their method of silent mass approach was far more psychologically effective because it lent credence to their image as an utterly unstoppable force. They didn't have to rush in because they were going to crush their enemies anyway. The elite fighting forces of the ancient Persian Empire, the Immortals, used the same tactics. Approach in a mass formation under cover of darkness, wear all black with a black veil over the face, and step quietly and do not utter a sound until the front ranks make physical contact with the enemy, and all while letting them see you all coming.
I think an important point has been overlooked: The Emperor did not deploy the Sardukar to conquer the Fremen. A "small" force of Sardukar were sent to secretly ensure House Atreides was destroyed, and this succeeded. The Emperor could not openly move against Leto, or it would have upset the balance of power between the Throne and the Landsraad.
Ummmm no, sardaukar were deployed en mass after the attack in house atreides to wipe out the fremen in a pogrom which was abandoned because too many sardaukar were getting killed.
Haven't read the book but if how it was, what did they told happened to Atreides? Did the Harkonnens got all the blame and the Emperor managed to keep his hands clean? Wouldn't there have been any political consequences for the Harks? I mean, it's just like NoKor just levelling SoKor, sure there would be reactions from other countries.
According to the 3-book prequel they FIRST discovered WHY you don't shoot a "Lazgun" at a shield. It results in a literal small nuclear reaction. So not just the target AND shooter die BUT apparently everyone else in the area goes too. So that wasn't a good idea for the movie. Good for a scene but not everyday in verse ise
A solution to this would be to fabricate small flying robots with laser guns, or larger humanoid robots with laser guns. Ensuring that anyone that fights with shields against you has no hope of survival, but you would by virtue of not being in the fight personally.
According to the book, Selusa Secundus was the original seat of government for the Corrino empire. A rogue house nuked it and the seat of government was moved to Kaitan. The emporer turned into a prison planet where they could recruit and train those prisoners that found a way to survive into fanatical warriors for the Emporer. Hardened by the conditions of the nuked planet they became the most formidible warriors in the universe...for a time.
Exactly. As a Dune nerd when I watched the movie I was like:"This is how it happened in the book" or the opposite. That prisoners turned Sardaukar theme wasn't at all explored in the movie, while in the book, at least as I understood it, both the Harkonnens and Atreides figured out that Arrakis could be the new Salusa Secundus and that the Fremen could be the new Sardaukar, because of their tough life and fanatical warshipping.
@@Stevie-L-n8g You're right, this discussion is based on the Prelude to Dune books, written by Brian Herbert and based off Frank Herbert's notes that he used to keep the storylines straight. That being said, this video is off by quite a bit imho.
The sardaukar lost because the fremen lived on a much harsher planet and their population was trained to military discipline. In the book, fremen lost 1 for every 50 sardaukar. That left thufir howat shocked when he found out. It wasn't that they got soft. They just ran into a people who were much better than them.
@@mondaysinsanity8193 the reason for these tribes living in marginal land in the first place is because these 'weak' civilized people pushed them there. No one wants to live in the desert or the steep.
I think you are missing the main reason most military forces in the Dune universe became sword oriented. It was less about the protection the personal shield offered or sudden lack of effectiveness for lasguns. The change was wholly due to the reaction of a lasgun when interacting with a personal shield. Accidentally or intentionally shooting some one using a shield was instant death for both your own and enemy soldiers as the reaction was similar to setting off a small nuke. Imagine the situation where you in close quarters battle hit a shield with a lasgun and all of a sudden everything within a kilometer is superheated dust that smells faintly off fuck-up.
They abolished Nuclear war in a convention between the Great Houses and therefore had to fight using other methods such as shields and swords/knives. Lazguns were not abolished but were rarely used because of the lazgun/shield interactions!
@@2adamast Think of the early book Atreides as chivalric knights who are prepared for war, but don't know the enemy does not follow the chivalric code. Then once Paul gain power with the fremen it is his turn to go all Henry V and bring low class archers to a knight fight.
@@rustknuckleirongut8107 It was about the small nuke effect of the shields. With that it's easy to destroy a packed army group with one well placed shot. At Azincourt the French had also "low class" archers. French nobility was paid by the year for at most one month of military service to their faction. Already in 700 that was considered a questionable response to external threads.
@@2adamast All I meant was that the Atreides prepared for an enemy who fought like them and paid the price when the enemy surprised them. Don't bring a Knight to a longbow fight. Also much like the English, the French nobility expected ransoms to pay out big like it did for the English in earlier battles in the 100 years war. No one saw Henry V`s strategic mass execution of prisoners when he thought his rear was threatened coming. It was the literal death of chivalry that day.
Loved this deep dive into the Sardaukar! The extra media apart from the movie is amazing and really complements the storytelling. Would absolutely appreciate one for the Fremen.
I would love to see you cover the "Children of Dune" series and especially James McAvoys Leto. Been years since I saw it. Also an video on the Fremen would be awesome.
"Take men rejected by all, place them in unbearable living conditions, let the weak die. Take the survivors and persuade them that they are a chosen group, superior beings called to a great destiny. Give them a religion to control them, a leader to worship. Offer them better living conditions and the certainty that they are invincible and you will have formidable soldiers." This is the credo applied by the Corino house to create the Sardaukar.
@@Stevie-L-n8g The original text is vague on this subject, but the Sardaukar's reverence for the emperor is close to religious, it is suggested several times.
They have served the dark will of Padishah Emperors for over 8000 years. Eyes, as dark as night. Teeth, filed to fang. Soulless. The personal army to Emperor Shaddam IV Himself, the Imperial Warrior Elite. The deadliest fighting force in the Known Universe... the Sardaukar!!!
You are talking about the Immortals used by Darius, the Persian King. Herbert never described the Sardaukar as that, more like Nazi-looking men really. Where did you get that?
basically sardukar are melee fighters with shields ., so shooting them wont make the cut - if your a clone trooper ., you blaster is more useful as a club than a gun 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@Operator214MerchantMarine well they deal with the invincible to blaster fire enemies habitually. They'll just use the EMP grenades every clone has and keep shooting.
Denis Villeneuve"s Sardaukar, from the first moments of the scene on Salusa Secundus, perfectly presented them as the terror troops feared by all, and it was easy to understand in your gut why, with no further explanations needed. Contrast that with David Lynch's, the most feared pastry chefs in the known universe.
Edit to acknowledge that I confused the David Lynch production with the Dune 2000 mini-series. The Sardaukar/pastry chefs I was thinking of were in the mini-series.
It's kind of a cool little tidbit to watch duncan fight the guys and in some of the scenes the "killmove" is actually him stopping his blade short/mid-air so the other guys can walk into it and kill themselves.
Not really. The Spartans were landowning military aristocrats while the Sardaukar are privileged and professional slave soldiers. I'd compare them more to the Mamluks or the Janissaries.
The Fremen remind me of the Aiel of the wheel of time series. Every single one of them trained from birth to be a survival/killing expert. Basically you never want to fuck with them no matter how powerful you imagine you are. Fighting them is like fighting the desert.
The sarduukar employee the Unsullied approach to training & favor the Mongolian throat singing for their training soundtrack….I wouldn’t mess w/ these guys lol
Salusa Secundus was a paradise & home to House Corrino (nee Butler). they were attacked by renegade House(s) Tantor/Moritani w Atomics. Corrinos relocated to Kaitain & used SS as a prison planet to create their Sardaukar. (was also the 2nd stop of Wandering Zensunni before eventually heading off to Arrakis & becoming more fierce than any Sardaukar)
According to the appendix in the original "Dune" novel, the Sardaukar were equal to a tenth level Ginaz adept - not quite a Ginaz swordmaster, but still impressive, and well above the levels of every other force. That is, until the Atreides started to train a highly skilled, potent, and loyal force. They did this using techniques of the Ginaz, their own personal charisma, and borrowing whatever techniques were effective. The Sardukaur were weakened by overconfidence and excesses of a "warrior mystique" - they started to believe their own press clippings. A Bashar of the Sardukaur (roughly equivalent to a modern captain) lived an extravagant life, equal to a very rich man, while generals lived in luxury comparable to that of a ruling family of a Major House. Baron Harkonnen mentioned to Count Fenring he thought about using Dune as a prison planet to create a new, more brutal force. Count Fenring duly reported this to Shaddam, and they turned against the Harkonnen. Pitre DeVries was horribly alarmed when he heard about that conversation. Duncan Idaho, however, believed the Fremen were already just about as good as the Sardukaur, and it wouldn't take much to train them up. The popularity of Leto among the Lansraad and the military power of the House made them Shaddam's target - before they could build a force equal to his own fifty legions of Sardukaur and took the throne.
The history of the Sardaukar presented here totally ignores the established history of the Butlerian Jihad, the nuking of Salusa Secundus and the establishment of the Imperium.
@@jamesmunn576 I’m a hardcore Dune fan. Been reading them since the 90s. I didn’t like the second run of books, theyre not written good……. but I liked the ideas brought fourth in them. So….. Canon.
I would definitely be interested in learning more of the Fremen. I'm just picturing the discipline of the Zen Buddhist Samurai and the zeal of the Suni Islamic Dervish.
Another few things the fremen had over sardaukar was their tactics difference, fremen were more ambush troops than shock troopers, most of the time it was a fight in and on sand with the fremen striking from hiding. The chances are most attacks would have maybe had a squad at most of actual sardaukar over dozens more harkonen.
Herberts Sardaukar have the same problem so many antagonist elite forces have in stories. They are build up as being this unstoppable force just to be rather easily dismantled by the protagonists in the end.
Great video, I loved that you implemented the comics also, gave me some new outlooks on style and weps they had that other channels didn't keep it up! thank you!
More dune I love this... read all the books and was addicted to the games on pc growing up so the love its finally getting now I couldn't be more happy about! Great vid and well put together mate ✌
Salusa Secundus was a “Prison Planet”… the rest was created folklore; they were tough because it was the worst of worst of the Imperium trained to kill for the Emperor.. Fremen where something else. The entire premise is about constant struggle for survival makes the best of the human being. when peace came, after centuries passed, this same generation of warriors where tamed. Frank Herbert is pure genius.
They had been almost hopelessly dependant upon AI until it was discovered that those AI had begun manipulating mankind for their own goals, slowly supplanting us as the dominant species. The Butlerian Jihad followed and for 10.000 years, the Empire of house Corrino enforced the dogma that no machine may replace a human. That lead to fun creations like the Mentats to handle the calculations of a galaxy spanning bureaucracy and even the Ornithopters used biological components sometimes, having large insects implanted into the wing assembly as larvae and the imago stage would then be controlled via electric currents to move the wings.
“Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind.” Once that became accepted in human civilization something else would HAVE to replace AI.
I love Dune as much, if not more than, Star Wars. Thanks for the lore dump! What about the Swordmasters of Ginaz after your Freman vid? Or the many lives of Duncan?
So basically they are the Janissaries. The emperor is literally called "Padishah" which is what the Ottoman Sultans were called. Its shocking how this analogy isn't mentioned in the video.
This was a great video. The Sardaukar are definitely frightening but cool. Just for fun...who would win--an entire platoon of The Emperiors Blades or battle harden warriors of Star Trek's Klingon Empire (Worf level fighters)?
Hey everyone!! Just wondering if anyone can answer a question for me. It was my understanding that the Guild never sided with any house against another house. I mean Wars of Assassins is one thing but to secretly transport an army from SS and Geidi Prime is a whole other. I apologize if this question has been answered before. I’m sort of new to Dune and thought I’d ask. Thanks in advance!
They were officially neutral. But anyone who paid them transport fees, they would take the job. Neutral as in they will side with whomever pays them more.
Neutrality ensures profit from both sides of the conflict, not only doubling wartime profits but ensuring the safety of the Guild after the conflict is over.
there were 3 different societies: Empire, Bene Gesserit, Guild, each with their own plans. the Guild were not siding with any house of the empire. and Harkonen was in a legal vendetta vs Atreides. officially they didn't transport any Sardaukars. the nice thing about Dune is it says that everybody was interracting on two planes: officially, and in secrecy. the Guild also took bribes from Fremens to not place satellites on Arrakis southern hemisphere, leaving the Emperor in ignorance about the actual power of the Fremen.
They offer transport services to anyone who is willing to pay. They are neutral because they don't take sides saying, we will transport harkonnen military but not atreides military. As long as you can afford it, they will provide the service.
I love Herbert's shield concept - more than just a tech idea, it was a literary tool. It obsoleted projectile weapons AND lasers as practical weapons, attracted and infuriated the worms. Prequels teach it was not even invented by Holzmann but by his assistant, who evolved into the first "navigator" and had evolved even further by the sequels. Also that the shields were a fortuitous by-product of the Holzmann effect, which also folds space (allowing for faster-than-light travel), nullifies gravity, and other fun stuff. Interconnectedness of all things!' Note: the slowed darts and "slow strikes" were not really necessary - a shield that prevents bullets travelling at 1000 feet per second or more might still let in a sword or thrown knife or dart, which travel at 100 feet per second or less.
The vast majority of Dune fans reject the books his son published. They are ok, not nearly ok caliber with Frank but you can read them. Wouldn’t take them a canon though.
I was not commenting on the writing style or OK-ness of the final products. It was not the writing style or ability that I was commenting on. All those tidbits came from Frank's notes, so even though Brian put it to pen, that doesn't mean it's not canon. I mean, _all_ of Frank's books came from his notes, too. While we are at it, the final resolution of Omnius & Erasmus from the prequels merging with the ultimate kwisatz haderach in the sequels is sublime _in concept_ though it could have been executed with a bit more finesse _in practice._ The grand story arc reminds me of the 1st pre-federation robot R. Daneel Olivaw's fate was revealed with Azimov's Foundation series sequel "Foundation and Earth", after the final conflict between Foundation and Gaia. p.s. I read science fiction for great concepts, not for great literature. For that I refer to Proust, Joyce, Tolstoy, etc.@@codename495
im reading the first book after watching the 2021 movie ... and i love both so much.. so grreatfull for books and movies like this.. makes life way more enjoyable
Maximum respect to Frank Herbert who wrote the books that the movie has adapted. Herbert was the one that created The Sadaukar, the idea from reading about the Ottoman Janissaries and the Praetorian Guard.
"The fanatical soldiers, who had terrorized the universe for thousands of years, seized to exist." Not quite. Given how the Fish Speakers basically replaced them. Functioning more as regional police than a regular army. But still similarly, being an armed force of fanatics who maintain a control of terror over the populace.
@@brianparent4023 Which is also why i mention 'not quite'. They are not identical. But Sardaukar & Fish Speakers still have very similar characteristics and impact. An irony that was hardly lost on the God Emperor. Since he was very aware of all the arrangements for his plan.
The irony of the Sardaukar is that they're absolutely the elite... in conventional warfare. Conventional warfare in Dune requires shields and close combat weaponry, with the killing blow being slowed down to pierce the shield. The shields can't be used on Arrakis due to the worms being drawn to them. Thus, these experts in shielded melee combat are completely incapable of dealing with foes who are used to unshielded combat in the desert. This is why the Emperor had to be lured to Arrakis: On their home ground where they could use standard tactics, the Sardaukar would win, just like when they stormed the Atreides estate. It was only by bringing them out in the desert where all of their advantages were neutralized could the Fremen win. Striking where your enemy is weakest and you are strongest is the most fundamental principles of strategic warfare, and Paul was taught very well by his mentors.
Funny, all this renewed interest. 40 years ago when I talked to my high school buddies about how badass the Sardaukar were, they just looked at me like I was crazy.
Mmm, minor correction. The Holdsman shield did NOT protect from a laz beam. In fact, if a laz beam were to intersect with a shield, it would result in a catastrophic explosion similar to an Atomic detonation that would be sure to kill both attack and attacked.
I like the creativity of the shields where nothing passes through unless under a certain velocity, that way people can move and breathe but not be shot. Definitely a creative way of bringing back sword combat into the far future.
Also super useful in space. No pesky debris blowing holes throw your spaceship.
Indeed.
so if your running as fast as you can will you just hit yourself with the shield?
Or just pass through the whole defense
Calling it a "membrane" feels more accurate to me, because it acts as a selective barrier
I dunno man I still think that *someone* would have thought of a gun that could do the job in however many thousand years passed
House Corrino essentially did with the Sardaukar what greedy companies do: they build up a reputation for quality and then once they have the market cornered, they abandon quality in favor of mass production.
And yet people know this and they still keep buying their shitty products, blame that to people lol
Simply put. Spitting truth out there. 👊🏻
It's more like the Sardaukar were trained and raised in an extremely harsh environment, they used this strength and hardiness to conquer the empire for House Corrino. Once they became essentially a police force for the Emperor, they got rich and lazy and lost their edge. The Fremen still have their edge considering the environment they live in on a daily basis. Hard times breed hard men and all that
It's more the Sardaukar are actually quality soldiers but, were getting evened out with other houses as they were used for a police force.
*Spoiler*
God Emperor Leto actually uses a marriage with House Corrina to gain control of the Sardaukar and enact his peace
From ehat i remember of the origonal series, the sarducar were actually pretty dam good. The reason the atradies were killed off was brcause their soldiers were getting comparable.
In the later novels, it is shown that the Sardaukar actually admired Duke Leto for his strong leadership abilities and honour. They also secretly held a deep contempt against the Padishah Emperor for his short-sighted pettiness and incompetence. If the Emperor hadn't been so stupid he could have betrothed Irulan to Paul and peacefully passed on his throne, but tyrants could never see past their own needs.
Makes sense that they eventually join the fremen for the god emperor.
Bethroned?? No such word pal! And you were wrong about that assessment.
Leto was at fault also. He could have pushed for that union and saved his house. Instead, he was trying to gain the throne for himself.
@@bjdaniels4228 What?
@@Stevie-L-n8g think about it the move would have been to wed Paul to Irulan beforehand. This ended up happening anyway after much upheaval and disruption. Again Leto’s ambition and the Emperor’s jealousy got in the way.
I love how in the book, after the initial Harkonnen/Sardukar Assault a fremen is telling Hawat about an assault the Fremen put down. He laments that they killed 100 Sardukar but, alas, lost 2 men.
When Hawat points out they were Sardukar he is visibly delighted, saying it was a pretty good fight. 😂
Moments later a fremen kamikaze runs a Sardukar transport of 300 with a single Ornithopter. The guy just watches and casually calls it a good exchange.
I was so hoping they put this scene in the movie!!! But....
We got the Duncan Hallway scene! Flick flickering!!
And yet, 5 mins later, those same Fremen gets ambushed and wiped by another Sardaukar unit they did nto see coming because a lot like the Sardaukar, they think high of themselves and didnt expect to be attacked after that.
And I think the two that they lost were adolescents. The Fremen were amused with the Sardukar's spirit and fighting abilities but not at all intimidated. It makes me ask if any former Sardukar came to Dune in order to join Emperor Paul's elite fighting Fremen. They were probably really good building material with the warrior mindset of constant training and fighting spirit.
My theory is that this scene will be in the second film, like at the start of the movie. bc this part of the books show just how nonchalant the Freman are at fighting or exchanging troops
I just thought it house harkonnnen on its own who attacked atreides
Honestly the Atreides defending those stairs were more intimidating than any Sardukar exhibited in the film.
Sadly there weren't enough of them
nahhh, i mean they looked cool but that scene with the sardaukar floating down into formation, that was cool af
Spoilers: in the books the Fremen are like 100x better than Sardukar. They've grown and prospered in an equally if not more inhospitable environment, indoctrinated into a life of "the tribe" the individual is nothing when compared to the success of the tribe. A handful of old men, women, and children. Kill literally a couple hundred Sardukar with a loss of about 2/50 while every Fremen are trained for combat. Those were far from the death commandos or higher class warriors. I can't wait for more movies :D
This was Thermopylae in miniature, if you think about it.
What made the Sardaukar more frightening than the Atreides forces was their method of silent approach. The Atreides were bold but they were loud, and they were trying to let them know they were there, and they were there to fight and defend. "Here I Am, Here I Remain". In contrast, while the Sardaukar weren't trying to hide either, their method of silent mass approach was far more psychologically effective because it lent credence to their image as an utterly unstoppable force. They didn't have to rush in because they were going to crush their enemies anyway. The elite fighting forces of the ancient Persian Empire, the Immortals, used the same tactics. Approach in a mass formation under cover of darkness, wear all black with a black veil over the face, and step quietly and do not utter a sound until the front ranks make physical contact with the enemy, and all while letting them see you all coming.
I think an important point has been overlooked: The Emperor did not deploy the Sardukar to conquer the Fremen. A "small" force of Sardukar were sent to secretly ensure House Atreides was destroyed, and this succeeded. The Emperor could not openly move against Leto, or it would have upset the balance of power between the Throne and the Landsraad.
Facts!
Ummmm no, sardaukar were deployed en mass after the attack in house atreides to wipe out the fremen in a pogrom which was abandoned because too many sardaukar were getting killed.
Game of thrones things
Exactly
Haven't read the book but if how it was, what did they told happened to Atreides? Did the Harkonnens got all the blame and the Emperor managed to keep his hands clean? Wouldn't there have been any political consequences for the Harks? I mean, it's just like NoKor just levelling SoKor, sure there would be reactions from other countries.
The shields didn't protect users from lasers. Hitting a shield with a laser gun basically triggered an explosion which would kill both people
Yes that's right, which is why they stopped using the lasgun against shields
@@filmcomicsexplained I absolutely love that concept in the books. Mutually assured destruction. Was also used on purpose in the Brian Herbert books
According to the 3-book prequel they FIRST discovered WHY you don't shoot a "Lazgun" at a shield. It results in a literal small nuclear reaction. So not just the target AND shooter die BUT apparently everyone else in the area goes too. So that wasn't a good idea for the movie. Good for a scene but not everyday in verse ise
not just any kind of explosion either. an atomic one. that wont just kill people in the battle, but people out of it, and contaminate the area.
A solution to this would be to fabricate small flying robots with laser guns, or larger humanoid robots with laser guns. Ensuring that anyone that fights with shields against you has no hope of survival, but you would by virtue of not being in the fight personally.
According to the book, Selusa Secundus was the original seat of government for the Corrino empire. A rogue house nuked it and the seat of government was moved to Kaitan. The emporer turned into a prison planet where they could recruit and train those prisoners that found a way to survive into fanatical warriors for the Emporer. Hardened by the conditions of the nuked planet they became the most formidible warriors in the universe...for a time.
Correct. Most of this video is NOT Dune canon. Salusa as you said was the seat of power, a lovely plant until nuked. This video is rubbish
Exactly. As a Dune nerd when I watched the movie I was like:"This is how it happened in the book" or the opposite. That prisoners turned Sardaukar theme wasn't at all explored in the movie, while in the book, at least as I understood it, both the Harkonnens and Atreides figured out that Arrakis could be the new Salusa Secundus and that the Fremen could be the new Sardaukar, because of their tough life and fanatical warshipping.
You’re correct. Have no idea what this video is about. Video is completly off
I've never read that in Frank Herberts books. Ever!
@@Stevie-L-n8g You're right, this discussion is based on the Prelude to Dune books, written by Brian Herbert and based off Frank Herbert's notes that he used to keep the storylines straight. That being said, this video is off by quite a bit imho.
The Sardaukar - the history, rise and fall - remind me of the Ottoman's Empire Janissary soldiers.
Or the Mamluks
Or the Praetorian Guards of Rome
Can we PLEEEAASSE get more vids on this universe? I do love it so.
Check out Quinn's ideas. He is the definitive source on Dune Lore imo
@@tonysan4762 You beat me to it. Quinn’s Ideas and Comicbookgirl19 a close 2nd…
I can’t wait for the 2nd part of this movie and this time I’m definitely making sure to watch in imax
The sardaukar lost because the fremen lived on a much harsher planet and their population was trained to military discipline. In the book, fremen lost 1 for every 50 sardaukar. That left thufir howat shocked when he found out. It wasn't that they got soft. They just ran into a people who were much better than them.
Harsh environment doesn't produce strong soldiers and definitely doesn't produce Military discipline
The Fremen were bragging
@@MohamedRamadan-qi4hl It does if you train them in it.
@@MohamedRamadan-qi4hl lmao yes it does harsh lived tribals have almost always beaten "civilized soldiers"
@@mondaysinsanity8193 the reason for these tribes living in marginal land in the first place is because these 'weak' civilized people pushed them there. No one wants to live in the desert or the steep.
I think you are missing the main reason most military forces in the Dune universe became sword oriented. It was less about the protection the personal shield offered or sudden lack of effectiveness for lasguns. The change was wholly due to the reaction of a lasgun when interacting with a personal shield. Accidentally or intentionally shooting some one using a shield was instant death for both your own and enemy soldiers as the reaction was similar to setting off a small nuke. Imagine the situation where you in close quarters battle hit a shield with a lasgun and all of a sudden everything within a kilometer is superheated dust that smells faintly off fuck-up.
They abolished Nuclear war in a convention between the Great Houses and therefore had to fight using other methods such as shields and swords/knives. Lazguns were not abolished but were rarely used because of the lazgun/shield interactions!
So the Atreides where sitting ducks with all their nuclear shields. Just as much as a random group of Sardukar
@@2adamast Think of the early book Atreides as chivalric knights who are prepared for war, but don't know the enemy does not follow the chivalric code. Then once Paul gain power with the fremen it is his turn to go all Henry V and bring low class archers to a knight fight.
@@rustknuckleirongut8107 It was about the small nuke effect of the shields. With that it's easy to destroy a packed army group with one well placed shot.
At Azincourt the French had also "low class" archers. French nobility was paid by the year for at most one month of military service to their faction. Already in 700 that was considered a questionable response to external threads.
@@2adamast All I meant was that the Atreides prepared for an enemy who fought like them and paid the price when the enemy surprised them. Don't bring a Knight to a longbow fight. Also much like the English, the French nobility expected ransoms to pay out big like it did for the English in earlier battles in the 100 years war. No one saw Henry V`s strategic mass execution of prisoners when he thought his rear was threatened coming. It was the literal death of chivalry that day.
Loved this deep dive into the Sardaukar! The extra media apart from the movie is amazing and really complements the storytelling. Would absolutely appreciate one for the Fremen.
Denis, using the throat singing as a backdrop to the human sacrifice and preparation for war, was ingenious.
I would love to see you cover the "Children of Dune" series and especially James McAvoys Leto. Been years since I saw it.
Also an video on the Fremen would be awesome.
Check out Quinn's Ideas on UA-cam if you want Dune Lore.
"Take men rejected by all, place them in unbearable living conditions, let the weak die. Take the survivors and persuade them that they are a chosen group, superior beings called to a great destiny. Give them a religion to control them, a leader to worship. Offer them better living conditions and the certainty that they are invincible and you will have formidable soldiers."
This is the credo applied by the Corino house to create the Sardaukar.
Wrong. There was no religion added to their training. Where did you get that from?
@@Stevie-L-n8g The original text is vague on this subject, but the Sardaukar's reverence for the emperor is close to religious, it is suggested several times.
@@huguesroland6308 I think you’ll find that’s called fanaticism, not religion!
@@huguesroland6308 So vague you thought you’d put your own ideas onto it?
@@Stevie-L-n8g It's the same thing. Two horses of the same cart.
Fremen, the Fedaykin, Fish Speakers, would be great to see you cover more. Great as always!
awesome more new content. thanks for all the work you are putting in 👍
Glad you enjoy it!
They have served the dark will of Padishah Emperors for over 8000 years. Eyes, as dark as night. Teeth, filed to fang. Soulless. The personal army to Emperor Shaddam IV Himself, the Imperial Warrior Elite. The deadliest fighting force in the Known Universe... the Sardaukar!!!
300
Heathen sardaukar 😆
You are talking about the Immortals used by Darius, the Persian King. Herbert never described the Sardaukar as that, more like Nazi-looking men really. Where did you get that?
Until the Fremen!
DUNE should have been made in series format. They could have made 10 epic episodes for every house in DUNE..
I will never stop loving Hans Zimmer's scores. They're SO good 😭🤤
Hamburger, cheese burger, hamburger cheese.
~ Sardaukar
😂
Imagine this Sardaukar Imperial Military vs. the Clone Troopers from the Star Wars Universe, a true battle of the Space Operas!
basically sardukar are melee fighters with shields ., so shooting them wont make the cut - if your a clone trooper ., you blaster is more useful as a club than a gun 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@anticlickbait Storm Troopers
Both sides would get wiped out in the first volley of blaster shots since the shields would go nuclear and kill everyone.
@@Operator214MerchantMarine well they deal with the invincible to blaster fire enemies habitually. They'll just use the EMP grenades every clone has and keep shooting.
Denis Villeneuve"s Sardaukar, from the first moments of the scene on Salusa Secundus, perfectly presented them as the terror troops feared by all, and it was easy to understand in your gut why, with no further explanations needed. Contrast that with David Lynch's, the most feared pastry chefs in the known universe.
Edit to acknowledge that I confused the David Lynch production with the Dune 2000 mini-series. The Sardaukar/pastry chefs I was thinking of were in the mini-series.
I fear the Swedish Chef even more with the war cry of "Bork Bork Bork"
Mongolian like language, Aztec like religion, Spartan like Culture, Berserker like warfare, Varangian like loyalty.
What????
@@Stevie-L-n8gread history
Dont forget big flappy dongs too
These guys have cool designs but got absolutely sunned by the Fremen warriors.
They cannot compete against the fremen secret technique throw your infant baby on the enemy to distract them
It's kind of a cool little tidbit to watch duncan fight the guys and in some of the scenes the "killmove" is actually him stopping his blade short/mid-air so the other guys can walk into it and kill themselves.
I loved that praying scene, so dark, evil in a way.
Absolutely master piece part 1 cant wait for part two!!! This movie was awesome and i never knew about the story lines or anything
The scene where they silently drop down was so cool in the film!
Fun fact, these chaps were the influence for the Rogue Trader era Adeptus Astartes.
They are a lot like the Spartans in almost every way
Not really. The Spartans were landowning military aristocrats while the Sardaukar are privileged and professional slave soldiers. I'd compare them more to the Mamluks or the Janissaries.
More dune content?
Heck yes!!!
The Fremen remind me of the Aiel of the wheel of time series. Every single one of them trained from birth to be a survival/killing expert. Basically you never want to fuck with them no matter how powerful you imagine you are. Fighting them is like fighting the desert.
Fremen came before the Aiel, so if anything, Robert Jordan was likely inspired by Dune to make his Aiel.
The sarduukar employee the Unsullied approach to training & favor the Mongolian throat singing for their training soundtrack….I wouldn’t mess w/ these guys lol
Omg, yes please! I am loving your Dune episodes. The Series is an amazing work.
They’re essentially Space Janissaries who are loyal only to their Sultan/emperor
YAY MORE DUNE CONTENT!
DUNE PART 2, November 17, 2023.
Lets go!
Salusa Secundus was a paradise & home to House Corrino (nee Butler). they were attacked by renegade House(s) Tantor/Moritani w Atomics.
Corrinos relocated to Kaitain & used SS as a prison planet to create their Sardaukar.
(was also the 2nd stop of Wandering Zensunni before eventually heading off to Arrakis & becoming more fierce than any Sardaukar)
That's Herbert's son's writings, not his Fathers. And it wasn't all the of the pre-Fremen that went there either.
Thanks for the solid info, as usual ✊
No problem 👍
According to the appendix in the original "Dune" novel, the Sardaukar were equal to a tenth level Ginaz adept - not quite a Ginaz swordmaster, but still impressive, and well above the levels of every other force. That is, until the Atreides started to train a highly skilled, potent, and loyal force. They did this using techniques of the Ginaz, their own personal charisma, and borrowing whatever techniques were effective. The Sardukaur were weakened by overconfidence and excesses of a "warrior mystique" - they started to believe their own press clippings. A Bashar of the Sardukaur (roughly equivalent to a modern captain) lived an extravagant life, equal to a very rich man, while generals lived in luxury comparable to that of a ruling family of a Major House.
Baron Harkonnen mentioned to Count Fenring he thought about using Dune as a prison planet to create a new, more brutal force. Count Fenring duly reported this to Shaddam, and they turned against the Harkonnen. Pitre DeVries was horribly alarmed when he heard about that conversation. Duncan Idaho, however, believed the Fremen were already just about as good as the Sardukaur, and it wouldn't take much to train them up. The popularity of Leto among the Lansraad and the military power of the House made them Shaddam's target - before they could build a force equal to his own fifty legions of Sardukaur and took the throne.
My reading of the Dune series was that Bashar was more like that of a 5 star general / Field marshal. See Miles Teg references.
I doubt it. The real issue was that the Sardaukar had never known defeat, and that made them vulnerable. Too arrogant.
The history of the Sardaukar presented here totally ignores the established history of the Butlerian Jihad, the nuking of Salusa Secundus and the establishment of the Imperium.
BH's stuff isn't canon, just cringe fanfic.
Probably, or rather obviously, because this video is based on the 2021(?) Movie.
@@RTYB but it is cannon……
@@673AWSFNot to Hardcore Dune fans.
@@jamesmunn576 I’m a hardcore Dune fan. Been reading them since the 90s. I didn’t like the second run of books, theyre not written good……. but I liked the ideas brought fourth in them. So….. Canon.
Quite enjoyed kearning the full history of the Shadukar. Looking forward to your history of the Fremen.
I would definitely be interested in learning more of the Fremen. I'm just picturing the discipline of the Zen Buddhist Samurai and the zeal of the Suni Islamic Dervish.
Dervish are Sufi …
Zen Buddhism was supposed to control the Samurai not enrage them.
Dune content!
Hell yeah!
We owe A LOT to Frank Herbert
The Atreides forces depicted in the movies gave me the vibe that they can fight the Sardukar on equal terms and smoke the Fremen.
Please do one on the fremen
Another few things the fremen had over sardaukar was their tactics difference, fremen were more ambush troops than shock troopers, most of the time it was a fight in and on sand with the fremen striking from hiding.
The chances are most attacks would have maybe had a squad at most of actual sardaukar over dozens more harkonen.
Herbert related that much of the quite, patient stealth of the Freman was borrowed from Geronimo & his Apache Band
So a huge Razzia(raid) on the back of Sandworms didn't happen?
@@robertnewell4054 where was that written?
0:05 Me trying to pronounce the names in IKEA
I never read the books so the movie is all I know and there are so many things I want to know more about, including the Fremen.
With a new dune game comeing out im definitely glad i wached this
These guys were the apparent inspiration for the Adaptus Astarties from WH40K
Love your content Niyat. You make me interested in things I normally wouldn't bother with because you care about what you make 🐢🐢🐢
Herberts Sardaukar have the same problem so many antagonist elite forces have in stories. They are build up as being this unstoppable force just to be rather easily dismantled by the protagonists in the end.
Except it's explained in universe why the force has degraded over time.
I mean the Romans and Spartans probably seemed unstoppable in their prime but that didn't stop them from losing and ultimately declining
Yes please do the fremen
Great video, I loved that you implemented the comics also, gave me some new outlooks on style and weps they had that other channels didn't keep it up! thank you!
I'm really looking forward to part 2 , hope it still will be made.
They're filming right now:)
@@GreyEagle_35 they've completed filming.
@@Vilakazi Yep! Cant wait to see what they've been up to
Hell yeah please do a video on the fremen!
This was great loved the Dune movie please more of its lore.
Watch Quinn’s ideas if you want to get deep into the lore
More dune I love this... read all the books and was addicted to the games on pc growing up so the love its finally getting now I couldn't be more happy about!
Great vid and well put together mate ✌
Salusa Secundus was a “Prison Planet”… the rest was created folklore; they were tough because it was the worst of worst of the Imperium trained to kill for the Emperor..
Fremen where something else.
The entire premise is about constant struggle for survival makes the best of the human being. when peace came, after centuries passed, this same generation of warriors where tamed.
Frank Herbert is pure genius.
Gurney leading the Atreides troops to face the Sardaukar head on gave me chills
Gurney leading the Atreides troops to their deaths.. yeah I agree though, an amazing scene, the score was awesome.
@@xglitch97 did they actually die?
@@amuroray9115 yeah they did, Everyone who was there that could bear witness to the Emperor's treachery had to die. No one could be left.
@@xglitch97 damn
@@amuroray9115 Yeah, it was a heartbreaking scene.. those who were equipped with such honor deserved to live beyond the scope they were given..
So did gurney negotiate his ‘freedom’ with the sardaukar rather than the Harkonnens? Missed that bit in part 2
Yes. A video covering the Fremen. Please and thank you.
I wish there could be more videos on Dune lore...
It's so fascinating seeing a future where humanity isn't relying on technology as much as they are with religion and perfecting the human mind.
They had been almost hopelessly dependant upon AI until it was discovered that those AI had begun manipulating mankind for their own goals, slowly supplanting us as the dominant species. The Butlerian Jihad followed and for 10.000 years, the Empire of house Corrino enforced the dogma that no machine may replace a human. That lead to fun creations like the Mentats to handle the calculations of a galaxy spanning bureaucracy and even the Ornithopters used biological components sometimes, having large insects implanted into the wing assembly as larvae and the imago stage would then be controlled via electric currents to move the wings.
This is simply incredible. What concerns the mind is just as important as our craftiness
“Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind.” Once that became accepted in human civilization something else would HAVE to replace AI.
This was one of my favorite scenes from Dune. Loved the ritual chant
Yesssssss another dune video 😄!
A Sardaukar never flees, he attacks in a new direction
I love Dune as much, if not more than, Star Wars. Thanks for the lore dump! What about the Swordmasters of Ginaz after your Freman vid? Or the many lives of Duncan?
SOunds great!
So basically they are the Janissaries. The emperor is literally called "Padishah" which is what the Ottoman Sultans were called. Its shocking how this analogy isn't mentioned in the video.
This was a great video. The Sardaukar are definitely frightening but cool. Just for fun...who would win--an entire platoon of The Emperiors Blades or battle harden warriors of Star Trek's Klingon Empire (Worf level fighters)?
The chanting reminds me of ancient Bezerkers. Excellent video! Thank you! Yes to Fremen video!
Hey everyone!! Just wondering if anyone can answer a question for me. It was my understanding that the Guild never sided with any house against another house. I mean Wars of Assassins is one thing but to secretly transport an army from SS and Geidi Prime is a whole other. I apologize if this question has been answered before. I’m sort of new to Dune and thought I’d ask. Thanks in advance!
They were officially neutral. But anyone who paid them transport fees, they would take the job. Neutral as in they will side with whomever pays them more.
Neutrality ensures profit from both sides of the conflict, not only doubling wartime profits but ensuring the safety of the Guild after the conflict is over.
True, if they had the money they would do it. And it wasn't a secret, the guild were not subject to common knowledge so how would people know?
there were 3 different societies: Empire, Bene Gesserit, Guild, each with their own plans.
the Guild were not siding with any house of the empire. and Harkonen was in a legal vendetta vs Atreides.
officially they didn't transport any Sardaukars. the nice thing about Dune is it says that everybody was interracting on two planes: officially, and in secrecy. the Guild also took bribes from Fremens to not place satellites on Arrakis southern hemisphere, leaving the Emperor in ignorance about the actual power of the Fremen.
They offer transport services to anyone who is willing to pay. They are neutral because they don't take sides saying, we will transport harkonnen military but not atreides military. As long as you can afford it, they will provide the service.
Yes, please do the Fremen next
I love Herbert's shield concept - more than just a tech idea, it was a literary tool. It obsoleted projectile weapons AND lasers as practical weapons, attracted and infuriated the worms. Prequels teach it was not even invented by Holzmann but by his assistant, who evolved into the first "navigator" and had evolved even further by the sequels. Also that the shields were a fortuitous by-product of the Holzmann effect, which also folds space (allowing for faster-than-light travel), nullifies gravity, and other fun stuff. Interconnectedness of all things!'
Note: the slowed darts and "slow strikes" were not really necessary - a shield that prevents bullets travelling at 1000 feet per second or more might still let in a sword or thrown knife or dart, which travel at 100 feet per second or less.
The vast majority of Dune fans reject the books his son published. They are ok, not nearly ok caliber with Frank but you can read them. Wouldn’t take them a canon though.
I was not commenting on the writing style or OK-ness of the final products. It was not the writing style or ability that I was commenting on. All those tidbits came from Frank's notes, so even though Brian put it to pen, that doesn't mean it's not canon. I mean, _all_ of Frank's books came from his notes, too. While we are at it, the final resolution of Omnius & Erasmus from the prequels merging with the ultimate kwisatz haderach in the sequels is sublime _in concept_ though it could have been executed with a bit more finesse _in practice._ The grand story arc reminds me of the 1st pre-federation robot R. Daneel Olivaw's fate was revealed with Azimov's Foundation series sequel "Foundation and Earth", after the final conflict between Foundation and Gaia.
p.s. I read science fiction for great concepts, not for great literature. For that I refer to Proust, Joyce, Tolstoy, etc.@@codename495
im reading the first book after watching the 2021 movie ... and i love both so much.. so grreatfull for books and movies like this.. makes life way more enjoyable
Perfect dune video and analysis.
Thanks Damian!
@@filmcomicsexplained don’t mention it !
Thanks for the video!! See you later!! Stay safe.
if you listen closely the Sardaukar are speaking English its just very stripped down to the most basic level
You should do a video about the Spacing Guild and the Guild Navigators
I would like to see a video breakdown on the Saiyan race from the manga franchise Dragon Ball and their lore.
Amazing throat singing at the beginning.
Maximum respect to Frank Herbert who wrote the books that the movie has adapted. Herbert was the one that created The Sadaukar, the idea from reading about the Ottoman Janissaries and the Praetorian Guard.
Frank Herbert was SO ahead of his time that one could say easily he was the first prescient...😊👍🏼
Really, where did you read that?
Yes, plese cover the Fremen.
"The fanatical soldiers, who had terrorized the universe for thousands of years, seized to exist."
Not quite. Given how the Fish Speakers basically replaced them.
Functioning more as regional police than a regular army. But still similarly, being an armed force of fanatics who maintain a control of terror over the populace.
He said “the fanatical soldiers ceased to exist.” He did not say “all fanatical soldiers ceased to exist.” So maybe chill with the nitpicky
"Ceased" not seized.
@@d3ltaohniner261
Thank you. I had a brain fart.
@@brianparent4023
Which is also why i mention 'not quite'.
They are not identical. But Sardaukar & Fish Speakers still have very similar characteristics and impact.
An irony that was hardly lost on the God Emperor. Since he was very aware of all the arrangements for his plan.
Awesome content dude :)
*silently drops down behind you
"Nothing personal kid"
Yassss!! Cover the fremen!!
Jason Momoa will take any excuse to look like a badass. And we love it every time
The irony of the Sardaukar is that they're absolutely the elite... in conventional warfare.
Conventional warfare in Dune requires shields and close combat weaponry, with the killing blow being slowed down to pierce the shield. The shields can't be used on Arrakis due to the worms being drawn to them. Thus, these experts in shielded melee combat are completely incapable of dealing with foes who are used to unshielded combat in the desert.
This is why the Emperor had to be lured to Arrakis: On their home ground where they could use standard tactics, the Sardaukar would win, just like when they stormed the Atreides estate. It was only by bringing them out in the desert where all of their advantages were neutralized could the Fremen win. Striking where your enemy is weakest and you are strongest is the most fundamental principles of strategic warfare, and Paul was taught very well by his mentors.
Started reading the books when the movie was announced and I absolutely love all things dune. Would definitely like more videos on it
Check out Quinn's Ideas here on UA-cam for all things Dune Age of Ice and Fire aka GoT.
Funny, all this renewed interest. 40 years ago when I talked to my high school buddies about how badass the Sardaukar were, they just looked at me like I was crazy.
Can't wait for part 2 :)
Yes! More dune stuff pleaaaaase..
Mmm, minor correction. The Holdsman shield did NOT protect from a laz beam. In fact, if a laz beam were to intersect with a shield, it would result in a catastrophic explosion similar to an Atomic detonation that would be sure to kill both attack and attacked.
It's spelt Holtzman actually and it's spelt Lazgun and not as a huge explosion equivalent to an atomic bomb. Did you actually read the books?
@@Stevie-L-n8g yes, all of them, several times.
Salusa Secundus was basically a sadistic version of Australia, Alcatraz and Parris Island all rolled into one.
UA-cam video idea 💡?
Unicron from transformers
Will you take a look at this character please 🥺 ?
OKay. Adding it to the list! Thanks :)