Sardaukar : The Emperor's Blades : Dune 2021

"We are the Sardaukar. The Emperor’s blades. Those who stand against us fall"

[handsvsfood]

Technology so advanced, that it reverts humans back to ancient hand to hand combat. Poetic and genius.

[williampoole]

I love how they don't look like actors. They look like real life, terrifying veteran soldiers who have seen combat.

[JamesHock]

I like how they show the Atreides soldiers beating the Harkonnens first, then the Sardukar beating the Atreides soldiers easily, followed by Duncan Idaho beating several Sardukar soldiers. It's a perfect way to conceptualize their relative skill levels and give some context as to why Duncan Idaho is a legend in the world of Dune

[amanofnoreputation]

"Duncan, no! You can't throw away your life like a video game character who'll just respawn later!"
"DUNCAN YES!"

[McMuffinV]

Another cool thing to remember from the books, the Sardaukar respect the Fremen's fighting prowess so much, that they "hunt" the Fremen for a good fight. And often lost.

[c.w.simpsonproductions]

In the book, the Sardukar were disguised in Harkonnen uniforms to conceal the Emperor's involvement in the attack. But I like this change since it demonstrated the different fighting styles of each faction.

[youngarchaeotech]

For new fans; the dune series inspired a lot of modern sci-fi, basically laying the entire foundation for other stories like StarWars and Startrek.
And for fans of WarHammer40k; the Sardukar are the main inspiration for the Space Marines faction.

[rhenvao]

One detail I love about the Sardaukar in this film is that their uniforms are white because blood shows clearer. They wipe their blades on their suits to "mark" themselves. It's their way of displaying their kills on their uniforms. Since their war paint is the blood of human sacrifices, why wouldn't the Sardaukar mark themselves with the blood of their fallen enemies as a point of pride and intimidation? And these were the Sardaukar at their weakest. I can only imagine how formidable they were in their prime.

[jakemakes]

"We are the Sardaukar, the Emperor's blades. Those who stand against us fall." He's not bragging, just a statement of fact. Holy crap that is badass.

[kathiresandk]

In the later novels, it is shown that the Sardaukar actually admired Duke Leto for his leadership 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.

[Magbiy]

A subtle detail I love about these guys is their fight choreography. The Atreides and Harkonnen soldiers are trained, but still very human. They struggle, they flail when they're in trouble, they stutter-step and back off when there's a stalemate. But the Sardaukar move strangely, hunched and tense and always scanning around them like some kind of apex predator. When they're fighting, they hold guards and never stop advancing until they're dead. I feel like the only time you actually see them act human is when Duncan surprises them in his final stand. It really helps sell them as enemies you just can't even fight back against.

[bet]

It really is interesting to see the Dune universe to be both so ancient but also futuristic.

[DieNextInLINE]

I love how it shows Atreides holding back Harkonnen forces but the Sardaukar almost instantly cut them to pieces. It's a good visual for quickly showing the skill difference in the different clans' warriors.

[SamBrickell]

I always like how when Petyr alludes to keeping the terms of a deal: "three battalions, as agreed." the commander immediately cuts him off with "the Emperor commands it. It is done." As though to say, "there is no deal, we do what the Emperor commands". And almost a bit like framing the working relationship between him and Petyr: "If the emperor commands we turn on you, we will. I'll cut your face off and wear it like a mask if the Emperor commands it."

[Nevermore-eqlx]

One thing that I noticed, was Duncan was skilled enough that his shield only flashed four times.

1 - The first dart hit his shield.
2 - The second dart hit his shield in the hallway.
3 - The Sardaukar grabbed him right before he did a roll with them.
4 - The Sardaukar landed a blow, and it stabbed him.

Sardaukar could barely touch him, but when they did. It was precise.

[Camaraocompao]

That sardaukar chant always give me chills

[killerkram]

That scene on the Sardaukar planet in Imax was insane to hear and see. Closest thing to Warhammer 40k we will get until they make an actual warhammer 40k movie. Cant wait for part 2! The book gets really weird and awesome, cant wait to see what they do with some of that!

[ragzaugustus]

The reason the Atreides forces were so scary, was Duncan Idaho, Gurney Halleck and Thufir Hawat, each of them designed, implemented and actively taught what they knew to the troops.

Duncan trained them in swordsmanship, Gurney in fighting and Thufir in tactics and strategy, the Harkonnen alone, would, at best, achieve a pyrrhic victory.

[gnk_droid]

I like how during most other fights you'll see both combatants' shields flashing as they're getting hit but when Duncan takes out those four in the hallway his shield never flashes until he gets shot, they couldn't even touch him

[SocratesAlexander]

Combine Turkish words "serdar" and "fedakar" so that you get "sardaukar".
*Serdar:* commander, leader, chieftain, warlord, hero and
*Fedakar:* devoted, self-sacrificing, altruistic, unselfish, dedicated.