Passes the Bechdel test
Dune
2021. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, written by Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
13 women characters. 7 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 3 scenes out of 113. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.
The film
A mythic and emotionally charged hero's journey, "Dune" tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence-a commodity capable of unlocking humanity's greatest potential-only those who can conquer their fear will survive.
- Released
- 22 Oct 2021
- Genres
- Action, Adventure, Drama
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 8 / 10
- Metascore
- 74 / 100
- Awards
- Won 6 Oscars. 177 wins & 299 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Paul 141 lines, man
- Jessica 77 lines, woman
- Leto 67 lines, man
- Gurney 49 lines, man
- Kynes 46 lines, woman
- Reverend Mother Mohiam 33 lines, woman
- Idaho 24 lines, man
- Baron Harkonnen 23 lines, man
- Stilgar 23 lines, man
- Chani 20 lines, woman
Full cast, 39 people
- Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides
- Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica Atreides
- Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides
- Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho
- Stellan Skarsgård as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen
- Stephen McKinley Henderson as Thufir Hawat
- Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck
- Javier Bardem as Stilgar
- Sharon Duncan-Brewster as Dr. Liet Kynes
- Chang Chen as Dr. Wellington Yueh
- Dave Bautista as Beast Rabban Harkonnen
- David Dastmalchian as Piter de Vries
- Zendaya as Chani
- Charlotte Rampling as Reverend Mother Mohiam
- Babs Olusanmokun as Jamis
- Benjamin Clementine as Herald of the Change
- Souad Faress as Bene Gesserit Sister
- Golda Rosheuvel as Shadout Mapes
- Roger Yuan as Lieutenant Lanville
- Seun Shote as Arrakeen Residency Gardener
- Neil Bell as Sardaukar Bashar
- Oliver Ryan as Hawat Specialist
- Stephen Collins as Harkonnen Trooper
- Charlie Rawes as Harkonnen Trooper
- Richard Carter as Harkonnen Trooper
- Benjamin Dilloway as Sardaukar Assassin
- Elmi Rashid Elmi as Shamir
- Tachia Newall as Tanat
- Gloria Obianyo as Female Fremen
- Fehinti Balogun as Male Fremen
- Dora Kápolnai-Schvab as Baron Servant
- Joelle as Baron Servant
- Jimmy Walker as Atreides Lieutenant
- Paul Bullion as Sardaukar Soldier
- Milena Sidorova as Human Spider Proxy
- János Timkó as Harkonnen Guard
- Jean Gilpin as Bene Gesserit Ancestor (voice)
- Marianne Faithfull as Bene Gesserit Ancestor (voice)
- Ellen Dubin as Bene Gesserit Ancestor (voice)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 4% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 113
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | 9 | 8 |
| 4 to 6 | 1 | 36 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 34 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 29 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 10 |
| 16 to 18 | 3 | 1 |
| 19 to 21 | 47 | 24 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 8 |
| 28 to 30 | 3 | 6 |
| 31 to 33 | 0 | 7 |
| 34 to 36 | 25 | 22 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 56 |
| 40 to 42 | 9 | 14 |
| 43 to 45 | 20 | 34 |
| 46 to 48 | 10 | 15 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 1 |
| 52 to 54 | 2 | 6 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 1 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 2 |
| 61 to 63 | 1 | 9 |
| 64 to 66 | 0 | 0 |
| 67 to 69 | 0 | 4 |
| 70 to 72 | 3 | 8 |
| 73 to 75 | 2 | 2 |
| 76 to 78 | 0 | 16 |
| 79 to 81 | 4 | 0 |
| 82 to 84 | 7 | 10 |
| 85 to 87 | 6 | 9 |
| 88 to 90 | 2 | 2 |
| 91 to 93 | 6 | 5 |
| 94 to 96 | 9 | 2 |
| 97 to 99 | 4 | 2 |
| 100 to 102 | 1 | 8 |
| 103 to 105 | 0 | 2 |
| 106 to 108 | 1 | 2 |
| 109 to 111 | 8 | 30 |
| 112 to 113 | 7 | 13 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: the passing scenes
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM: Pain. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM: No need to call the guards. Your mother stands outside that door. REVEREND MOTHER MOHIAM: No one will get past her. JESSICA: I must not fear. Fear is the mind- killer. Fear is the little death that brings obliteration.
JESSICA: What did you see? Salmon Rev. 65. CHANI: Some of my people thought a savior might never come. CHANI: But not me. CHANI: I knew.
KYNES: If they believed me...there would be general warfare between the Great Houses and the Emperor. JESSICA: Chaos. Across the Imperium.
JESSICA: Careful... KYNES: Superstition.
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 30 are women's.
190 lines from women, 439 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
13 women and 26 men in the cast. 7 women and 25 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
A woman speaks the first line.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 78 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 30% of the words (1,874), men 70% (4,414).
Exhibit E: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
13
Two men
43
Exhibit F: behind the camera
4 of the 17 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 17% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Denis Villeneuve (man)
- Written by
- Eric Roth (man), Denis Villeneuve (man), Jon Spaihts (man)
- From the novel by
- Frank Herbert (man)
- Produced by
- Mary Parent (woman), Cale Boyter (man), Denis Villeneuve (man), Joseph M. Caracciolo Jr. (man)
- Shot by
- Greig Fraser (man)
- Edited by
- Joe Walker (man)
- Music by
- Hans Zimmer (man)
- Production design by
- Patrice Vermette (man)
- Costumes by
- Bob Morgan (man), Jacqueline West (woman)
- Cast by
- Francine Maisler (woman), Jina Jay (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
7 women, 51 men, 44 not listed
-
Production
7 women, 14 men, 10 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
8 women, 9 men, 12 not listed
-
Sound
1 women, 22 men, 5 not listed
-
Art
1 women, 8 men, 15 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 7 men, 12 not listed
-
Camera
2 women, 5 men, 10 not listed
-
Directing
0 women, 4 men, 4 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 41 on average. Men: 50 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Rebecca Ferguson 37, Sharon Duncan-Brewster 45
Men
Timothée Chalamet 25, Oscar Isaac 42, Jason Momoa 42, Chang Chen 44, Javier Bardem 52, Josh Brolin 53, Stellan Skarsgård 70, Stephen McKinley Henderson 72
Exhibit H: the money
It made 2.5 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $165 million
- Box office
- $411 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 113 scenes and 656 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
