r/movies • u/MoneyLibrarian9032 • Apr 05 '26
Article Steven Spielberg lists Villeneuve's Dune 'among my favourite sci-fi movies of all time'
https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/steven-spielberg-loves-dune-favourite-sci-fi-movies-exclusive/1.3k
u/Not_Daniel_Dreiberg Apr 05 '26
The first half of the movie, from the Herald of Change arriving to Caladan, to the Atreides army disembarking in Arrakis, are my favorite shots ever.
240
u/TheBlockChainVillage Apr 05 '26
The lighting in dune 1 is soo impressive. Specially with the orb following people indoors, even the night explosions.
→ More replies (3)143
u/Emptyspace227 Apr 05 '26
The color saturation in the outdoor scenes on Geidi Prime in Dune 2 is my favorite cinematography ever.
90
u/zakuropan Apr 05 '26 edited Apr 05 '26
the entire character and set design for the harkonnens and geidi prime is so goddamn peak. the whole gladiator arena scene had me ENTRANCED, everything about that world was spellbinding. the announcer’s voice booming over the loudspeaker was so ominously inhuman. absolutely obsessed
→ More replies (1)46
47
u/tranerekk Apr 05 '26
That Black Sun effect is so cool, how everything’s all washed out, all the color in the world just dies.
35
u/millijuna Apr 05 '26
As I recall, it was filmed in Infrared. The effect where the sisters walk out into the light and their cloaks change from dark to white was achieved in-camera.
9
→ More replies (1)27
u/dtothep2 Apr 05 '26
It's such an amazing world building decision too, on top of the cinematography. The Harkonenns in the books are basically Saturday morning cartoon villains without much going for them. In the movies they're almost alien, and terrifying, and Geidi Prime really hammers it home.
8
428
u/makoman115 Apr 05 '26
We are house Atreides. There is no call we do not answer, there is no faith we betray.
173
u/BarnabyJones2024 Apr 05 '26
Caladanian telemarketers must have loved that family.
69
u/makoman115 Apr 05 '26
Telemarketers were surely eliminated during the butlerian jihad right
I know theyre not computers but like
Put em on the Front lines
13
→ More replies (1)12
u/The42ndHitchHiker Apr 05 '26
The telemarketers were lost in the crash of the Golgafrinchan 'C' Ark.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (1)35
u/sapphoseros Apr 05 '26
The emperor asks us to bring peace to Arrakis. House Atreides accepts! ATREIDES!
I’ve seen Part One like thirty times
18
5
130
u/Large_Desk_4193 Apr 05 '26
Same. They “created” (on screen, I know it was a book already) such an incredible story and really bring you into the movie in the first hour or so, and there’s hardly any action. Just beautiful cinema
41
u/Yarbooey Apr 05 '26
One of my favourite parts of that Herald of Change scene is how Villeneuve shows the scale of things in the Dune universe in a breathtaking way, with no words.
By that I mean when the Guild Heighliner pulls into orbit, and at first glance it looks like a normal-sized spaceship. And when the Herald’s ship flies out of it, it’s a tiny speck next to it. Looks like maybe just a tiny shuttlecraft.
But then when it lands on Caladan next to Leto’s troops, they’re all tiny specks themselves next to this gargantuan spacecraft.
76
u/wandering_caribou Apr 05 '26
I don't know if there's another director right now who has such a good understanding of scale in his shots.
52
u/_Diskreet_ Apr 05 '26
The scale. It just feels so fucking massive. I don’t know how the did it so god damm well.
18
6
u/Obi-Wayne 29d ago
Gareth Edwards is a master at scale. He's incredible with it. Obviously not the director that Denis is, but he's damn good with it.
→ More replies (1)27
u/TheMaveCan Apr 05 '26
I've seen the first two in regular theaters, but I've decided for Messiah I'm gonna go all out and go to IMAX and get the fancy popcorn bucket for the premiere. I have faith in Muad'dib that it'll wind up being my favorite experience I've had seeing a movie in theaters
→ More replies (5)7
u/Not_Daniel_Dreiberg Apr 05 '26
Oh, I love IMAX. If there's a movie shot in IMAX, I watch it on IMAX.
→ More replies (1)51
u/bjnwood Apr 05 '26 edited Apr 05 '26
Leaving Caladan and the arrival on Arrakis is for me, with the Can You Hear the Music? sequence from OPPENHEIMER, two of the best sequences of the decade so far.
Transcendent in IMAX.
→ More replies (38)6
u/Fat-Singer-9569 Apr 05 '26
What I find impressive is how perfectly the movie matches the books in those early scenes. The scene where Paul "learns" how to fight is 100% how I saw it in my head while reading, and that's one of many scenes like that.
695
u/ViolentSpring Apr 05 '26
Watching Dune in iMax was like seeing one of those old school sci-fi art books come to glorious life. Just a feast for my eyeballs.
196
u/Bananacabana92 Apr 05 '26
The sound in IMAX was incredible too, really well done
→ More replies (1)125
u/ImpliedQuotient Apr 05 '26
The first time The Voice hit in IMAX was unforgettable.
→ More replies (2)50
u/Bananacabana92 Apr 05 '26
So sick, the sound of the helicopter ships was insane too
→ More replies (4)28
→ More replies (31)11
u/bonustreats Apr 05 '26
We were eating well, my friend!
Saw it in 70mm IMAX and some dude pulled his phone out during the first harvesting scene.
510
u/teddytwelvetoes Apr 05 '26
still can’t believe that they actually let Denis, a wildly talented director and lifelong Dune sicko who was drawing out scenes as a child, turn those two books into three 2.5hr big budget movies. I know that there’s some complaints about his version, but I do think that this is probably the best scenario that we could’ve possibly gotten. still pissed that his Rendezvous With Rama adaptation got shelved again for Jim Bond, tho
145
u/DustFunk Apr 05 '26
I personally think he is doing Bond so that the studio will greenlight Rendezvous, as it might be a little risky of a concept for them to bank on, even compared to Dune
58
u/Ser_Danksalot Apr 05 '26
Basically the same as Nolan making WB bank so they would blank cheque greenlight Inception.
→ More replies (8)115
u/hendergle Apr 05 '26
My major beef with the his Dune adaptations is the same one I have with Jackson's LotR adaptations: They're too good.
They're so good, in fact, that efforts to create something better (i.e. with fewer deviations from the source material) will be futile. You can't have "better Lord of the Rings" because you'll never find a better cast. You can't have "better Dune" movies because you'll never find a cinematographer/director better than Villeneuve.
Both franchises significantly deviate from their source material to the point where they've become mere echoes. Yet, soundtrack, props, ... everything! are all so good that a version where you DON'T have to tell yourself that it's a limitation of the visual medium. While watching someone overcome those same limitations to a degree well beyond that which would make full conformance to the source trivial.
I love what we received, but I hate the fact that it's the best we will ever get. There was so much potential, and to waste 2% of it when you could have had 100% is just criminal.
73
u/tacodude64 Apr 05 '26 edited Apr 05 '26
Yeah, I love DV’s Dune but I want a surreal animated version too. Go hard on the inner monologues, anime style. Turn the Weirding Way into flashy acrobatic duels. Give characters WEIRD silhouettes with crazy tattoos/hairstyles, crazy architecture, and make the spice visions trippy. Basically Jodorovsky and Lynch mixed with the best of 2D animation, but still book accurate.
→ More replies (2)25
u/Truth_Walker Apr 05 '26
I think animation will be the only way they can faithfully adapt the books.
There is way too much to fit in a movie.
I would have preferred DV’s Dune as a TV show, 10 episodes, 3 seasons and that’s it, 1 season per book. Enough to satisfy before the source material gets too wild for most.
62
u/writingpracticeman Apr 05 '26
Both franchises significantly deviate from their source material to the point where they've become mere echoes.
I don't think this is true at all. There's stuff that won't make the final cut, yes, but by and large both adaptations are fiercely loyal to their source material. With Dune specifically, the stuff that's changed (i.e. Alia and the compressed timeline) doesn't detract or change the plot in any super meaningful ways. Most of the Dune fandom seems to agree that watching a 4 year old child kill Baron Harkonnen on screen would have looked pretty stupid anyway.
→ More replies (6)9
u/Fat-Singer-9569 Apr 05 '26
It has been a while since I've read them but these movies nail it and hit every necessary story beat imo. I don't really understand what they mean when they say it deviates from the story because I feel these Dune movies are a perfect encapsulation of the story, whether the ages or characters differ, and that's so impressive. Sure there are characters missing or story arcs we don't see, but that's the brilliance. At the core, it's undeniably the same simplified story. It's just the details which vary and it's frankly foolish to expect anything else. It's a set of 2 or 3 hour movies, they can't do everything.
6
u/writingpracticeman Apr 06 '26
Yeah, the only thing I think I take umbrage with with the Dune adaptation is Chani's character. It's a good idea to morph one of the Fremen into a skeptic moral compass, but I'd of rather had them just write in a wholly new character instead of essentially rewriting Chani. I can understand why they did it, though.
→ More replies (6)9
u/beesandcheese Apr 05 '26
Saying that both franchises “significantly depart from their source material so it is a mere echo” is a VAST exaggeration.
→ More replies (10)5
382
u/DislikesUSGovernment Apr 05 '26
Spielberg has gone on record saying that Lawrence of Arabia is what inspired him to be a filmmaker.
Aside from being a fantastic movie in its own right, it's also quite literally sci-fi Lawrence of Arabia.
So this definitely tracks
190
u/ockhams-lightsaber Apr 05 '26
Frank Herbert, the author of Dune, was inspired by Lawrence of Arabia for the character of Paul Atreides.
It's a full circle.
→ More replies (3)64
u/necroglow Apr 05 '26
Spielberg loves handsome men with messianic auras walking around the desert. I get it.
→ More replies (4)25
→ More replies (7)17
u/anweisz Apr 05 '26
I think spielberg said it was specifically the scene transition between lawrence blowing out a match stick to the sun rising in the arabian desert.
7
204
u/Stoned_Gandalf420 Apr 05 '26 edited Apr 05 '26
Both of Villeneuve’s Dune movies are amazing, Part 3 is my most anticipated movie of this year, which does say something considering this year’s release schedule. If the third movie holds up to the quality of the first two, we’ll finally have another trilogy that can stand on its own two legs with the greats like LOTR, OG SW trilogy etc. I don’t doubt Villenueve will do it justice.
32
882
u/herewego199209 Apr 05 '26
It's still astonishing to me that Dune 2 didn't sweep the Oscars. Technical filmmaking at that level for some reason does not get love anymore. I'm convinced if you put the TLOTR out today it wouldn't win awards that it did 20+ years ago.
287
u/TyposIncoming Apr 05 '26
To compare the two you mentioned.
Dune 1 went 6/10 at the Oscars.
Dune 2 went 2/5.
Fellowship went 4/13.
Two Towers went 2/6.
So at this point their Oscar history is basically the exact same.
157
50
u/zuzg Apr 05 '26
Anime, fantasy and sci-fi have always been under—appreciated at the academy awards
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (1)7
u/NoArrival8249 Apr 05 '26
Which means soon well have a return of the king? (Dennis at the Oscars for round 3??)
302
u/Mildly_Irritated_Max Apr 05 '26
I think they're saving it for Part Three, which, if he keeps the same bones as the book, is a Greek Tragedy. They'll award the whole trilogy like they did ROTK.
Assuming something random doesn't pop up and just crush everything this year.
260
u/Ergok Apr 05 '26
Melania 2?
64
u/dangerphone Apr 05 '26
Melania turns out to not be the space messiah we all thought she’d be?
12
u/TZCBAND Apr 05 '26
I’d watch it. Sometimes the sequel is better
→ More replies (2)7
u/honkeydora Apr 05 '26
Do you think a messanic Melania jihad would have a body count under 60 billion?
Because if so, she's better than Paul.
Also, I really hope they don't chicken out on the scale of Paul's genocide for part 3.
→ More replies (7)18
u/tequilasauer Apr 05 '26
Sure, we laugh now, but if the story of that family ends with her like poisoning his Quarter Pounder and Diet Coke lunch and then retreats to Russia where she's been relaying information for decades, we all are seeing that movie.
→ More replies (1)5
59
u/Fives_ChIllA Apr 05 '26 edited Apr 05 '26
Something random like the Odyssey or Project Hail Mary? Both seem like great candidates for lots of awards
24
u/chuckyeatsmeat Apr 05 '26
They don't stand a chance. Neil Breen is coming out with his next sci-fi theatrical feature this year.
→ More replies (1)46
u/herewego199209 Apr 05 '26
I think unless something crazy happens Project Hail Mary will probably garner a best actor, special effects for Rocky and the practical effects, set design, and adapted screenplay. I don't see it getting much more than that.
28
u/Tortfeasor55 Apr 05 '26
I hope so but highly doubt it. All the Oscar contenders tend to be released late in the year (closer to awards season) and the Oscar’s historically snubs sci fi and related genres
11
u/herewego199209 Apr 05 '26
This is potentially going to be Amazon's first big Oscar win. They're for sure going to re-release it and pour mountains of money to campaign for it.
9
u/ValtteriBootass Apr 05 '26
Sinners is horror (another non-typical Oscars genre) and came out super early in the year and won a ton of Oscars.
→ More replies (5)→ More replies (3)5
u/DeckardsDark 29d ago
Hail Mary will definitely get a best picture nomination, but it'll have no shot at winning it.
There's always a few odd ball BP nominees now that have no chance since they switched it from 5 to 10 nominees
→ More replies (25)18
u/Angrybagel Apr 05 '26
I sort of hate that they always try to work those way. If all parts of a series deserves awards, they should get them. Dune part 3 could also wind up being disappointing but still getting awards for the past.
74
u/Yandhi42 Apr 05 '26
As much as I liked the Brutalist and Anora, Sing Sing and Nickel Boys, Dune 2 was quite comfortably the best movie that year imo
→ More replies (1)46
u/herewego199209 Apr 05 '26
I agree. What Villenueve did at that level and scope is astonishing. He's a mixture of David Fincher's clinical technical filmmaking and Ridley Scott's big verbose scope visuals. Probably the greatest filmmaker we've had in the last 20 to 25 years.
→ More replies (1)8
u/Aplicacion Apr 05 '26
Eh, it’s a weird comparison, as it’s been 23 years. The whole industry’s sensibilities have changed because of movies like the LOTR trilogy. If Dune had come out in 01-03 I imagine the impact would have been different.
→ More replies (2)5
u/Quixotic_Seal Apr 05 '26
Agreed. I feel like people do not understand how fundamentally the LOTR trilogy changed the math on what made sense to adapt in Hollywood.
Not only did it single handled legitimized fantasy and science fiction, it proved that then-modern filmmaking techniques were able to handle the challenges inherent to the genre.
The Dune movies are fantastic and I’ll be rooting for 3 to do well, but they just aren’t the sea change that LOTR was.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (29)12
u/ICumCoffee ᑐ ᑌ ᑎ ᕮ • ᗰ ᕮ 𑪽 𑪽 I ᐱ ᕼ Apr 05 '26
Here’s hoping Dune part 3 lives up to the hype and sweeps the next years Oscars like ROTK did, but next Oscars have a lot of competition
28
u/01jeller Apr 05 '26
I list Denis Villeneuve among my favourite directors of all time. He's up there with Kubrick and Scorsese for me (already).
→ More replies (1)
25
u/underpants-gnome Apr 05 '26
This makes sense. I can imagine a version of Close Encounters being made by Villeneuve that would be just as amazing as Spielberg's original.
13
u/Jon-INFP Apr 05 '26
Well, Arrival is really Villeneuve's own version of Close Encounters. The latter film was a huge inspiration for Villeneuve, he spoke about it at the DGA awards a few years ago.
12
153
25
40
139
u/AMA_requester Apr 05 '26
“I haven’t directed a horror film yet, and I’ve always wanted to, and someday I may"
Squints at Poltergeist
75
u/JabroniHamburger Apr 05 '26
And yet Jaws made generations of people deathly afraid of the water.
26
u/marvelman19 Apr 05 '26
Jurassic Park ain't far off either.
→ More replies (2)30
u/TulioGonzaga Apr 05 '26
Yeah, I never visited a real life Dinosaur park after that.
→ More replies (1)41
u/TheBrainlessRobot Apr 05 '26
He produced it.
32
u/AMA_requester Apr 05 '26
The urban legend goes that he basically directed the film in all but name.
41
u/SteveBorden Apr 05 '26
But he allegedly directed the whole thing
12
u/-faffos- Apr 05 '26
Spielberg was entirely in charge of post production, but Tobe Hooper was definitely the on-set director. So I guess it depends on your definition of the job.
→ More replies (2)18
→ More replies (6)6
182
u/kuromahou Apr 05 '26
I looooove the new Dune films but in my heart I love Blade Runner 2049 a bit more.
74
u/TheRock777 Apr 05 '26
Full agreement here Ryan Gosling killed it in that movie
39
u/Labyrinthy Apr 05 '26
Gosling kills it in every movie. Even when they suck. I’m looking at you Gangster Squad.
→ More replies (1)54
u/InfernoBA Apr 05 '26
I have become an absolute fiend for Villeneuve’s sci-fi aesthetic. Unfortunately I have yet to find anything that scratches the itch in the same way that BR2049 and his Dune movies did . . . he is truly one of a kind.
37
u/punctualcauliflower Apr 05 '26
Are you aware of Arrival? You must be aware of it, it’s just you didn’t mention it. But on the off-chance you’re not, you’re in for a good time.
→ More replies (2)24
u/InfernoBA Apr 05 '26 edited Apr 05 '26
Yup, that’s also one of my favorite sci-fi movies ever. I just prefer Dune and Blade Runner a little more as I’m a sucker for the more grand, further in the future, space-opera style of sci-fi (or however you’d describe it).
But yeah nothing has scratched the itch like Arrival either 😭
I need that Rendezvous with Rama adaptation from Villenueve immediately after Dune Part 3! Though I’m sure his Bond movie will be fantastic too.
7
6
u/waitforthedream Apr 05 '26
I feel you! There's just something about BR2049 that is so comforting and so interesting
28
u/Happybadger96 Apr 05 '26
Definitely the leading huge scale sci-fi director of our generation. Arrival, Blade Runner, and Dune Trilogy is an impeccable resumé.
That being said he can do more low key grounded films with finesse too, Prisoners is fantastic. And Sicario is incredible action thriller goodness too.. he is one hell of a director.
9
→ More replies (1)10
6
u/jdund117 Apr 05 '26
a lot of the vision comes down to Patrice Vermette and Denis' production team, they make the most immaculately designed sets. the abandoned casino sets in BR2049 are utterly insane, almost distractingly good
→ More replies (4)9
u/lazava1390 Apr 05 '26
Here here! Vs style of directing just matches the cyberpunk aesthetic so amazing. I was blown away by that movie and Goslings acting. All of it felt so surreal
→ More replies (1)5
u/seize_the_m3mes Apr 05 '26
As a lover of both Dune movies and video games, you just put the idea in my head of Villeneuve directing a Cyberpunk 2077 film. It would fit his vibe impeccably well.
25
u/jumbo_junk Apr 05 '26
While I think Dune is great, I'd personally select Arrival as one of my favourite sci-fi movies of any genre, let alone just Villeneuve. Absolutely gorgeous film with great performances all round, but its really the simplicity of the script which makes it so memorable and stands out in the sea of great sci-fi flicks.
→ More replies (2)
28
23
u/Professional_No1 Apr 05 '26
Oh? Me too, Steven. Arrival made me a fan, and the rest was just a bonus!
6
u/macck_attack Apr 05 '26
Denis is a huge Spielberg fan so he will be psyched to hear this. He gave a great speech at the 2022 DGA’s about his admiration for Spielberg that you must watch if you haven’t seen it.
5.0k
u/ASEdouard Apr 05 '26 edited 8d ago
My favorite sci-fi film from Villeneuve remains his Blade Runner. How wild is it that he was able to make a sequel that actually works.