Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two has enthralled audiences worldwide and the film is also doing great business at the box office. The film expanded the Dune lore and evolved the characters from the first film. Just like Part 1, Villeneuve presented Dune: Part Two in a visual awe-inspiring way with great character depth and narrative coherence.
Various filmmakers including Christopher Nolan have heaped praises on the brilliance of the film and Villeneuve’s capabilities as a director. Steven Spielberg, who is known for making some of the greatest sci-fi films over the years, has joined the bandwagon of Dune 2 admirers, calling it one of the best sci-films ever made.
Steven Spielberg Was Blown Away By Dune 2‘s Sandworm Surfing Scene
Ever since its release, Dune: Part Two continues to receive immense love and create magic at the box office. Director Denis Villeneuve is now at the peak of his career with the success of the two Dune films, with many considering them to be modern sci-fi classics. Other directors like Christopher Nolan have praised the film, comparing it with Empire Strikes Back.
Another maverick director has now voiced his admiration for the film. Steven Spielberg, the director behind sci-fi classics such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Jurassic Park has called the film one of the best sci-fi films ever made during a DGA conversation with Villeneuve.
Spielberg praised the awe-inspiring visuals, the film’s casting, and the fight sequences, calling them some of the greatest ever in film. He further pointed out the sandworm surfing scene in the film to be the greatest thing he has ever seen. He said (via YouTube),
“You have made one of the most brilliant science fiction films I’ve ever seen. There’s not a single angle, there’s not a single setup that is pretentious. This has some of the greatest fighting in it. And that scene, surfing the sandworms is one of the greatest things I have ever seen, Ever.”
Such high praise coming from a filmmaker like Spielberg is such a massive accomplishment for Villeneuve. In the same conversation, Spielberg also placed Villeneuve on the same pedestal as other master directors like George Lucas, Nolan, Stanley Kubrick, James Cameron, etc due to his ability to create such a dazzling epic with intriguing world-building. Dune: Part Two is currently playing in theaters.
David Dastmalchian Acted Like a Thread Between Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve
Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve have formed a great bond together over the last few months and fans are having a treat watching the two directors heaping praise on each other’s works. It seems that an actor acted as a connective thread between the two directors over the years.
David Dastmalchian has worked with Villeneuve on Prisoners and Dune. He told The Hollywood Reporter that while working on Prisoners, Villeneuve constantly asked him about his experiences of working with Nolan on The Dark Knight. Years later, when Dastmalchian reunited with Nolan on Oppenheimer, Nolan similarly asked about Villeneuve and expressed his admiration for his films. He said,
“One of the first things [Villeneuve] said to me [on the ‘Prisoners’ set] was, ‘I want to hear about your experience on ‘The Dark Knight.’ I want to know what it was like to work with Christopher Nolan’. And then ten years after we made ‘Prisoners,’ I’m now reunited with Christopher Nolan on the set of ‘Oppenheimer,’
And we’re talking about how much he loves the work of Denis Villeneuve. He was the one now asking me questions about my experiences on set with our friend Denis. So to know that I’m a tiny little thread between these two artists, I found that to be a wildly fascinating life moment.”
It seems the two directors have long been admiring each other’s works and Dastmalchian’s story is proof of that. It is also a career-high for the actor as he got to work twice with two of the greatest directors working today. Dastmalchian is currently starring in her first-ever lead role in the found footage horror film Late Night with the Devil which has received rave reviews from critics.
