Generations of moviegoers are currently going wild over Denis Villeneuve’s newly released Dune, and it would appear that another big director is on the Dune train, too. After Villeneuve raved about Christopher Nolan’s Tenet that was released mid-pandemic last year, Nolan returned the favor by praising the newest rendition of Frank Herbert’s Dune.
Honestly, it makes a ton of sense that Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve would be fans of each other, because their approach to movies are very much the same: go big or go home. Both directors are known for the awe inducing and jaw-dropping cinematic experience their movies produce. And if Villeneuve didn’t grab Dune, Nolan would probably have been the next best person to take up the task.
In an episode of The Director’s Cut podcast, Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve both sit down to discuss Dune, and Nolan sings his praises of the masterpiece of a film. Nolan comments on how sound the film is visually, saying the merge of live-action with digital elements is pretty “seamless”. Here it is in his own words:
It’s one of the most seamless marriages of live-action photography and computer-generated visual effects that I’ve seen. It’s very, very compelling at every turn.
In addition to how visually and technically pleasing the film was to Christopher Nolan, the director goes on to say that he feels Dune will have a huge impact on the newest generations. Frank Herbert’s Dune novels have been around since the ‘60s and both David Lynch’s film adaptation captured people’s attention back in the ‘80s and Denis Villeneuve's have opened up the world of Dune for younger people to dive into. Nolan thanks Villeneuve for this “gift”, saying:
I think this film is going to introduce a whole new generation of fans to Dune who have never read the book and perhaps will go and read it now. I think it’s an extraordinary piece of work. I’ve had the luxury of seeing it a couple of times now, and each time I watch it I discover new things, new details to the world. The way in which it’s made is absolutely for the big screen. It’s a real pleasure and a real gift to film fans everywhere — and thank you very much for that, Denis.
Denis Villeneuve and fans alike are hoping for a sequel to get greenlit, and it sounds like the Dune director has the backing of Christopher Nolan. If you haven’t had the pleasure of seeing Villeneuve’s Dune yet, you can catch it in theaters or streaming at home on HBO Max, but if you want to follow the director’s advice, you’ll opt for watching the masterpiece on the big screen.
