“I tried my best to keep the poetry of the book”: Success of Dune 1 Became a Curse for Denis Villeneuve for the Sequel
The success of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part One needs no introduction. After two unsuccessful attempts to adapt the classic sci-fi epic once by David Lynch in his 1984 film and another by John Harrison’s 2000s mini-series, it seems that the curse has finally lifted. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune was a huge box-office success, earning $402 million on a $165 million budget.
Whether it is Fraser’s cinematography or Zimmer’s score, calling this film a masterpiece would be an understatement. Many critics saw it as the missing link between the multiplex and the arthouse, with its brilliant worldbuilding, ensemble cast, and set pieces. However, even though Villeneuve seems to have escaped one curse, he is quite stuck with another new problem, which is the immense success of his first Dune movie.
Would The Success Of Dune 1 Come Back To Bite Denis Villeneuve?
Known for acclaimed films such as Sicario, Arrival, and Blade Runner 2049, Denis Villeneuve did a fantastic job with Dune: Part One. He recently sat down with Time magazine to talk about filmmaking, Hollywood, and his upcoming project Dune: Part Two. From what the master auteur said, it seems like he feels cursed by the tremendous success of his first movie, a success that would be a dream come true for many in the industry.
Instead of hogging all the credit, the director actually gives all that to the book and says he tried to remain as invisible as possible while bringing this classic to life.
“I was trying to be, as a filmmaker, as invisible as possible. I tried my best to keep the poetry of the book, the atmosphere, the colors, the smell, everything that I felt when I read the book. I tried.”
No one can deny the brilliance of Denis Villeneuve; even Christopher Nolan has been all praises when it came to Villeneuve’s works. However, he does feel bogged down by the whole Hollywood cash-grab tendencies that tend to take away most creative liberties from eminent and experimental filmmakers. He feels that creativity is restricted and his success with Dune 1 would make Hollywood double down more on following an already-working “algorithm” of sorts instead of trying new avenues.
“…we behave like algorithms, as filmmakers. We’re in a very conservative time; creativity is restricted. Everything’s about Wall Street. What will save cinema is freedom and taking risks. And you feel the audience is excited when they see something they haven’t seen before.”
Also Read: Denis Villeneuve Showers Christopher Nolan With Praise: What Exactly Did He Say?
One can hope that Hollywood’s penchant for commercial blessings over art will not affect the next two Dune films that are to come. Many are attributing Villeneuve’s exasperation with Hollywood greed as the main reason for him dropping out of the film series only after three movies, despite there being six books as source material. Only time will tell how it pans out.
Christopher Nolan Hails Dennis Villeneuve’s Dune II As The New Empire Strikes Back
Oppenheimer and Interstellar maker Christopher Nolan is undoubtedly one of the greatest directors of his generation. He is not one to throw around compliments lightly. So, when he compared Denis Villeneuve’s Dune II with Empire Strikes Back, geeks all over the world burst some grey cells in excitement.
When George Lucas created Star Wars, he stated quite frankly that he had taken massive inspiration from Frank Herbet’s best-selling Dune sci-fi fantasy novel series. One can assemble all the Star Wars nerds in a room and they would unanimously agree that Empire Strikes Back is the best out of the franchise. Empire Strikes Back has also been considered one of the top 5 sci-fi films of all time. In a video posted by @RaidersLostPod on X, Nolan was having a conversation with Villeneuve, and he showered the highest praise on the Dune visionary, saying,
“For me, if Dune Part One was ‘Star Wars,’ this [Part Two] … was very much The Empire Strikes Back, which is my favorite of the Star Wars films. It’s an … exciting expansion of [everything] you introduced in the first one.”
Although many Star Wars fans might take offense at Nolan’s remark, upon closer inspection, they might find some truth in it.
Dune: Part Two is all set to hit theaters on March 1, 2024.
