In a recent episode of the DGA’s Director’s Cut podcast, Steven Spielberg lauded Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Twoas “one of the most brilliant science-fiction films I’ve ever seen.” The veteran director, known for sci-fi classics like E.T: Extra Terrestrial and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, expressed his admiration for Villeneuve’s world-building prowess, comparing him to cinematic giants like Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas, and Federico Fellini.
Spielberg particularly praised a scene in the film where Timothee Chalamet’s, Paul Atreides, rides a sandworm for the first time, likening the desert landscape to a liquid ocean. He marveled at Villeneuve’s ability to imbue the arid setting with a yearning for water, turning the sandworms into majestic sea serpents.
“This is a desert-loving story, but for such a desert-loving film there is such a yearning for water in this movie. For all the sand you have in this film, it’s really about water. The sacred waters that are yearning for green meadows and the blue water of life. You film the desert to resemble an ocean, a sea. The sandworms were like sea serpents. And that scene surfing the sandworms is one of the greatest things I have ever seen. Ever! But you made the desert look like a liquid”, Spielberg said
Villeneuve, understandably humbled by Spielberg’s compliments, had spent 44 days shooting the pivotal sandworm riding scene, a feat that astounded even the film’s Academy award-winning cinematographer, Greig Fraser.
Dune: Part Two has resonated strongly with both critics and audiences, nearing $240 million domestically and surpassing $570 million worldwide. Its success continues to swell as it remains in theaters nationwide, cementing Villeneuve’s status as a master of the sci-fi genre.
