Denis Villeneuve: The Best Director Alive

[@BOKtober]

Sicario, Arrival, Bladerunner 2049, Dune part one and two are my 5 favourite films of the last 10 years, Denis Villeneuve does not miss

[@AndySomething]

Before I really knew who he was I remember watching Prisoners and absolutely loving it. It became one of my favourite thrillers.

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

niiiiice

[@sodathief]

Who woulda thought Stilgar would be the comedic relief in Dune 2

[@phantom213]

Well, I have to agree. He is indeed a visionary and his ability for visual storytelling is currently second to none.

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

for sure

[@ronatlas2055]

Agreed. Been on a Denis Marathon as of late. He’s impeccable

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

hell yeah

[@GuyLovesAnOnion]

The rumoured next film is Rendezvous with Rama which is based off an Arthur C Clarke novel. Think it was written around the time of 2001 so makes sense Denis wants to do it

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

ooooohhhhh

[@Pixelkip]

Cannot wait. Would love to see Red Mars saga too

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

@@Pixelkip 100%

[@ElricZ]

100% agree. He's my personal favorite director. Anything he directs, I will watch. I hope he does get to make that new Nuclear War film he's in talks to direct.

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

same!

[@EyeInSky2000]

You really have my attention! I only heard about Rendezvous with Rama, Cleopatra, and (possibly) Sicario 3. What is this nuclear war film?!!!?? DV is, without question, my favorite filmmaker working today. IMO he's the "Stanley Kubrick" of this century. All of DV's films reward repeat views, and not only is there so much depth to them he is so good at pulling amazing acting performances. Blade Runner: 2049, Prisoners, and Sicario... and now Dune 1 & 2 can join the same ranks. Incendies and Polytechnique are also incredible. While my least favorite is Enemy, that is also one hell of a Lynchian puzzle of the film. Can't wait for his next film.

[@MistaZULE]

For me Denis is my favourite working director. Close second being Yorgos Lanthimos, Robert Eggers and Ari Aster.

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

🤌🤌

[@Pixelkip]

Tbh just up until recently I wasn’t a ‘director’ guy but when I saw Bladerunner 2099 I made it a point to remember Denis. Prisoners was my favorite film by him up until Dune and Dune part two. What a great time to be alive!

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

🙌🙌

[@andrewburgemeister6684]

Denis is an incredible director!!! My favourite had to be his English-language debut Prisoners (2013) which was my first one I saw, such a thrilling and very disturbing film that sticks with you long after!!

[@AndySomething]

First film of his I saw too. Was blown away by it. It became one of my all time favourite thrillers. And it still is.

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

great choice

[@TyLouis-l8f]

Truth is there would be no Denis Villeneuve without the influence of Christopher Nolan. And that’s a cold hard FACT. 😅

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

Yup

[@anthonyburn1010]

No Nolan without Cameron and Spielberg

[@TyLouis-l8f]

@@anthonyburn1010 definitely would be, Nolan was doing independent low budget projects way before his bigger films. Denis’s scope is virtually the same as Nolan’s in every film. It’s clear Nolan has had a big impact on him. And he has admitted that too. The only person you can compare that was similar to Nolan before was Stanley Kubrick interstellar/2001. You Fail to understand auteur filmmaking and it’s evident in your statement. Cameron and Spielberg are in entirely separate genres as filmmakers and are nothing like Nolan or Denis.

[@anthonyburn1010]

@user-bx6lr7tw2z Haha, ok, except that Nolan and Denis have talked about their admiration of, and influence from, Spielberg and Cameron. Yes, they have also been influenced by Kubrick. And in Denis' case, Bergman (he adores Persona), however that shows the breadth of their film knowledge and craft, and frankly, your ignorance of both film history and auteur theory,

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

@@anthonyburn1010 100%

[@AnthonyK93]

I just watched Sicario for the first time a couple days ago. My Glob, so good 👌🏻

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

fantastic!

[@mattmardigan]

Love this, would love a Ridley Scott deep dive like this. You guys are great!

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

On it!

[@Jim-Bobbob]

Hey. Just a little tip on how to pronounce Incendie, if you want to be closer to the real prononciation. The first syllabus is pronounced as pain without the P and the N. The rest you were doing great already. 😅 Good work as always. It's so nice to see someone from our hood make it as Denis did!

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

thanks!

[@AdeptCharon]

This was probably filmed before April 4th, but with the news that dropped, we have a pretty solid indication of what is most likely his next project, and the "secret project that I cannot talk about right now, but that needs to see the light of day quite quickly" he referred to in a hollywoodreporter interview a month ago. Deadline reported a 2 weeks ago that Villeneuve is involved in making a film based on Annie Jacobsen's recently published book Nuclear War: A Scenario.

[@AdeptCharon]

I've finished reading the book the other day, and besides some new terrifying realizations about how insane the current set-up for a less than 1 hour long and ensured to be fully escalated nuclear exchange is (as well as being prone to being set off by mistake)... I can very much see how a movie based on it would strongly dive into multiple aspects of a lot of Villeneuve's prior films, including Polytechnique, Incendies, Sicario, Arrival, BR2049 and Dune, while mixing it with whatever was used to cook the Miniseries Chernobyl (the showrunner Craig Mazin is essentially a friend of Villeneuve, as that's who Villeneuve showed both parts of Dune for his feedback before anyone else got to see it, which is why he's in both credits in the special thanks section). It would also feel like a continuation of Nolan's Oppenheimer bringing the topic into the spotlight recently, but with a much more immediate urgency rather than looking at it as something that's in the past.

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

Yeah true

[@jamesstanley7824]

i literally almost commented to suggest this video the other day after watching enemy!! read my mind!!!

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

no way!

[@michaelme1548]

I haven’t been impressed but have only seen Bladerunner 2049 and the two Dune films. It’s been a few years since I watched the Bladerunner movie. I had heard it wasn’t any good and remember thinking it wasn’t bad after watching it. It just didn’t make a mark on me. I can’t remember anything about it now other than a few actors who were in it. The Dune movies looked great but, to me, were emotional duds. I couldn’t buy into the characters. There were several points where I wanted to stop watching but I had been so excited to watch them and had purchased both films. I realize that I am pretty hard to please. There are a lot of films I like but percentage wise it’s not very many. There is no perfect film, but I can overlook problems if something about a film makes an impression on me. These didn’t for me but my favorite films aren’t going to work for everyone either.

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

@@michaelme1548 check out Prisoners

[@MrinmayChakravarty-jf4nr]

Great podcast

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

Thanks for listening!

[@AnthonyK93]

Movie trivia: How many weeks was Titanic number one at the box office? Answer: 15 weeks! Bonus: what movie dethroned it? Answer: Lost in Space Shoutout to Dan Murrell movie math for that fun bit of trivia, you guys should collaborate 😁

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

amazing!

[@EyeInSky2000]

Kudos for making this well thought out video of who I also consider to be the best director working today. It's really hard to pick only 3 standout performances, but how can you not include Hugh Jackman on that list? He rocked the house as a stressed father desperate to find his missing daughter. His acting ranged from nuanced to extreme frustration and rage, and without stooping into overacting territory. He was incredible. Jake was great too, and so was the actress who played Jackman's wife. Paul Dano should also get a nod for his portrayal of a mentally handicapped victim. David D. was great too, but his role perhaps a bit too short to include. Nice mention of Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, and Benicio del Toro. No matter what, you're going to be in for a treat when DV makes a film. I can't wait for Rendezvous with Rama and (possibly) Sicario 3! I thought the first 2 films were excellent, and if DV returns to helm Sicario 3 this may be the best Trilogy ever made. But then again, we also have the upcoming Dune: Messiah :-)

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

Thanks

[@KnarfStein]

I see a D.V. in-depth glazing video by a quality channel and I TAP on the thumbnail SO FAST. I would've spent at least ½ hr typing out a long comment on my favourite shots from all D.V. films, LOL, so I'm just going to pick one from _Dune: Pt. 2_ for now. My pick changes frequently, since there're so many incredible shots, but right now is the one where Paul has just arrived at the southern hemisphere of Arrakis and is slow mo walking towards a row of Fremen RMs in their ABSURD Egyptian coffin-like costumes, looking like the columns of a temple, all the while the H.Z. rumbling score is working overtime. 🤯🤩🤤

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@KnarfStein]

​@@raidersofthelostpodcast_1:06:16 I also want to point out that the terrorist doesn't set out to shoot female feminists, just random women in general. Killing a specific group with no wrongdoing is bad enough, but he thinks the entire female gender are somehow collectively guilty for denying him nonexistent rights.

[@wietzejohanneskrikke1910]

What about Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Alex Garland, Christopher Nolan, Alfonso Cuaron, David Fincher, etc.?

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

🫡🫡

[@AdeptCharon]

FYI: I don't think the intercut images on the video are any kind of benefit. Because for a lot of the episode, you're talking about specific visuals, people and shots, and they never correlate. So looking at the video at most points does nothing but distract. Cause it'll be like "Paul walking in front of Shai hulud is so cool [shot of the prison in Incendies]", "diverse cast [Josh Brolin]", "look at my phone [shot of hurt students in Polytechnique]" etc.

[@akhiltrc9708]

I think I'd label his movies "morally ambiguous". Every one of his movies (excepting the earliest ones) have endings that are narrative victories that feel like moral failures. Prisoners, Sicario, Incendes, Dune.

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

for sure

[@dandelves]

The best director alive is Martin Scorsese. He isn't dead yet

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

yup

[@niallcoll379]

The setup for maelstrom is almost exactly the same as I know what you did last summer

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

😂

[@Brady_evans]

Y’all should definitely do a denis film ranking

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

🫡

[@ewanhall7880]

Christopher Nolan is the greatest director alive.

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

fo sho

[@danbeech6483]

Rendezvous with Rama is an Arthur c. Clarke novel

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

🙌

[@joechadwick1487]

Guys you need to do a review for me for Franis Ford Coppolas Dracula. 🙏

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

On it!

[@brendanmohareful]

This week on Dune Talk!

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

😂😂😂😂

[@dannysmithx]

1:15:33 Anthony can't get through a sentence without 10 "um"s. UMsubscribe!

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@sneaky_xd]

You misspelt The. You just put Th. How do you misspell THE?! UNSUBSCRIBED!!!!!! (I'm just kidding guys, I love your videos).

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

LMAO

[@andrewkreuter1928]

“Denis Villeneuve, the best director alive”? You guys must hate Marty, Tarantino, Spielberg, and Nolan. Unsubscribe

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

hahahahaha

[@Pixelkip]

UnnnnSubScribe!!

[@Giantbeliever]

I thought it was pronounced in-sen-dee UNSUBSCRIBED. But at least you both have Dune2 in your top 3 RESUBSCRIBED

[@Giantbeliever]

1. Blade runner 2049 2. Dune 2 3. Prisoners

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

Lmao

[@Fideliooooo]

His catalog cant fuck with Tarantino or FInchers catalog. SOrrrrry.

[@percyweasley9301]

Everyone give a like.. 😊

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

🫡

[@samroberts3342]

Dude I just watched Incendies and not going to lie just you guys saying there was a twist made me guess it during the film so it wasn’t very surprising. Unsubscribe. Love the pod tho

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

Sorry pal 🥲

[@stevenmarkfranz]

Hahahah can't stop laughing 😂 Really you get some hilarious takes on KZbin that give me a good laugh... Denis Villeneuve best director alive? The best director alive is James Cameron. Period! No one understands spectacle and drama like him. Especially when it comes to action. Dune 1 and 2 were hot pile of garbage that belongs in the sewers. I'm not sure why Denis Villeneuve is considered a great director. His movies are known to be visually stunning, but shouldn't we credit the cinematographers for that? Personally, I think his movies are mind-numbing boring. Sicario was a movie that I really hoped would be great, but that was boring. Villeneuve had the talent to turn a movie about a hitman with a conscience, into a boring movie. Arrival was probably one of the dumbest third encounter movies I've ever seen, and yes, it was boring. I mean, in that movie, aliens literally travel across the universe to teach a woman calligraphy, which is the answer to all things…..what? I didn't see Blade Runner 2049, but someone told me it was a snoozefest, but nice to look at. I have it on HBOMax, but I think I learned my lesson, it's a no for me. The problem with Dune was that Villeneuve tried to make everything a bit too epic. Everything from a door opening, to slow-motion shots of Zendaya walking in the sand, why did everything have to be so epic? I mean, if a character ate dinner, that had to be an epic shot, a cinematic experience, with dramatic shadows, surround sound, scored dramatically by Hans Zimmer…. Can this guy direct c-span, rather than ruining Dune? And I feel as though he focused too much on creating a visually epic movie, and skipped over telling a great story, with a VERY INTERESTING LORE. Dune's lore is literally plagiarized by writers who don't know any better. But their plagiarized material is better explained, than the lore of Dune both the Dunes made by this pretentious director 😂

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

@@stevenmarkfranz so Nolan, Cameron and Scott are wrong about living Denis, but you’re right?

[@stevenmarkfranz]

@@raidersofthelostpodcast_ Nolan is a hack 😂🤮 what he says is like water on a ducks back for me 😂

[@biscardipictures1253]

Holy W with Incendies at 1. Did not see that coming 🫡

[@raidersofthelostpodcast_]

🫡🫡