when the director reallyyyy respects the audience…

[@SceneItReviews]

NOTE: This is a REUPLOAD - had to re-edit after it got blocked in most countries. Anywayyyy...what's YOUR favourite example of "show, don't tell" in a movie? The more important the moment, the better!

[@TheStmixon]

Thought there was some Deja Vu going on

[@potucsimp]

blade runner 2049 is my favourite example of a film that rather shows, and benefits from it.

[@458bfvds]

@@potucsimp what else? Give me like 3

[@458bfvds]

American Beauty

[@potucsimp]

@@458bfvds Mad God, Wall-E and uh ,, Fantasia,,Z

[@rome8180]

I'm glad you also mentioned the night vision scene in Sicario. Everyone talks about the border scene, but the night vision scene is just as good in my opinion. The movie as a whole set a new standard for realistic action scenes. You don't have characters explaining what's going on or talking unnecessarily. You also don't have characters doing anything superhuman. They behave exactly as they should given what we know about them.

[@katanawolf2246]

Completely agree with you. I have looked back at movies that really impressed me (Sicario, Blade Runner, Dune, Prisoners, Enemy) and realize Dennis is a new favorite for me. The video summed it up perfectly he presents information in his movies in a way that doesn't insult the audience. He shows things with purpose. For example look at Dune! Being able to present religions, societies, empires and cultures within the Dune Universe clearly, accurately without taking the lazy blockbuster approach made respect him even more! He's so talented!

[@lukasausen]

@@katanawolf2246 specially for dune is a super hard job since the book explains to excrutianting detail whats going on in the characters "mind" and the concequences of their actions but the movie cant do that without a heavy narration, wich the director managed to do perfectly, even tho you dont know precisely whats going on since it wasnt exposed clearly you still fell the weight its transfered to the characters and the consequences soon to come.

[@jacquelinewhite1046]

The night vision scene took me by surprise as I wasn't expecting that additional detail which added another layer of realism, almost authenticity to the film

[@Wolfsbane1100]

While the border scene is possibly my favorite moment, the cop from the bar is an extremely close second. You can really feel Kate's desperation to get her pistol back, and the realization of Jon Bernthal's character as to why exactly Kate has apparently gone crazy, right up to the pistol against his forehead. Extremely solid.

[@barrydickinson5236]

Any other action movies you’d recommend?

[@esrAsnataS]

There's not a bad scene or performance in Sicario. Emily Blunt is outstanding.

[@based-ys9um]

She's a great actress

[@Craftedbywaltz]

Facts

[@theoph1932]

Even the kids and wife of the drug lord in Sicario put an incredible performance and they didn't even say a word

[@R4Y2k]

When I first saw Sicario, I already felt that this wasn't your ordinary movie. Villeneuve is one of the greatest directors of our time. So happy they let him do Dune, part 1 was amazing and I expect part 2 to be even better.

[@Dapryor]

Did you think Dune was up there with his other films like Sicario or Arrival? I wasn’t overly impressed with it but I was in a weird headspace at the time. I’m thinking about giving it another shot.

[@samuelluria4744]

@@Dapryor - Wow, I'd forgotten that he did Arrival. I really liked that one. No interest in Dune. Didn't see the original, not interest in the book....

[@montauta]

@@samuelluria4744 give it a chance. I think you don't regret. And don't forget Blade Runner 2049.

[@Ashtarte3D]

@@Dapryor Considering the source material he was working with Villeneuve did an outstanding job as always. Just look at the Gom Jabbar scene for how well he handled the material and still made it gripping despite the source being pretty dry overall.

[@Dapryor]

@@Ashtarte3D I’ll give it another shot. I genuinely love everything else he’s done.

[@TanyaUrrutia]

In Sicario it's also the color of Kate's T-shirt. At the beginning of the movie, it's a deep blue and at the end, it's a washed out grey, barely even color left.

[@SceneItReviews]

don't mind this at all - colour getting drained like her initial optimism. bravo!

[@NoBody-002]

@@SceneItReviews Not only that, but her sense of moral rectitude diminishing to the point of ambiguity.

[@dre32pitt]

Reminds me of McClane's wife beater in Die Hard.. good catch

[@ponfed]

Villeneuve is gonna be remembered as a stellar storyteller. And he knows and has the luck and smarts to be able to surround himself with great people..

[@kevinwinstrom27]

Benecio del toro was so good in this movie. No one really talks much about that. His character was intimidating and commanding. The lone wolf who was always aware of his surroundings.

[@mbryson2899]

His performance in _Way of the Gun_ was also a standout.

[@NoBody-002]

I always enjoy Del Toro & Brolin together. Sicario, Inherent Vice, Infinity War (Benicio as The Collector). In addition to that, on the top of Denis, Josh Brolin & Javier Bardem are always a fun duo as well, No Country for Old Men & Dune Parts 1 & 2.

[@Dafmeister1978]

In think no one talks about it because it's just what you expect from del Toro. The man just brings it.

[@ShripatiDev2]

What Martin said in the end is so true. A good cinema is one which you can watch many times and find something new everytime like he said, and never get bored of it. Each time you watch it you have the same excitement and joy watching it.

[@ElRadioDJ913]

Seeing Denis Villenueve elevating his directing game is outstanding.

[@mxx720]

Even more than Sicario's border crossing back into the US, the entire sequence that sets it up is high tension all the way through. First you get the convoy of black SUVs crossing into Mexico, the prisoner extraction, the fear that they're being followed, and THEN you get back to the border before the shootout starts. The whole scene is a brilliant execution of nearly wordless visual storytelling.

[@Fadaar]

It's brilliant. The tension builds and builds and builds and right when the characters get to what should be a safe point in their journey, they hit a literal roadblock and the chaos finally hits.

[@raptorshinryu]

I'll often boot up my copy of Sicario to skip to the beginning of the border op briefing and end up watching the entire movie.

[@MarcEtMichele]

great point. and i think that highlights that there is really no safe point, like is said in the video. the other side of the border is just as violent and has always been. but how we view violence depends on who has the so called monopoly or privilege to act. and what the film does brilliantly at the end is show that it's a corrupt system that feeds itself

[@bogdan3444]

My favorite shot in any movie in recent years is the one around 6:49 (from Sicario), when they're still in the desert, walking towards those tunnels, I believe. That sunset, the way it's filmed...amazing

[@elliott9628]

yeh their descent into the darkness with that ominous music playing is chilling. it's the one shot that has always stuck with me

[@johnbernhardtsen3008]

for me its the drive into Juarez, the whole drive to the pick up point had me hyped, the walk into darkness it the best shot though!@@elliott9628

[@spinnerboyz]

I absolutely loved to see them walk under that dark sky with the dim horizon line.

[@Waywind420]

Sicario is one of the best movies I've ever seen! It's rewatchable too. A masterpiece as far as I'm concerned, and I've showed it to friends who have unanimously enjoyed it to varying levels.

[@riloegaming]

The correlation between the Border scene and the Tunnel scene is a great parallel that is totally felt and yet is so subtle that it doesn't feel heavy handed. Similarly, I'd also say the change between that covert, spy-like action in the dark with Alejandro at the end is similar; his approcah to the Jefe's table with his family brings the film tonally from this sort of action-espionage mystery, and finally puts the everything out in the open; who Alejandro REALLY is, what this world is really about, in a really shockingly blunt and clear picture.

[@SGz_Eliminated]

Regarding that last clip in the video, my late twenties has been full of revisiting films I saw as a child or teenager or young adult and now seeing them with all my life experiences up till this point and how my perception and emotions have evolved have completely transformed my experience of these movies from the first time I saw them. I watched those films then and assumed I had a pretty good understanding of what I was being shown but going back after all these years its so surprising how much I miss completely or what I didn't really grasp properly.

[@TheBackroomPodcast1]

Me sitting here at 28 doing the exact same thing lol

[@samuelluria4744]

I've watched Sicario around 5 times, and I could watch it another 10 times.

[@sharthakghosh970]

The fact that it wasn't over the top made everything good about this movie. Sicario 2 can't say otherwise. It has all the typical action packed scenes which infact made it a movie that can be forgotten.

[@Olivierdubois44]

So proud as a French-Canadian (Québec) to see our guy Denis being respected worldwide like that 🙌🙌

[@romeoraymond]

RIGHT ?!

[@jirden]

Greetings from the United States. I believe he is one of the greatest directors of all time.

[@ravantgarde1899]

@@jirdenagreed

[@samuelluria4744]

Typical French-Canadian. Never enough pride. No amount of appreciation would ever sate you people. Look, you even felt the need to make sure we all know you're from Québec. As if when you say French-Canadian, we're all too stupid to know that 90% of French-Canadians are in Québec....🙄🙄🙄

[@SCharlesDennicon]

The more I watch it, the more I believe that the crossing of Juarez in Sicario is one of the best things that happened to cinema in the 2010's. Everything about it screams CINEMA. Great hommage.

[@filiobox]

I’ve finally watched Sicario…wow, what a film….

[@tomwatson1116]

The Greeks called had a term 'peripeteia'. A turning point essential to good tragedy they thought. Oedipus' story is the perfect example and that's an excellent point about Kate being 'in the dark' then coming out into the light. At first Oedipus is 'blind' to the truth but he can see. After his epiphany (no spoilers) he can see the truth and so blinds himself. Good shit

[@jylyhughes5085]

Sicario ... perhaps my favourite film. Denis Villeneuve ... the Master.

[@joydivision1976]

I remember the border scene being one of the most iconic (and intense) movie scenes in 'realistic' action movies I've ever seen. Actually, for me, it's only topped by the shootout scene in Heat.

[@gs8494]

That's a great scene but my favourite is when Kate confronts Matt after the tunnel scene and he explains what's really going on, and you realize that the war on drugs can be lost or fought continually but never won, because there will always be a demand it's like a giant mirror is being held up to society and it's telling them they're to blame, a little line of coke here a joint there doesn't hurt anyone, except it does, it's just degrees of separation. For all Villeneuve's skill at visual directing it's not his greatest strength as a director, it's in his ability at communicating the reality of a situation, it's also why as good as his later work is he'll probably never do better than Incendies or Polytechnique.

[@SansSentiments]

or we blame the one who makes the whole drugrunning profitable by making that non hurting joint or line illegal.@@gs8494

[@rutgaurxi7314]

@@gs8494 Shame he followed it up with that God awful take on Dune.

[@thefrenchspacer]

@@gs8494 well the war on drugs is a war against human nature, by defintion its eternal

[@thefrenchspacer]

@@rutgaurxi7314 Teah very disappointing, Dune could be the foundation of a incredible movie, there are so much thematics in it and the caracters are awesome. the david lynch movie is so much better despise all of its flaws.

[@mahmoudhakem7642]

just a quick note, the spiderman movie reverse shot wouldnt be half as good without willem defoe. incredible actor

[@waynejrice]

Wow. Love that. I want more of that insightful narrative on art. We all watch, but so few understand what exactly we are seeing.

[@averyzaliasylvia4026]

Back then when i was young i used to watch movies like these and i don't understand what's the scene is trying to imply, but as i grow older and rewatch those movies, i understood it and that's pretty much what Marty is saying in the last clip and its been a rewarding experience for me.

[@henricolens]

Exactly! Show. Don't tell. Make it visual. Film is a visual medium. And even though great sound elevates a film, it's the images that really stay with us. Great stories are only as good as those who tell them.

[@flux.aeterna]

The Green Knight, which is purposefully ambiguous in much of its storytelling (which makes sense given that it’s a modern reinterpretation of an Arthurian tale.) You know that the story is always telling you *something*, even if it’s not something you can totally verbalize.

[@NadiaSeesIt]

What it tells me is that I'm watching a very boring movie

[@SingingSealRiana]

​@@NadiaSeesItonly If you prefered someone Else doing all the thinking for you

[@SingingSealRiana]

​@@NadiaSeesItonly If you prefered someone Else doing all the thinking for you

[@AbhishekSingh-ip3xe]

In three words or less, "Show, don't tell."

[@SupremeGreatGrandmaster]

Easy to say. Hard to do. There are many ways to show something. Which is the best? It's HOW you show.

[@abelingaw5070]

Sicario, an underrated series.. Damn, even the 1st one made me think no CGI were used..

[@TC-be7kx]

I think a lot of movie brilliance is tensions. Also a certain level of confusions, until the protagonist gets a plan ten times better than what we had. Also, watch the camera shots, what isn't being obvious, is key, until it is revealed, that makes for excellent composite of the scene.

[@Scott74921]

Sicario 2 feels like it came before the first movie by at least 10 years. The first Sicario was so beautiful I couldn't finish the second one 15 minutes in

[@khush1894]

ever since i saw this. i have been endlessly trying to find a movie as raw, badass and realistic as this.

[@marcjustinpascasio9955]

Finally it's back

[@cheesecakelasagna]

I'm Hard of Hearing so I really appreciate films that can tell the story effectively even with just the visuals.

[@jmat8861]

IM SO HAPPY THIS VIDEO IS BACK! didnt get the chance to watch it the first time, i only had it on my watch later

[@battleshipfleet]

For some reason, Fight club comes to mind. something about the insanity of it all makes you go back and watch it again to see where things really start falling apart and what is shown on screen is different from what the character is really experiencing in the most surreal way.

[@EbonySeraphim]

Can we get some recognition for Daniel Kaluuya's acting in the film? I don't know if it was his intentional acting, but for some reason his character really seemed to have life and depth. Also, on the topic of "showing things" instead of writing them, that is something Denzel does in his roles. He'll look over a screenplay and suggest to the director that he can show that rather than speak certain lines. Seems he's on board with respecting the audience.

[@mmn910]

Daniel was amazing. He is serious and gets the job done with a sense of justice but we also see him let his guard down at the cowboy bar.

[@Coach-rq6jx]

@@mmn910 I see him as the face of us, the audience, in the film. He finds the bodies for us, Kate tells him to step outside if it makes him/us squeamish... Him giving Kate the advice we feel like giving her, such as Don't trust this guy, stay away from this guy, get new dresses, meet people, walk away from the operation etc... And the best bit, Matt often tells him to walk away if he wanted and no one is forcing him to stay, but he sticks with Kate either way, like all of us who are watching the movie.

[@mmn910]

@@Coach-rq6jx great observation!

[@cheesecakelasagna]

Reminds me of my fave style of graphic novel/(web)comic/manga/... when there's very few words and the panelling is immersive/cinematic.

[@arthursaey]

the shot where she shoots the guy through the window of the car and the other team member shoots the guy in the face before he gets a chance to fall, the whole thing visible in the rear view mirror...exquisite

[@monkeyunit4533]

The great thing about this is as the audcience, you don't have to understand this. Yet, when you see it you feel it on some subconcious level. I hope people don't actually analyse movies like this while watching them for the first time. But having it explained here makes so much sense and perfectly describes the feelings it envokes.

[@MrDrezzy007]

This movie wouldn't work without the Kate character, and the story is not even about her. That's how good the director is.

[@neil340]

Now I wanna go rewatch Sicario. Again.

[@feebeans2804]

The Ballas of Buster Scruggs is suchhh a good "show dont tell" movie. In all of it's stories I'm left looking at a silent shot with my mouth open. Also, In Whiplash its so extremely eveident from the start that thats the kind of movie it is. There is absolutely nothing spoonfed to us about the characters.

[@P2A8R7MKD]

Sicario is one of my all time favorite movies & sometimes I watch just until after the border scene because it's so good. None of my friends like it or think it's good, so I am absolutely thrillede with this video and comment section lol

[@hamvjones]

Villeneuve is amazing.

[@itshertzzz]

I agree with the way a scene can project the viewers a lot without dialogue. A lot of my favourite movies have clear messages conveyed with just an actor quirks or camera angles. In my own personal opinion, the dialogue being the main drive for a movie is dependent of the viewer's engagement in them. For example as I was watching the latest Ant-Man, I just felt the fear whenever Kang talks about what he's done or going to do because I listen to them attentively. I understand that for some, it's boring and it's ok because there need to be a certain balance to make the movie more interesting

[@twistedsphere]

I stopped the video at 0:50 to go watch Sicario again. I'll be back later... 🤣

[@victorokechukwu8629]

Same here. Sicario is goated at this moment

[@twistedsphere]

@@victorokechukwu8629 That draw shot from the holster into her plate carrier when she chases him down in the tunnels gives me spooky chills. Bet it was under 0.3s 😁

[@Hunac-Ceel]

Tremendous video, big fan of your channel, Dennis is one the best around these days.

[@deadinfebruary]

Villeneuve is absolutely fantastic.

[@romeoraymond]

Denis Villeneuve! He represents Quebec ! Vive le Québec!

[@mackychloe]

Great last line from Marty. Films don't change. we do.

[@ambergris9359]

The outro quote made me realize why i didn't have the appetite to rewatch marvel movies

[@rjjitzu]

Even as a kid looking at those green goblin & Smeagol scenes, I was convinced that they were talking to different people.

[@EdmundTfy]

8 minutes detailing how the stuck car is a master class in script writing

[@filmfan22]

Hardest opening to a film essay I've ever seen 😂

[@ozanr3yptem764]

What a beatiful way to explain

[@565redx]

Last line of the video is gold.

[@theseaartbyshagorc]

I watched a video explaining how Kate isn't the protagonist of the Sicario, it was well argued and I think this video helps add to that arguement.

[@BrianThomas]

I love Willem Defoe. Awesome, awesome actor.

[@gemasybazofias]

Ok, i f-king love this video. Please make tons of it!! 😃

[@TheMilkDicing]

Such, SUCH an amazing film

[@JonathanHebert]

That border scene is so Iconic that even in video games they have tried to reproduce it (badly because it is hard to reproduce the tension). (COD: modern warfare 2 (2022)).

[@Yetipfote]

BOTH Sicarios where absolut master pieces. I love them forever. I need more of this.

[@lucwijngaard8413]

Villeneuve is a great director and Sicario proves it, Sicario: Day of the Soldado was great as well

[@samuelluria4744]

"Respect the audience - Hire Emily Blunt"

[@79E13]

it's baaaaack!!! 👏👏

[@mixfu1585]

Your best miniature so far, I love the colors and the 4/3 format...

[@matttheodorus4062]

You could slap this in a university program... Amazing work

[@Mailbox-fm4zy]

Finally someone made a video like this. These movies are a masterpiece.

[@scillyautomatic]

Great! Thanks for posting!

[@_scabs6669]

1:57 "when I shot up the kid's birthday party" - Martin Scorsese

[@The_Other_Dan]

They pulled off a fantastic shot/reverse-shot in season 3 of The Boys with Antony Starr as Homelander.

[@surfacematter2098]

I LOVE Scorsese films for the rise and fall. THAT IS AWESOME!

[@XAVR_]

Villeneuve is the most consistent and talented director of the 21st century, and manages to have an instantly recognisable style. He has the potential to be the next cinematic legend.

[@heliosmediafilms]

Dude I doubt the audience ever makes the most of the connections you are suggesting however it was a good try to educate us! thanks!

[@SipRodgers]

I love these videos and will always watch them

[@cptdport7112]

Nice content and explanations. You've just gained a subscriber. Well done, well executed!

[@theironmullet]

Well made video, thank you!

[@flamingburitto]

Notes for self The feeling of dread. Sicario uses the location as a medium to initiate moments of dread vs comfort. Similar thing can be done in games. A way to create this feeling of dread would be use companions, to show a moment of "it just got real" you can use companions or lack of them. make the player play the game making them feel used to the feeling of comfort and support. if you fail the companions are always there. if you get stuck the companion ai is always there. Until the turning point. No more companions, you are on your own, mix this with the change of location that sicario uses and you can create dread. Sicario also uses the feeling of being stuck inside that traffic jam to create more tension. Claustrophobic settings where even tho there is a lot of space, you dont feel like you can actually move because you are being pressured by the environment and the tension. Sicario also uses atmospheric cues like dogs barking, quick cuts, areal shots etc to set in the tension more. Similar things can be done to establish such tension. barking dogs being one solution.

[@muratbasc8302]

audience has brain. in some movies, directors forgot it but in some other ones, they do not. and the second type becomes legend

[@ricwhite612]

when you start hanging around sets and notice all the tricks they do it takes so much of the magic away from the art

[@xzxxx-km4vy]

This is why i dont watch movies anymore. Its extremely hard to watch a movie nowadays and think of it like a movie.. I just start thinking about how silly all of it is, and they just a bunch of people pretending. Its weird cause that's what movies are all about but something in my brain clicked where i can't see movies as movies anymore, instead i look at them as grown ups playing pretend.

[@user-uf5mv1vm5o]

to me it's the contrary, when you're a kid you think it's magic and when you grow up you understand it's art and what it means to create a film. What does the director want to say? How are the ideas conveyed? How was it made? How long did it take? etc... and it makes the viewing experience more interesting and inspirational not only entertaining.

[@ricwhite612]

@@user-uf5mv1vm5o that used to be the case, like having a wideshot like lawrence of the arabia. imagine seeing that in the pictures, breathtaking. the closest thing many europeans would have got to being in the desert. compare that to movies now, from Picasso to a kindergarten drawing

[@NadiaSeesIt]

​@@ricwhite612needlessly pretentious

[@almartin7]

Love these type of videos, keep it up!

[@ReverendMuncle]

Superb work

[@willtobias5280]

I just watched "Ida" and I found it great at implying information subtly and visually

[@willmcconnell7233]

Absolutely agree, it’s a masterpiece!

[@billnyfeler]

Great video - but you erred in calling Kate the main character in Sicario. This is Alejandro's story. He's the protagonist, and we realize that when he shoots her and the camera begins to follow him. Villenueve (working from Taylor Sheridan's script) fools us all for half the run time into thinking it's Kate's story, when if fact, her character is there to help frame the true nature of the military level violence of the drug trade. Sicario is a revenge tale, and the audience needs to learn about the depraved behavior of this world via an innocent character first. Only then can we fully appreciate the gravity of the protagonist's suffering and what has been driving his revenge arc for years.

[@ssissigui8846]

Well explained

[@tinybubs6145]

That Willem Dafoe scene in Spider-Man for sure STUCK WITH ME

[@silentone11111111]

Great thoughtful vid. loved it :)

[@fuffoon]

The first scene will always be the "its a fuck up" scene to me.

[@madhusudan4118]

My Respect towards Denis Villeneuva went off the roof after I saw Sicario.

[@Devananta-Rafiq]

Bro creates banger video so he needs to upload it twice

[@windowdresser1643]

"there's plenty of creative ways to say things without saying them"

[@adamsmith-wi3qg]

Dialogue scene -heavy films can sometimes be good (I loved Phonebooth with Farrell), but it's rare. I think there was some movie like that a number of years ago with Tom Hardy, Locke or something?

[@nicxshaw]

Excellent analysis brother

[@rodrigovega6311]

I love that the subtitles say “in peace” because the translator thinks he is saying con paz, when in reality is saying “compas from compadres” that is used a lot in north mexico to talk to a friend, fellas will be a much truer translation.

[@juansebastiangonzalez7132]

i love this, i love this goddamned i think i have to change my carrer and go to film school, if isn't to late, thank you Scene It

[@shevanz1589]

Cinema needs to do something that cant be read in a book. Its also an opportunity to get people to see something in a way then never thought about before. My two biggest pet peeves are directors that forget the cinematography exists and completely underestimating their actors ability to get the point across without it being dialogue.

[@BitsofJoshua]

Your videos make me want to make movies

[@oddedd7755]

love emily in this sicario

[@BrianThomas]

How can you apply such concepts to story writing where you don't have a screen?

[@MichaelSmith-vb7he]

Just binged a few of your videos and they're great, thank you! It's really sad though when you compare them to the likes of Netflix that just churns completely mediocre stuff out, they even ruined the heavyweight Fincher with The Killer, or Toro's recent film Reptile. I hope there's more movies that come out which you can make the same videos for.