Steven Spielberg calls Dune 2 one of the ‘most brilliant sci-fi films’ he’s ever seen

Ace filmmaker Steven Spielberg recently reviewed Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya starrer Dune 2. The veteran directorpraised Denis Villeneuve’s film as a “visual epic” with “deeply drawn characters”.

Steven Spielberg himself has directed some of the most iconic science fiction films of Hollywood including Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. He recently participated in DGA’s Director’s Cut podcast where he praisedDune 2 makers for their vision.

Steven Spielberg's review of Dune 2

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Spielberg said, “This is truly a visual epic, and it’s also filled with deeply, deeply drawn characters. Yet the dialogue is very sparse when you look at it proportionately to the running time of the film. It’s such cinema. The shots are so painterly, yet there’s not an angle or single setup that’s pretentious … you have made one of the most brilliant science fiction films I have ever seen.”

He added, “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 you are yearning for; green meadows and the blue water of life. You filmed the desert to resemble an ocean, a sea. The sand worms were like sea serpents and that scene [of Paul] surfing the sand worm is one of the greatest things I have ever seen, ever. But you made the desert look like a liquid.”

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Denis Villeneuve of Dune 2 was also a part of the podcast.

As Spielberg heaped praise on his film, Denis noted that he shot specific scenes during specific times of the day.

The scene where Paul [Timothée Chalamet] and Chani [Zendaya] kiss was shot over the course of four days, always in the same hour of each day, to maintain continuity.

He added that sand dunes were “cast” for their orientation to each other within the frame. “It was the strangest casting I’ve done in my life,” Villeneuve said.

Steven Spielberg names directors who have added to sci-fi portfolio in films

In addition to praise for Dune sequel and its maker, Spielberg named the best directors who have made some incredible science fiction films.

“There are filmmakers who are the builders of worlds and we know it’s a not a long list, but we know who a lot of them are. Starting with [Georges] Méliès and of course [Walt] Disney and [Stanley] Kubrick. George Lucas, George Pal, Ray Harryhausen … [Frederico] Fellini built his own worlds. Tim Burton, obviously. Wes Anderson. Peter Jackson. James Cameron. Christopher Nolan. Ridley Scott, Guillermo del Toro. The list goes on. But it’s not that long of a list, and I deeply, fervently believe that you are one of its newest members of that list,” he said.