Dune and the Promise of the Modern Blockbuster
Plus Oscar nomination reactions, and a weekend streaming recommendation, and more!
Today we talk about DUNE (2021), directed by Denis Villeneuve. I could write about this story for hours but I’ll keep it brief (for your sake). Directed by Denis Villeneuve, this sci-fi epic received 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Cinematography, Music, Adapted Screenplay, and most of the technical awards.
Many say that Dune, Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, is unadaptable, as much of the story is exposition about an unrecognizable universe told through inner monologue. While there have been past adaptations, none have quite captured the essence of the novel. Despite the doubts behind Villeneuve’s project, he was the man to pull it off — it was a perfect match and the director’s long-time passion project.
And boy, did he deliver. There are countless scenes that are exactly how I had imagined them off the page, so many little details that proved his commitment to the source material. This was a labor of love in every way and it shows.
The Bigger Picture
I think Dune’s importance extends beyond being a great sci-fi epic. This $165 million budget movie was one of 2021’s largest blockbusters, but it bore strikingly little resemblance to most big-budget movies. It stands out in a genre recently defined by profit-oriented and meek productions.
I can appreciate a good franchise blockbuster, but I’ve been getting tired of their current state. Maybe it’s superhero fatigue, maybe I’ve grown out of it, maybe I’m a pretentious asshole (likely the latter), but how rare is it now for a blockbuster to blow you away? They follow repeated storylines, they pull from $100+ million dollar budgets and still manage to look cheap, they feel like 2-hour long trailers for a next installment. And why? Audiences are going to turn out for a Marvel movie no matter what — why not use that guarantee as a chance to do something new?
Dune was a reminder that audiences can and will get excited about more. With $400 million at the box office (with a same-day streaming release), it was a resounding commercial and critical success. This adaptation of a bizarre, convoluted, and dense 1960s sci-fi novel is visually daring, technically groundbreaking, soaring in scope, and bold in the respect it offers its audience. Its success proved that this kind of movie still has a place in our media.
You should watch Dune. Watch it, and even if you hate it, at least it’s a movie that took a chance to make something you might actually have an opinion on, rather than a paint-by-numbers, AI-generated, factory-line product. The big-budget blockbuster is not dead — Denis Villeneuve has proved it. And the future is bright!
And to prove I’m not a hater …
Some of my favorite blockbusters:
The Dark Knight Trilogy, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Skyfall, Inception, Gladiator, Jurassic Park, Mad Max: Fury Road, Mission Impossible (4, 5, and 6), John Wick, Pirates of the Caribbean, Kingsman: The Secret Service, and more.
And yes, a bunch of Marvel movies. I’ll write up my top 5 at some point!
2022 Oscar Nominations Round-up
Nominations for the 2022 Oscars came out yesterday! You can see them all here.
The Wins …
The Power of the Dog won 12 nominations and is definitely this year’s frontrunner. I was also THRILLED to see Dune receive 10 nominations. West Side Story and Belfast each also scored 7 nominations. The biggest surprise of the day was seeing Japanese film Drive My Car win 4 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director.
The Disappointments …
By far the biggest snub was Denis Villeneuve not receiving a Best Director nod. How do you nominate every aspect of this movie but overlook the man who brought it all together?! There were other disappointments but those were pretty expected — I would’ve loved to see some recognition for Pig, The Last Duel, The Green Knight and The French Dispatch.
And I knew it was coming, but Don’t Look Up with the Best Picture nom. I know this is the exact kind of movie that the Academy loves, but God, this is disappointing. I’ll write a whole piece on Don’t Look Up eventually.
On the Oscars in general …
The Oscars receive a lot hate, and rightfully so. They’re dated, pretentious, biased, pay-to-play, and so on. But I think awards shows still hold value. How many of you would’ve seen movies like Parasite (2019) or Moonlight (2016) if they hadn’t won Best Picture? The Oscars are a mixed bag, but every so often they make inspired choices that bring great movies to light.
I’ll share my predictions leading up to the show. Till then, if you want to catch up on the big names of the year, check out my top 10 list here:
Weekend Streaming Recommendation:
La La Land (2016), directed by Damien Chazelle, available on Hulu
With Valentine’s Day weekend coming up, check out one of my favorite love stories/musicals ever on Hulu! I’m about 6 years late to the party but this movie is breathtaking, can’t recommend it enough.
That’s all for today! See you all again next week (yes, we’re switching to weekly!) Until then, please get in touch if you have any thoughts or suggestions you’d like to share. If you want to keep up with what I’m watching, follow me on Letterboxd @atharv_gupta.