When you’ve made as many films, as many amazing films, and as many amazing sci-fi films specifically, as Steven Spielberg, your opinion carries quite a bit of weight. So when the director says—ahead of the release of his own new sci-fi movie Disclosure Day—that Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movies are among his favorites, that’s some high, high praise. Villeneuve is about 8 months away from the debut of Dune: Part III, his fifth sci-fi movie in a row. The sweeping grandeur of these movies has made him a must-watch filmmaker. And Spielberg is one such watcher.
Speaking to Empire (via Variety), the Close Encounters of the Third Kind director praised the Dune films. “Recently, I’ve loved the Dune movies. They are among my favorite science-fiction movies, not just recently, but of all time. Especially the second film,” Spielberg said. “I think [Part Two] is the best movie Denis has ever made. I cannot wait to see the third one. I’m sure he’ll show it to me early. I’m such a fan of his.”
He goes on to say that the movies aren’t just good, but they would make the author of the source material proud. Spielberg continued, “I love the Dune books, and I just think his tribute to the books is like Guillermo [del Toro]’s tribute to Mary Shelley with Frankenstein: he honored Mary Shelley as I think Denis honored Frank Herbert.”
I legitimately can’t think of a better and more touching compliment from a master filmmaker to another. And he was just handing them out in this interview. Spielberg later went on to heap praise on Zach Cregger’s Weapons in a similar fashion.
“I haven’t directed a horror film yet, and I’ve always wanted to, and someday I may. But there have been some great horror films out already that satisfy that itch. When I see a great horror film like Weapons, I don’t have an itch I need to scratch. I see Weapons, and it doesn’t make me want to make a horror film that’s as scary or scarier than Weapons. It satisfies me so completely, it actually arrests my desire to someday make a really, really scary movie.”
Damn, dude. Spielberg loves cinema. Go figure.
Editor’s Note: Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Letterboxd.