5 Blade Runner 2049 Films That Are Worth Watching

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Lifehacker understands the director's work and explains why it was he who was entrusted to shoot the sequel to the famous film by Ridley Scott.

The name Denis Villeneuve has been heard by a wide audience relatively recently, but over the years he has already managed to become one of the most popular and sought-after directors in Hollywood. Each of his new films attracts attention and is awarded various prestigious awards. We figure out what is special in his creative style and how Villeneuve became a world famous director.

Early films

The first films by Denis Villeneuve were released in Canada and were rather non-standard in content and form. The first picture, for which he received the highest award in Canada, was called "The Maelstrom" and told about a girl who fell in love with the son of a man whom she hit by a car. The highlight is that this whole tragic and romantic story is being told from the perspective of a fish. And the first Oscar nomination was brought to him by the film Fires.

What to see

Fires

• Drama, military.
• France, Canada, 2010.
• Duration: 130 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 2.

Dying, the mother bequeathed to the twins Jeanne and Simone to find their father, whom they believed dead, and a brother, whose existence they did not know at all. To do this, they must return to the eastern country, where the war is going on. But the search reveals dark secrets surrounding the twins' mother's past.

Copying the style of other directors

Villeneuve is good at shooting "for someone". But this is not thoughtless copying or plagiarism. The director rethinks the style of work of experienced craftsmen, brings something of his own to it and creates new films worthy of the best directors.

What to see

Captive

• Detective, thriller.
• USA, 2013.
• Duration: 153 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

Keller Dover's daughter goes for a walk with a friend and disappears. Pretty quickly, the police find the first suspect - the feeble-minded Alex. But he has to be released, since there is no direct evidence. While detective Loki is investigating the crime, the girl's father decides to judge himself and kidnaps Alex.

This picture is a clear reference to the crime films of David Fincher. Lots of details and small details constantly flickering in the frame. The complicated plot and several lines of the plot, as well as the gloomy atmosphere will make you remember the legendary film "Seven" and other works of the director.

Enemy

• Psychological detective.
• Canada, Spain, 2014.
• Duration: 90 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 9.

Having once rented a disc with a film, the history teacher discovers in it an actor who is remarkably similar to him. He decides to find his double, but gradually it turns into a real obsession, leading the hero to mystical events and plunging him into metaphysical darkness.

This psychological detective is closer to arthouse than traditional cinema due to its ambiguous plot, changing mood and genre of storytelling, and an open ending. All these features, together with a large number of subtle hints on how to interpret the plot, bring the picture closer to the work of David Lynch, whose style Villeneuve is obviously hinting at in this film.

Psychology and stress

The main distinguishing feature of Villeneuve's films is the deep elaboration of the characters, without a clear division into good and evil. In Captives, the father grieving for his missing daughter quickly ceases to seem like a positive hero, as he shows inadequate cruelty. In further films of the director, the depth and realism of the characters only grows.

What to see

Murderer

• Crime thriller.
• USA, 2015.
• Duration: 121 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

FBI agent Keith Maser is invited to take part in a special operation to capture the heads of drug cartels working on the border of Mexico and the United States. But new colleagues seem strange and even suspicious, especially the team's enigmatic consultant. During the operation, questions about legality and supreme justice will arise more than once, and each hero will have to make his own choice.

This film was enthusiastically received by critics around the world. Again, Villeneuve shows very controversial characters here. Some, obsessed with a thirst for revenge, forget about law and justice. Others are unable to imbue a person's grief by following only protocols.

The atmosphere of tension and stress during police special operations, as well as the many dilemmas that force you to choose between emotions and the law, strongly distinguish this film from a large number of standard crime thrillers.

Science fiction

Over time, Denis Villeneuve switched from crime and realism to science fiction. Indeed, it is in this genre that he can not only bring philosophical ideas to the viewer, but also clothe them in a beautiful futuristic form, allowing both his imagination and the possibilities of modern computer graphics to roam.

What to see

Arrival

• Fantastic.
• USA, 2016.
• Duration: 116 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

UFOs hover over the earth in different parts of the planet. The aliens themselves do not voice their plans and take no action. All military forces are on alert, and the government is hiring the best linguists to understand the alien language. But the main danger lies not in aliens, but in disagreements between people.

Arrival featured one of the most unusual versions of an alien invasion of Earth. Aliens here act as a catalyst, because they themselves do nothing, and people in a stressful situation begin to panic and become cruel.

Villeneuve touches on several more very serious topics - from mutual understanding to the cyclical nature of time, because the language in which the aliens communicate shows that they perceive time only as another dimension and for them there is no understanding of the past and future. And people also have a chance to discover new abilities in themselves. But they are too absorbed in internal disputes.

Plans for the film adaptation of "Dune"

It is not surprising that Villeneuve was appointed director of the new film adaptation of the cult novel by Frank Herbert "Dune". It is he who will be able to convey all the complexity of the plot for which the novel is famous, and will show it on a real scale and scale, using full acting and computer effects. Moreover, the director himself is a big fan of the work.

Since I read Dune at the age of 12, it has become my favorite book along with 1984. After Captives, the Alcon producers asked what I would like to film next. I spontaneously replied, "Dune." As if someone could give me the rights to Dune - I knew it was very difficult to get them. For me it was just a dream … Images from the book have haunted me for 35 years. This will be the main project of my life.

Denis Villeneuve

Blade Runner 2049

In the new film, which is the sequel to the famous film by Ridley Scott, Denis Villeneuve has every chance to fully reveal his talents. Firstly, he needs to keep the style of the classics, making a film in the spirit of Scott. Secondly, in the original picture there were a lot of little things and references, allowing ambiguous perception of the main characters and all events in general. Thirdly, a whole futuristic world was invented in Blade Runner, so advanced special effects are a must for the new film.

The classic film was about a special detective named Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), who hunted escaped replicants - androids, indistinguishable from humans, created specifically for certain jobs. Those who catch replicants are called "blade runners." The lifespan of androids was only a few years, but the new model has not been fully studied.

At the end of the film, leaving open the question of the origin of Deckard himself, he leaves the service, taking with him a replicant girl who has considered herself human for most of her life.

All the details of the new film are still kept secret, but it is known that the main character will be a new "Blade Runner", played by Ryan Gosling. Top-secret information falls into his hands, which endangers the entire existence of mankind. To save the world, he finds Rick Deckard, who disappeared many years ago.