An Oscar nominated director has named what he believes is one of the greatest war movies ever made.
Earlier this year, Denis Villeneuve paid a visit to the Criterion Closet and made his picks of favourite films and recommendations to fans.
They included some of the films that inspired him as a filmmaker and his favourite movies made by celebrated directors.
Villeneuve is known for making movies including Sicario, Arrival, Prisoners, Blade Runner 2049 and Dune Parts One and Two.
He has received multiple Oscar and BAFTA nominations for his work including Best Director for Arrival.
The Criterion Closet is a physical space, sometimes created as a mobile version for events that houses every title distributed by The Criterion collection.
It is reported to house at least 1,700 films and celebrities are often invited to select their picks while being recorded.
Villeneuve made his visit earlier this year with some of his picks including The Three Colours trilogy directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski, Lars von Trier’s Europa, The Seven Samurai from Akira Kurosawa, Satyricon, Fellini and The Wages of Fear from Henri-Georges Clouzot.
The director also talked about his fondness for documentaries and recommended Le Mystère Picasso from Henri-Georges Clouzot.
He also picked up a film about another historical figure which he believes is one of the best war movies.
He said: “Che, with the great Benicio del Toro. For me, it’s by far one of the best movies about war, about what it is to be a leader of men.”
He continued: “The research behind this movie is astonishing, and I absolutely adore the directing. I think it’s a movie that is underrated. Honestly, it’s a masterful work by Soderbergh. My favourite movie from Soderbergh.”
He also cheekily alluded to perhaps the release encouraged him with his own epic adaptation of the Dune novels. Looking at the double DVD boxset, he added: “Part one, part two. Maybe there’s an influence there. I don’t know.”
Che was a 2008 epic biographical film about the Argentine Marxist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara. It was released in two parts with a total running time of nearly five hours. Thankfully for fans who want to understand exactly what Villeneuve was talking about, both films are streaming on Prime Video.
Directed by Steven Soderbergh, it featured Benicio del Toro in the titular role. Rather than follow a standard chronological order to portray the revolutionary’s life, the films offer an series of interspersed moments along the overall timeline.
One fan described the films as: ” One of the best biopics ever. It should have won Oscar.” Another added: Gorgeously shot, superbly acted, and poignantly relevant.”
Che Parts One and Two are streaming on Prime Video.