Known for his staggering visuals, nuanced and complex stories, and emotionally powerful films, Denis Villeneuve has become one of the biggest names in Hollywood and one of the defining directors of the modern age. Across a career that spans back to the late 1990s, Villeneuve has established his excellence through genre films—namely science-fiction epics—and with his ability to generate captivating psychological thrills.
It stands to reason that many of Villeneuve's best films are endlessly rewatchable gems of modern cinema, compelling with their high-minded and thematically intricate stories yet presenting an immersive and, usually, quite beautiful display as well. However, some of his greatest achievements are harrowing pictures that audiences watch once and never again. As such, Villeneuve's most rewatchable efforts differ somewhat from his overall greatest movies but still highlight the might of all that he has achieved in his career thus far.
11 'Polytechnique' (2009)
Cast: Maxim Gaudette, Karine Vanasse, Sébastien Huberdeau
The third feature film from Villeneuve, Polytechnique isn’t his least rewatchable film because it’s bad, but rather because it is brutal, deeply disturbing, and upsetting. Based on the Montreal Massacre of 1989, Polytechnique focuses on the mass shooting incident at Polytechnique Montréal, an engineering school. The gunman, an unstable misogynist, orders the men to leave before murdering 14 women studying at the institution.
Villeneuve’s depiction of the horrific event turns the emotional trauma that the survivors experienced into striking yet respectful art, recreating the shooting in a manner that is authentic yet powerfully evocative. Hard-hitting and heavy, Polytechnique displays Villeneuve’s ability to create striking imagery at its most pointed and poignant. Its standing as Villeneuve’s least rewatchable film is a testament to its impact more so than an indictment of its quality.
Polytechnique
Not RatedCrimeDramaHistory- Release Date
- February 6, 2009
- Cast
- Maxim Gaudette , Sébastien Huberdeau , Karine Vanasse , Evelyne Brochu , Martin Watier , Johanne-Marie Tremblay , Natalie Hamel-Roy , Pierre-Yves Cardinal , Pierre Leblanc
- Runtime
- 77 minutes
10 'August 32nd on Earth' (1998)
Cast: Pascale Bussières, Alexis Martin, Joannne Côté
August 32nd on Earth marks Denis Villeneuve’s feature film debut, and while it has some lulls and pitfalls, it makes for an intriguing watch in retrospect, given how far the filmmaker’s career has come. The complex romantic thriller follows a photo model who, after surviving a car accident, convinces her best friend to impregnate her. While he is reluctant as he is in a relationship, he eventually agrees on the condition that she conceives in the desert.
While no one would deny that Villeneuve would go on to make far greater films, August 32nd on Earth still has some intriguing moments embedded within its sparse narrative. However, the premise struggles to fill its 88-minute runtime without succumbing to minor lulls, and it probably stands as Villeneuve’s weakest film to date. Still, it's a worthwhile viewing experience as an underrated movie from a modern master of film direction.
9 'Incendies' (2010)
Cast: Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Lubna Azabal, Maxim Gaudette
Much like Polytechnique, Incendies is a truly brilliant film that is difficult to revisit as it is a brutal viewing experience. It follows two French-Canadian twins who, to honor their Middle Eastern mother’s dying wish, try to give two letters to a father they thought was dead and a brother they never knew existed. As they travel to their mother’s home to carry out their duty, they learn of her past amid a violent and turbulent time.
A viewing experience defined by its atmospheric grasp and its moments of devastating power, Incendies guides viewers through a winding and often unpleasant story rife with haunting revelations and eruptions of violence. It was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars and has come to be viewed as a classic of modern international cinema. However, it is a film that most people can only watch once, not only for its emotional violence but for its now-infamous and gut-wrenching twist.
Incendies
RDramaMysteryWar- Release Date
- January 12, 2011
- Cast
- Lubna Azabal , Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin , Maxim Gaudette , Rémy Girard , Abdelghafour Elaaziz , Allen Altman
- Runtime
- 131 Minutes
- Writers
- Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne , Wajdi Mouawad , Denis Villeneuve
8 'Maelström' (2000)
Cast: Marie-Josée Croze, Jean-Nicolas Verreault, Stephanie Morgenstern
An intriguing follow-up to his feature debut, Maelström sees Villeneuve engage with the psychological thrills that would define much of his career with conviction and great impact. It follows a fashion model who, after having an abortion, begins questioning her life, leading her to make reckless decisions that see her kill a pedestrian in a hit-and-run incident. Wracked with guilt, she attends the man’s funeral, where she meets his son and the two fall in love, though she is afraid to share her dark secret.
One of the film’s greatest strengths is its embracing of its absurdist story, with Villeneuve allowing it to be bleakly engrossing at times and genuinely funny at other points. Maelström’s erratic and volatile nature gives it an allure that can be fun and rewarding to revisit, but its graphic depiction of several key plot elements also makes it incredibly distressing.
7 'Enemy' (2013)
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mélanie Laurent, Sarah Gadon
2013 was a monumental year in the context of Denis Villeneuve’s career, with the filmmaker releasing two movies that have become critical hits among movie lovers. The second was Enemy, a psychological thriller that follows a college professor who grows obsessed with finding an extra in a film that looks exactly like him. However, when they finally meet, both men find the encounter having a drastic effect on their lives.
Jake Gyllenhaal occupies the two major roles with an arresting power complemented by the film’s morbid elegance and riveting knack for conjuring heart-pounding thrills. While the doppelgänger trope has been done before, Enemy gives it an urgent and sinister undertone that makes for a refreshing movie. Its refusal to come to easy conclusions may make it inaccessible to some, but Enemy's enigmatic allure can be enjoyable to explore in more depth upon rewatches.
Enemy
RMysteryDramaThriller- Release Date
- February 6, 2014
- Cast
- Jake Gyllenhaal , Mélanie Laurent , Sarah Gadon , Isabella Rossellini , Joshua Peace , Tim Post , Kedar Brown , Darryl Dinn
- Runtime
- 91 Minutes
- Writers
- José Saramago , Javier Gullón
6 'Prisoners' (2013)
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano
The first of Villeneuve's 2013 movies saw him enjoy something of an American breakout. Prisoners utilizes a star-studded cast and an enthralling central mystery to be one of the best and most underrated crime thrillers of the 21st century. It tracks the police investigation into the abduction of two girls. When the detective on the case fails to get immediate results, one of the girls’ parents takes drastic measures to get answers.
The entire movie is laced with a palpable sense of dread that feeds the tension and the urgency of the story’s progression. Further bolstered by impressive performances from Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, Prisoners excels as a dark character study focusing on deeply flawed figures thrust into a desperate situation. It has a lingering effect on audiences, and impressively, it remains just as absorbing when revisited.
Prisoners
RCrimeDramaThriller- Release Date
- September 18, 2013
- Cast
- Hugh Jackman , Jake Gyllenhaal , Viola Davis , Maria Bello , Terrence Howard , Melissa Leo
- Runtime
- 153
- Writers
- Aaron Guzikowski
5 'Sicario' (2015)
Cast: Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin
If Prisoners and Enemy introduced Villeneuve to many moviegoers, then Sicario was the film that cemented him as a Hollywood director whose releases demanded attention. A pulsating crime-thriller, it follows an idealistic FBI agent as she is recruited to a mysterious unit working on both sides of the U.S. border to combat the drug trade. While working with the task force, she finds her beliefs being challenged as she faces the harsh reality of the war on drugs.
Hinging on the back of a brilliant lead performance from Emily Blunt and further supported by scene-stealing turns from Benicio Del Toro, and Josh Brolin, Sicario has become a cult classic thriller of the modern day. Taut, tight, and marvelously clean with its execution, Sicario excels as a riveting film with some breathtaking set pieces. Moreover, it can also be reviewed as a brilliant sign of what was to come from Villeneuve with its incredible scope and visual display.
Sicario
RActionCrimeDramaThriller- Release Date
- October 2, 2015
- Cast
- Emily Blunt , Benicio Del Toro , Josh Brolin , Victor Garber , Jon Bernthal , Daniel Kaluuya
- Runtime
- 121 Minutes
- Writers
- Taylor Sheridan
4 'Dune' (2021)
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac
Dune may yet come to be viewed as the greatest achievement of Denis Villeneuve’s career. Bringing Frank Herbert’s intricate and unwieldy sci-fi epic to the screen in a manner that honored its source material while still presenting a vibrant and engaging story was long regarded to be an impossible task. However, with an incredible cast, an intelligent screenplay, and some of the greatest visuals in cinematic history, Villeneuve’s adaptation made for one of the major movie events of the century.
The film follows Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), a young man with a powerful gift that he must train as his family is tasked with overseeing the extraction of an invaluable resource from the barren desert planet, Arrakis. A sensational stand-alone movie, while being a perfect platform for an extended cinematic saga as well, Dune is one of the biggest and best sci-fi films ever made. Its scope can only be matched by its enthralling pace, showing Villeneuve as a master of his craft. Those looking for a definitive conclusion might not want to revisit Dune often, though, preferring instead to rewatch its equally stunning sequel.
Dune
PG-13 Sci-FiAdventure- Release Date
- October 22, 2021
- Cast
- Rebecca Ferguson , Zendaya Coleman , Jason Momoa , Timothee Chalamet , Josh Brolin , David Dastmalchian
- Runtime
- 155 Minutes
- Writers
- Frank Herbert , Eric Roth , Denis Villeneuve , Jon Spaihts
3 'Arrival' (2016)
Cast: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker
The film that saw Denis Villeneuve net his first Best Director nomination at the Oscars, Arrival is an awe-inspiring sci-fi epic with a pointed and emotional story at its core. It transpires as twelve alien ships land on Earth, with linguistics expert Louise Banks (Amy Adams) enlisted by the U.S. government to form a basis of communication with the extra-terrestrials and learn their language. Her assignment grows more urgent when world leaders grow distrustful of the aliens and threaten military action.
Arrival flaunts the same awe-inspiring sense of spectacle that gave Villeneuve’s Dune movies an arresting grandiosity. Additionally, Arrival also boasts a contemplative story rich with heady themes and a bitterly poignant yet hopeful twist. The characteristically superb Adams is at her utter best here, giving the performance of her career and adding a strong and engaging emotional core. Complex, twisting, and highly rewarding, Arrival demands multiple viewings to be properly appreciated.
Arrival
PG-13 Sci-FiDramaMysteryThriller- Release Date
- November 11, 2016
- Cast
- Amy Adams , Jeremy Renner , Forest Whitaker , Michael Stuhlbarg , Mark O'Brien , Tzi Ma
- Runtime
- 116 minutes
- Writers
- Eric Heisserer , Ted Chiang
2 'Dune: Part Two' (2024)
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson
A monumental achievement that has won over fans and critics alike, Dune: Part Two sees Villeneuve continue the story in a manner that is just as visually sublime and offers an even more weighty story than its predecessor. Following the attack of House Atreides, Paul and Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) are taken in by the Fremen while plotting to avenge their family. Meanwhile, the extraction of spice reverts to House Harkonnen, who sends an ambitious and ruthless warrior to combat the issues they face.
While the plot progression, at times, feels a bit hurried, Dune: Part Two elegantly overcomes its pitfalls with its enormous sense of scale, mighty visual magnificence, and a host of thrilling performances from its ensemble cast. Dune: Part Two's complex arc, which sees Paul develop into something of a manipulative, warmongering villain, gives its narrative an ambitious grandiosity to match its visual spectacle. The result is an awe-inspiring and nuanced picture that offers plenty when viewed again.
Dune: Part Two
PG-13 Sci-FiDramaActionAdventure- Release Date
- March 1, 2024
- Cast
- Timothee Chalamet , Stellan Skarsgård , Florence Pugh , Zendaya , Rebecca Ferguson , Javier Bardem
- Runtime
- 166 minutes
- Writers
- Frank Herbert , Jon Spaihts , Denis Villeneuve
1 'Blade Runner 2049' (2017)
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas
With a dazzling aesthetic and an engrossing mystery to boot, Blade Runner 2049 has overcome a disappointing box office performance to be revered as an underrated modern cult classic. Ryan Gosling stars as K, an android police officer for the LAPD who unearths a secret related to the androids’ ability to procreate. His investigation to find the truth leads him to an old blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.
Blade Runner 2049 is an atmospheric, moody masterpiece of cyberpunk visuals and tone. It lets the story gradually unfold, feeding into its all-consuming aura that washes over viewers. Blade Runner 2049 honors the original Blade Runnerwhile expanding upon it to thrive as an enigmatic yet captivating think-piece meditating on lofty themes of humanity and identity. Interestingly, Villeneuve himself has expressed regret over the project, saying, “I don’t think I will ever approach someone else’s universe again” in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Funnily enough, many film lovers consider Blade Runner 2049 to be one of the most rewatchable movies of all time, thanks to its wealth of thematic content and meaning.
Blade Runner 2049
R Sci-FiActionDramaMystery- Release Date
- October 6, 2017
- Cast
- Ryan Gosling , Ana De Armas , Dave Bautista , Harrison Ford , Robin Wright , Sylvia Hoeks
- Runtime
- 164 minutes
