The Creator (2023) and Dune (2021)

The Creator (2023) and Dune (2021)

Author: Film Trace November 5, 2023 Duration: 1:05:02

In the first episode of our Future Wars cycle, we discuss the new Gareth Edwards sci-fi epic, The Creator, and Denis Villeneuve's recent attempt of adapting Dune onto film.

Our Future Wars cycle is focused on how the conflicts of tomorrow were depicted in the past. Over this 8 episode series, we will review 16 films spanning from the 1950s through today that attempted to predict how mankind might find itself at odds with the world and itself.

The first episode covers the 2020s with The Creator and Dune. Gareth Edwards gained famed after toiling away as a video editor at the BBC with Monsters, a shoestring sci-fi film. Edwards was immediately called up to the majors to helm two blockbuster budgets with Godzilla (2014) and Rogue One (2016). The results were decidedly mixed, and Gareth found himself longing for a simpler way to shoot a big movie. The Creator looks like a very well done 200 million dollar film, but it only cost 80. Technical achievements aside, the story attempts to unravel the very present day conflict of Artificial Intelligence and what role it should play in our lives.

Dune is a great counter film to The Creator as both films tackle a large scale war of tomorrow, but the approaches are diametrically opposed. The world created by Edwards feels warm, lived in, and extremely perilous. Dune, locked into the imagined worlds of Frank Herbert's book, is depicted by Denis Villeneuve as cold, spartan, and fateful. The Creator feels entrapped in the present, and Dune feels entombed by the past.


Ever find yourself falling down an internet rabbit hole after the credits roll, clicking from a film’s trivia page to the director’s biography and then to some obscure piece of production history? That’s the exact feeling Film Trace aims to capture and expand upon in audio form. This isn't just another review show. Instead, each episode is a deep, meticulously researched excavation of a single movie’s entire journey. We start with the initial spark of an idea-the script found in a drawer, the chance meeting that got it greenlit-and follow every twist and turn through casting, chaotic production, and post-production. The story continues to the film’s release, its critical and cultural reception, and what legacy it holds now. Think of it as a comprehensive, narrative-driven biography of a film, built on primary sources and genuine curiosity. The hosts at Film Trace use their collective nerd superpowers to do all that obsessive digging for you, weaving together context, history, and behind-the-scenes details into a compelling story about how art gets made. You’ll come away from each installment of this podcast not just with an opinion on a movie, but with a real understanding of its place in the wider world of TV and film. It’s for anyone who believes the story off-screen is just as fascinating as the one projected on it.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 131

Film Trace
Podcast Episodes
Sorcerer (1977) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:48
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The Crying Game (1992) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:29
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The Game (1997) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:29
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Michael Clayton (2007) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:20
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Men (2022) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:00
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The Last House on the Left (1972) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:07
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Creepshow (1982) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:55
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Dead Alive (1992) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:21
The fourth film in our Self-Aware Horror cycle is 1992's gonzo horror splatterfest Dead Alive aka Braindead Dead Alive is a shocking film for a variety of reasons, but perhaps most astonishing is that it came from the sa…
28 Days Later (2002) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:28
The third film in our Self-Aware Horror cycle is 2002's zombie renaissance 28 Days Later 28 Days Later reanimated the zombie subgenre of horror, which had been left for dead and maligned where it always had been. Yes, te…
The Cabin in the Woods (2012) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:51
The second film in our Self-Aware Horror cycle is the 2012 postmodern bonanza The Cabin in the Woods. What happens when the Post-Scream style of ironic horror goes past the event horizon? The infamous Joss Whedon teamed…