In a new interview, director Martin Scorsese speaks positively about the summer box office hits “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” (release: July 20, 2023). The 80-year-old believes that “Barbenheimer,” as the films are commonly called because of their common release date, would have saved the cinema.
“The two films created the perfect storm for cinema”
Scorsese recently said that cinema “needs to be saved from comic book films.” In an interview with “Hindustan Times” he now says that “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” have, in his opinion, “triggered the perfect storm”. Specifically, he says: “It came at the right time. And the most important thing is that people saw these films in the cinema. And I think that’s wonderful.”
Two films that give hope for new cinema?
Scorsese himself hasn’t seen the films yet, but he generally loves Christopher Nolan’s work, as he continues to say in the interview. Even without having seen “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” the filmmaker could express his professional opinion:
“A film [Barbie] with such entertainment value, pure, with the bright colors – and a film with such gravity and strength [Oppenheimer]which is fundamentally about the danger of the end of our civilization… you couldn’t have more contrasting films working together.” This would offer some hope: “That a different cinema could emerge, different from what has been happening in the last 20 years is, apart from the great work being done in independent cinema.”
More about Martin Scorsese
Scorsese’s new film will be in theaters on October 19, 2023. “Killers of the Flower Moon” is the true-crime story of the murders of members of the Osage Indian tribe in Oklahoma after they discovered oil on their land.
The 80-year-old director wrote about it on Instagram: “Killers of the Flower Moon was a film that I had to make, a story that I had to tell. The Osage Reign of Terror is a true American tragedy, and the fact that the story was not widely known prior to the publication of David Grann’s book has only heightened the sense of betrayal, neglect and distrust in the Osage community. Without the cooperation and trust of the Osage community, I would never have considered this film. They welcomed us to Oklahoma and we began a remarkable collaboration that continues to this day. I wanted to make an image that belongs to all of us by working together. I hope I succeeded.”