Martin Scorsese may not have been all about bombs and Barbies this summer, but he still appreciates the push “Barbenheimer” made for theatergoing.
The “Killers of the Flower Moon” director told the Hindustan Times that while he still has not seen “Barbie” or “Oppenheimer,” he found the summer event of the season with both blockbusters to be “wonderful” for the state of cinema.
“I do think that the combination of ‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘Barbie’ was something special,” Scorsese said. “It seemed to be, I hate that word, but the perfect storm. It came about at the right time. And the most important thing is that people went to watch these in a theater. And I think that’s wonderful.”
The Oscar winner continued, “The way it fit perfectly — a film with such entertainment value, purely with the bright colors — and a film with such severity and strength, and pretty much about the danger of the end to our civilization — you couldn’t have more opposite films to work together.”
He added, “It does offer some hope for a different cinema to emerge, different from what’s been happening in the last 20 years, aside from the great work being done in independent cinema. I always get upset by that, the independent films being relegated to ‘indies.’ Films that only a certain kind of people would like. Just show them on a tiny screen somewhere.”
Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” made history as the highest-grossing film directed by a female filmmaker, as well as the top film of 2023 at $1.4 billion and counting for Warner Bros. Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” has grossed $939 million worldwide so far for Universal Pictures.
Paul Thomas Anderson previously called “Barbenheimer” a “healing” moment for theatergoing audiences. “I would call this is nature’s way of healing,” Anderson said to AP News. “I don’t think there’s anyone who could disagree: seeing ‘Oppenheimer’ on film is superior in every single way. Not to mention, people are tired of asking, ‘Why would I go to a movie theater to watch TV?’ Good question…you don’t have to anymore.”
Paul Schrader similarly wrote on Facebook that “Oppenheimer” was the “best, most important film of this century.” Meanwhile, John Carpenter shared that “Barbie” went “right over my head.”
