Versatile, bold, intense and artful, the charm of Ridley Scott movies goes beyond their vivid imagery and skilled camerawork. Known to be one of the best in the business, the ace director has been belting out memorable films one after another since his first recognisable work, the short film Boy and Bicycle, which came out in 1965.
Relentless and still one of the biggest names to reckon with in Hollywood, he is all set to enthral us with the sequel to his Oscar-nominated 2000 film, Gladiator. While the original movie starred Russell Crowe, Gladiator 2 will have Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal in lead roles and will reportedly be released by 22 November 2024.
This historical Roman war film is a crowning jewel in the filmography of this legendary director, and even though this genre seems to be his speciality, he has surprised his fans with an array of films covering diverse genres. These include Thelma & Louise (1991), House of Gucci (2021), The Counselor (2013) and Alien Covenant (2017), besides his smash hits Blade Runner (1982) and The Last Duel (2021).
More about Ridley Scott and his style of filmmaking
One of the former names to work on the concept of the director’s cut, Scott was instrumental in shooting multiple takes for his film Blade Runner where fans were treated to alternate theories of the same plot. He also is widely regarded for his astute cinematography and the development of magnificent backdrops against which the characters and the plot are set.
Scott is known for bringing a lot of innovation with his lighting technique, the usage of landscapes, background music and, of course, action sequences to his movies that are visual experiences.
Additionally, what stands out in his films is the portrayals of female characters. Thelma & Louise, G.I Jane (1997) and leads in Prometheus (2012) are shining examples of this.
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Here are some of the greatest Ridley Scott movies to add to your watch list
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Year of release: 1979
IMDb rating: 8.5
Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt and John Hurt
Synopsis: This sci-fi movie revolves around the crew of a commercial spaceship called Nostromo, which lands on a distant moon for a supposed rescue mission. This soon turns into a dangerous investigation, as they chance upon extraterrestrials who are out to harm them.
Awards won: Best Visual Effects for H.R. Giger, Carlo Rambaldi, Brian Johnson, Nick Allder and Dennis Ayling at the Academy Awards.
Image credit: IMDb
Year of release: 2000
IMDb ratings: 8.5
Cast: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix and Connie Nielsen
Synopsis: Maximus (Crowe) is a former Roman General who has been meted out with injustice. He is then fuelled to avenge the death of his family by the evil emperor Commodus (Pheonix).
Awards won: Best Picture and Best Actor in a Leading Role for Crowe at the Academy Awards, USA.
Image credit: IMDb
Year of release: 1982
IMDb rating: 8.1
Cast: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer and Sean Young
Synopsis: Deckard (Ford) is a blade runner who is in charge of hunting down replicants (high-functioning robots) in a dystopian futuristic Los Angeles of 2019. The robots are in search of their maker.
Awards won: Best Cinematography for Jordan Cronenweth, Best Costume Design for Charles Knode and Michael Kaplan and Best Production Design/Art Direction for Lawrence G. Paull at BAFTA Film Awards. The movie also received Oscar nominations for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Effects and Visual Effects.
Image credit: IMDb
Year of release: 2015
IMDb rating: 8
Cast: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain and Kristen Wiig
Synopsis: Astronaut Mark Watney (Damon) is stranded on Mars after his team thinks he is dead. The Martian uses his limited resources to send signals to Earth and survives the hostile conditions on the planet.
About the film: The movie was shot on the set in Budapest, and a part of it was filmed in Wadi Rum, Jordan. The place, also known as the Valley of Moon, was used to shoot external Mars terrain in the movie.
Image credit: IMDb
Year of release: 2007
IMDb rating: 7.8
Cast: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe and Chiwetel Ejiofor
Synopsis: Frank Lucas (Washington) is an American Gangster who is a drug lord supplying heroin on the streets of Harlem. Richie Roberts (Crowe), an outcast cop, is assigned with the uphill task of nabbing him.
About the film: This story is inspired by the true events from the real life of American Gangster, Lucas. He turned into a government informant after being nabbed and was later released on parole. He even received a sum of USD 300,000 from Universal Pictures as royalty. The film received two Oscar nominations and five BAFTA nods.
Image credit: IMDb
Year of release: 2001
IMDb rating: 7.7
Cast: Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor and Tom Sizemore
Synopsis: The action-packed war film set in 1993 centres around US Army Rangers who are on a mission to nab a couple of Somali warlords in Mogadishu, to bring an end to corruption and aid the depraved local population.
Awards won: Best Film Editing for Pietro Scalia, Best Sound for Michael Minkler, Myron Nettinga and Chris Munro at Academy Awards.
Image credit: IMDb
Year of release: 1991
IMDb rating: 7.5
Cast: Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis and Harvey Keitel
Synopsis: Two best friends, Thelma (Sarandon) and Louis (Davis), are running for their life after committing crimes. In an interesting cat-and-mouse game, will these two women be nabbed by the police?
Awards won: Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for Callie Khouri at the Academy Awards.
Image credit: IMDb
Year of release: 1977
IMDb rating: 7.4
Cast: Keith Carradine, Harvey Keitel and Albert Finney
Synopsis: Set in France in 1801, Lieutenant d’Hubert (Carradine) is forced to duel Lieutenant Feraud (Keitel). This intense battle continues for many years while the two fight over their misguided sense of honour.
About the film: A former advertising professional, Scott was unable to find producers to fund this feature film. Hence, he helmed the project with limited capital by commissioning the script for the movie on his own.
Image credit: IMDb
Year of release: 2021
IMDb rating: 7.4
Cast: Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Jodie Comer
Synopsis: Set in medieval France, Knight Jean de Carrouges (Damon) duels with Jacques Le Gris (Driver) after the former’s wife (Comer) accuses the latter of rape.
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Year of release: 2003
IMDb rating: 7.3
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Alison Lohman and Sam Rockwell
Synopsis: Roy (Cage) and Frank (Rockwell) are con artists who sell bogus schemes on filtration systems. While grappling with problems of their own, Roy is confronted with his teenage daughter Angela (Lohman), which complicates the matter.
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Year of release: 2005
IMDb rating: 7.2
Cast: Orlando Bloom, Eva Green and Liam Neeson
Synopsis: The Crusades of the Middle Ages is about the Balian of Ibelin (Bloom), who comes to Jerusalem amidst the religious war and depression with a haunting personal tragedy of his own. He slowly rises above the crises and emerges as a leader for his brethren.
About the film: Editor Dody Dorn took around 15 months to edit both theatrical and director’s cuts for the film. In the end, Scott went ahead with the director’s cut as the final version.
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Year of release: 2012
IMDb rating: 7
Cast: Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green and Michael Fassbender
Synopsis: Doctor Elizabeth Shaw (Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Marshall-Green) follow a trail of clues about mankind’s origins to an exomoon called LV-223 to investigate superior extraterrestrial species. However, they are face to face with the terrifying mysteries of this world, and they must negotiate with the future of humans.
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Year of Release: 2008
IMDb Rating: 7.0
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe and Mark Strong
Synopsis: Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) is a CIA agent in Jordan who is entrusted with the task of hunting down a terrorist Al-Saleem (Alon Aboutboul). He is faced with a lot of challenges, negotiating with his superiors, including Ed Hoffman (Crowe) and Jordan’s intelligence head Hani Salaam (Mark Strong).
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Year of Release: 2001
IMDb rating: 6.8
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore and Gary Oldman
Synopsis: Dr Hannibal Lector (Hopkins) is living in exile and reconnects with an FBI agent, Clarice Starling (Moore), as one of his victims is yearning for revenge.
Year of release: 2021
IMDb rating: 6.6
Cast: Lady Gaga, Adam Driver and Al Pacino
Synopsis: Inspired by true events centring around one of the most powerful fashion houses in the world, the film showcases Patrizia Reggiani (Gaga), who marries into the Gucci family and is accused of the murder of her husband Maurizio Gucci (Driver).
Image credit: IMDb
Year of release: 2017
IMDb rating: 6.4
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston and Billy Crudup
Synopsis: Deep space vessel USCSS Covenant is on a mission to explore a distant planet Origae-6. The crew is distracted to another planet which seems liveable and resembles the Earth, but there lies a threat beyond human comprehension.
About the film: The movie is a part of the Alien trilogy connecting Prometheus and Alien (1979). A fourth film as part of the franchise was reportedly being made but was shelved because Alien: Covenant supposedly under-performed.
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Year of release: 1985
IMDb rating: 6.3
Cast: Tom Cruise, Mia Sara and Tim Curry
Synopsis: The Lord of Darkness (Curry) is on a mission to kill unicorns and destroy the daylight. He is stopped by the valiant hero Jack (Cruise) whose goal is to save the world from Darkness and marry the love of his life Lili (Sara).
About the film: Cruise was disappointed with the final edit of the theatrical cut and encouraged fans to watch the director’s cut instead.
Image credit: IMDb
(Hero image credit: Aidan Monaghan – © TM &2015 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved./IMDb ; Featured image credit: IMDb)
