Ridley Scott

Filmmakers

Sir Ridley Scott (November 30, 1937) is an English filmmaker who began his career in advertising where he honed his filmmaking skills by making inventive mini-films for television commercials, Scott’s work is known for its atmospheric, highly concentrated visual style. He made his feature debut with The Duellists (1977), starring Harvey Keitel and Keith Carradine as French Lieutenants dueling each other over a period of several years. His breakout film was the sci-fi horror film Alien (1979), with Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, and Yaphet Kotto.

His other best known films include the neo-noir dystopian film Blade Runner (1982), with Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young and Edward James Olmos; the road adventure film Thelma & Louise (1991), with Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Keitel, Michael Madsen, and Brad Pitt; the historical drama film Gladiator (2000), with Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel, and Richard Harris; the war film Black Hawk Down (2001), with Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Eric Bana, Tom Sizemore, William Fichtner, Sam Shepard, and Tom Hardy; and the science fiction film The Martian (2015), with Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Mackenzie Davis, Donald Glover, and Benedict Wong.

Other notable early films include Legend (1985), with Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, David Bennent, Alice Playten, Billy Barty, Cork Hubbert; Black Rain (1989), with Michael Douglas, Andy García, Ken Takakura, Kate Capshaw, and Yūsaku Matsuda; 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), Gérard Depardieu, Armand Assante, and Weaver; White Squall (1996), with Jeff Bridges; G.I. Jane (1997), with Demi Moore, Viggo Mortensen, and Anne Bancroft.

Films of the 2000s include Hannibal (2001), with Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, Ray Liotta, Frankie R. Faison, Gary Oldman, Giancarlo Giannini, and Francesca Neri; Matchstick Men (2003), with Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, and Alison Lohman; Kingdom of Heaven (2005), with Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Ghassan Massoud, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Iain Glen, Marton Csokas, Liam Neeson, Edward Norton, Michael Sheen, Velibor Topić and Alexander Siddig; A Good Year (2006), with Crowe, Marion Cotillard, Didier Bourdon, Abbie Cornish, Tom Hollander, Freddie Highmore, and Albert Finney; American Gangster (2007), with Denzel Washington, Crowe, Ted Levine, John Ortiz, Josh Brolin, Ejiofor, Norman Reedus, Ruby Dee, Lymari Nadal and Cuba Gooding Jr.; and Body of Lies (2008), Leonardo DiCaprio, Crowe, Mark Strong, and Oscar Isaac.

Later films include Robin Hood (2010), with Crowe, Cate Blanchett, William Hurt, Strong, Mark Addy, Isaac, Danny Huston, Eileen Atkins, Oscar Isaac, and Max von Sydow; Prometheus (2012), with Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, and Charlize Theron; the Counselor (2013), with Fassbender, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem and Pitt; Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014), with Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, John Turturro, Aaron Paul, Ben Mendelsohn, Weaver, and Ben Kingsley; Alien: Covenant (2017), with Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, and Demián Bichir; and All the Money in the World (2017), with Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer, Mark Wahlberg, and Romain Duris.

Films in the 2020s include The Last Duel (2021), with Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, and Ben Affleck; and House of Gucci (2021), with Lady Gaga, Driver, Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, Salma Hayek, and Al Pacino.

Scott has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Directing (for Thelma & Louise, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down). In 1995, both he and his brother Tony Scott received a BAFTA for Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema. In 2003, Scott was knighted for his “services to the British film industry.” In a 2004 BBC poll, Scott was named the tenth most influential person in British culture. In 2015, he received an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Art in London, and in 2018 received the BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement.

Each review will be linked to the title below.

(*seen originally in theaters)

(**seen rereleased in theaters)

  • The Duelists (1977)
  • Alien (1979)**
  • Blade Runner (1982)**
  • Legend (1985)
  • Someone to Watch Over Me (1987)
  • Black Rain (1989)
  • Thelma & Louise (1991)
  • 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)
  • White Squall (1996)
  • G.I. Jane (1997)
  • Gladiator (2000)
  • Hannibal (2001)
  • Black Hawk Down (2001)
  • Matchstick Men (2003)
  • Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
  • A Good Year (2006)
  • American Gangster (2007)
  • Body of Lies (2008)
  • Robin Hood (2010)*
  • Prometheus (2012)
  • The Counselor (2013)
  • Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)
  • The Martian (2015)*
  • Alien Covenant (2017)
  • All the Money in the World (2017)
  • The Journey (2019) – short
  • The Last Duel (2021)
  • House of Gucci (2021)

Other notable New Hollywood filmmakers: