#theduelists

To try to marginalize or pigeonhole the work of Ridley Scott is an exercise in futility.  The English filmmaker will be celebrating his 45th year in the business in 2022, and by that time he will have added two more films to his filmography (pending any issues with their respective releases).  By the time he’d released his tenth film, he’d already made two feminist film classics, two genre-defining science-fiction films, a gripping period piece as a debut, a fantasy film, an epic historical drama, two gritty noir thrillers and a sea-faring coming of age film.  His name is synonymous with quality film despite having released his fair share of divisive output, but if his upcoming two releases (House of Gucci and The Last Duel) are any indication based on word of mouth and trailers, his form is likely better than ever.

A Ridley Scott ranking has been highly requested over the past few months, but based on the sheer volume of films he has directed, I shied away from the task for much longer than I intended.  Deep diving into his catalog has not only allowed me a richer understanding of films like Blade Runner, Hannibal and The Martian, but it gave me the opportunity to see films like Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Matchstick Men and Prometheus for the first time in a long time, and films like G.I. Jane, Body of Lies, White Squall, Exodus : Gods and Kings and Black Hawk Down for the first time period.  For the most part, there were no surprises or shocks in the fallout of ranking these stellar films, outside of the film that unfortunately found itself in my choice for last place.  I had machinations of holding off on this list at least until House of Gucci saw the light of day, but once I got into the home stretch of the catalog, the time felt right to share the list.

Enjoy, remember that this list is simply my opinion and not an attempt to state the definitive ranking of Scott’s films, and most importantly, keep deep diving into the world of cinema!

25. Legend (1985) We may as well go ahead and get this out of the way… Legend is the film that delayed the creation of this list.  I’ve tried many times over the years to buy into this film the way that the masses and film fans close to me have, but try as I might, my heart is just never in it when I sit down for a screening.  Legend marked the end of a frustrating run of films for Scott with varying degrees of success, and in my opinion, that intangible frustration manifests itself in Legend, as if the film has aspirations for greatness but ultimately became a project that just needed to be completed once started in order to be successful.  Some of the simplistic shot-reverse shot compositions and locations that resemble sets more so than actual geography would lead me to believe that Scott’s heart wasn’t into the production, but a bit of research proved the opposite to be true, so perhaps it’s the material itself that doesn’t connect with me.  Scott had shown he can do ‘classical’ film better with The Duelists, and he proved twice to be a fantasy and science-fiction mastermind with Alien and Blade Runner, but with Legend’s release occurring years after the release of the much darker and more captivating The Dark Crystal (which I connected with heavily at a young age despite its extreme darkness), Scott’s cinematic fairy-tale felt more derivative than it did dynamic.

24. 1492 : Conquest of Paradise (1992) Let’s get the good things about this film out of the way first… in terms of capturing unique locations and making artwork out of the skill of cinematography, 1492 : Conquest of Paradise is up there with the best of Ridley Scott’s work.  The sequences on the ocean alone are breathtaking enough to validate Scott and company as masters of their craft.  The costuming is on point all around, from Queen Isabella I down to the least significant of the natives, and a quick scan of any collection of characters gives one an immediate indication of how we should see them in comparison with one another.  Sigourney Weaver, Fernando Rey, Mark Margolis, Tchéky Karyo, Fernando Guillén Cuervo and Armand Assante all give captivating performances, while Michael Wincott threatens to steal the show from all involved.  The overwhelmingly glaring issue with this film, sadly, is Christopher Columbus himself, or rather his depiction by lead actor Gérard Depardieu.  While the story itself has lofty aspirations of depicting Columbus as a fearless leader with strong convictions who is wholly aware of his faults, what we get from Depardieu is a baseless, depthless attempt that lacks emotional nuance or dramatic range, resulting in a rather flat attempt to make us care for the individual we spend the most time with on this cinematic journey.  Add to this the fact that the natives are initially shown to be what essentially boils down to humanoid Ewoks, with no improvement on how they are presented as the picture unfolds, and we are left with a very surface level presentation that almost accidentally brings up good ideas (such as Columbus mistaking the natives as taking he and his counterparts for Gods) before outright abandoning them.  It is clear as day to see what this film wanted to be, which makes it that much more painful how clearly the film failed to be these things.  

23. A Good Year (2006) Over the course of the past 20 years or so, the trope of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl has stepped into the spotlight, been deconstructed and emerged out the other side as a shallow construct.  To be fair, with the trope usually having an association with teenage and young adult romantic comedies and dramas, it is a forgivable one, as the innocence and immaturity of these ages allows room for shallow behavior, surface level observation and seemingly magical resolutions.  In order to really see the dramatic and emotional limitations of the trope, however, once must apply the story to the world of adults, and for exhibit A, I present you with Ridley Scott’s A Good Year.  One could forgive the film as a cool down of sorts from a string of big budget historical dramas, but Scott already had the somewhat successful Matchstick Man under his belt from just three years prior, which makes A Good Year that much more confounding.  As a central protagonist, there is nothing endearing about Max Skinner : he is manipulative and neglectful of his loving Uncle Henry, under-appreciative of his staff of “lab rats” that generate money for him on a daily basis, disrespectful of the vineyard he inherits from his Uncle Henry’s death and dismissive of those who care for it.  It is only when the beautiful Fanny Chenal presents herself (in the wake of nearly being killed by Max as he drove while texting, I might add) that Max finds a minimal sense of awareness.  The romantic arc the pair share has all the rise and fall of a Kansas road, and by the film’s conclusion, the only thing that has really changed for Max is his place of residence and his relationship status.  I assumed there was a reason I was not familiar with this film, and after seeing it, my assumptions were validated and laid to rest.  Ridley Scott may be a master of several genres, but based on A Good Year, the romantic comedy is not one of them.

22. The Counselor (2013) With a talent at your disposal like Michael Fassbender, one would be a fool not to maximize your interactions and opportunities with him.  In the case of Ridley Scott, the addition of Fassbender into the world of the Alien franchise (via Prometheus) was such a success that it makes sense Scott’s next film would center around a Fassbender character if possible.  Ironically, making him the titular character in The Counselor turned out to be a bit of a signal for the issues that would arise with the film : a nameless protagonist that is meant to be an antihero, but lacks the depth for the audience to care for or invest in his existence; a fast-tracked infusion of an outsider attempting to wet his beak in the criminal world without a clear indication of the stakes he faces; tons of big name actors and actresses used to attempt and give the characters within the film some associated weight, all forced to try and mine a surface level story for dramatic depths.  It’s not that there’s really anything wrong with The Counselor, it’s just that there’s not a whole lot there to examine or critique.  His earlier attempts at thrillers may have been more by the book than off book, but at least they had a dramatic verticality to them that made up for any shortcomings in the narrative path laid out... sadly, The Counselor walks its designated path, making sure not to kick up any dust along the way.  Shout out to Cameron Diaz for putting on one hell of a show though.

21. Alien : Covenant (2017) An old idiom exists about how too much of a good thing can be a detriment, and in most cases, I found this adage hard to honestly wrap my head around.  One would think that multiplying a positive would only result in an overabundance of positivity, and if the world worked on sound logic, maybe this would be the case.  Life works with its own set of mathematics, however, and because of this, we get idioms like “too much of a good thing”, and we get examples of this idiom such as Alien : Covenant.  The film was the sixth in the monumentally successful Alien franchise, and the third directed by Ridley Scott (not to mention the second of a planned prequel trilogy), but somewhere along the way between concept and critical reception, Alien : Covenant stepped too far away from what made its predecessors classics.  The idea of a beacon that draws a crew in with an alternative mission was all too familiar ground for Alien films, David went from being a genius idea to the character forced to shoulder the burden of an entire film, and the once captivating Xenomorphs (and other alien wildlife) succumbed to the allure of digital effects.  The film swings wildly between epic dramatic continuances of what was introduced in Prometheus and drawn out expositional dumps disguised as intercharacter conflicts.  The one interesting idea, that of David (and by extension, an AI) becoming God-like with the power to create life, is relegated merely to one of the aforementioned exposition dumps, or at least it feels that way as the film crosses over into the third act.  Alien : Covenant is not necessarily a bad film in its own right, but by the time it saw the light of day, it felt somewhat unnecessary, and nothing about its existence does much to sway viewers to feel otherwise.

20. Someone to Watch Over Me (1987) After soaring high on the wings of four very production-intensive movies, Someone to Watch Over Me marks the first true look at how Ridley Scott handles the standard Hollywood fare, and to the surprise of nobody, Scott takes basic material and elevates it with the assistance of Tom Berenger, Mimi Rogers and Lorraine Bracco.  Scott’s use of light, intent-heavy cinematography and flashes of color make the film look like a Michael Mann affair, though the narrative does not quite meet the gravitas of Mann’s material.  In terms of said narrative, overlaying a love triangle with a male/female dynamic similar to The Bodyguard is nothing new, but as mentioned before, the triad of leads bring enough individual character and emotional tension to amplify what’s on the page.  The location of Miss Gregory’s apartment stands as a stark centerpiece of the film, with its grandness and opulence not only separating it from the remainder of the world we find ourselves in, but doubling as functional in the standoff between Berenger’s Detective Mike Keegan and Joey Venza, the film’s antagonist (portrayed by Andreas Katsulas).  While the film can be praised for taking a non-conventional swerve at the end in terms of resolving its love triangle, it takes Someone to Watch Over Me quite a while to build up to it, which is ironic considering the somewhat standard runtime of the film.  All in all, there’s nothing wrong with Someone to Watch Over Me, but as the years went by (and even as soon as his next film), Ridley Scott would surpass the quality of work shown in Someone to Watch Over Me.

19. Hannibal (2001) In theory, nothing about Hannibal should have worked in the transition from book to script to screen.  There are certain aspects of The Silence of the Lambs, the predecessor to Hannibal, that make it the incredibly suspenseful classic that it is : the determination of up and coming FBI Special Agent Clarice Starling, the off the wall nature of Buffalo Bill and the cunning, intelligent brooding sinister nature of Hannibal Lecter create a trio of tenuous connections and dangerous encounters.  As The Silence of the Lambs wraps up, one of the most powerful aspects it has working for it is the wonder of how that world progresses after we take in the slice of life we are presented with.  The reason Hannibal is so jarring is that it not only dashes our chance at imagination, but it doubles down on what was probably already grim speculation on our part.  In Hannibal, the titular antagonist suddenly becomes an active predator setting multiple traps for those in pursuit, Buffalo Bill is replaced by a disfigured former victim of Lecter’s who is seeking brutal revenge, and Agent Starling becomes the captive, trapped under the weight of the dark phases of her career and the intrigue spawned from the reemergence of Lecter.  This multifaceted cat and mouse game should have been doomed to fail, but based on the way that Hopkins naturally steps back into his most infamous role, the way that Julianne Moore brings experience (and frustration) into her replacement role, and most importantly, the way that Gary Oldman makes Buffalo Bill look like a first level video game boss, Hannibal manages to hold attention throughout its crazy and over-embellished world.  Ridley Scott doesn’t always knock it out the park when he swings for the fences, but in the case of Hannibal, he may have hit himself a walk-off homerun that falls perfectly in line with Manhunter and The Silence of the Lambs saga.

18. Prometheus (2012) Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Prometheus, the fifth film in the Alien franchise and the second directed by Scott, is the way that it was developed and released as a sort of unspoken backdoor prequel setup for the world of Alien rather than a basic walk-up to the events of the first film.  While there are ideas (and even locations) from Alien presented in a sort of reverse echo, Prometheus has more than enough narrative gravity to stand alone from the franchise.  The presence of the Weyland Corporation has always been felt in the Alien films, but Prometheus gives us our first look into not only the base motivations of the Weyland Corporation, but a look at Peter Weyland, the man behind the corporate machine.  The introduction of David (played brilliantly by Michael Fassbender) makes the film worth seeing in its own right, with his android performance based more on Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner Replicants than on Ash, the infamous android from the first Alien film.  The philosophical and evolutionary ideas thrown around in Prometheus give viewers tons of mental stimulus to chew on, adding a bit of narrative depth to the usually straight-forward Alien ventures.  I can’t speak on the behalf of Ridley Scott in terms of his feelings about the Alien franchise and its journey, and I certainly wouldn’t want to disparage the likes of James Cameron or Joss Whedon (or their contributions to Alien as a whole), but in many ways, Prometheus feels like an attempt to redirect the overarching narrative course of the film franchise that made Scott a household name… Prometheus attempts to give a pure and clearly discernible history to a franchise that has covered plenty of cultural landscape, which in turn can ground Alien and the Xenomorphs in a way that doesn’t make their comic book, video game and Predator-hunting exploits so ridiculous in retrospect.

17. Black Hawk Down (2001) The U.S. military's 1993 raid in Mogadishu, better known to the populous as the Battle of Mogadishu, marked a dark spot on the record of the United States military in terms of attempts to establish democracy and follow the rules of engagement in order to protect the lives of American soldiers and innocents caught in the midst of battles and civil wars.  What was meant to be a support stance and an extraction mission turned into an overnight standoff that took several lives and injured scores of soldiers, and Ridley Scott does a masterful job of setting up military propaganda only to take the shine off the apple like a ripped Band-Aid.  The cast is an ensemble in the truest form, with a massive list of character actors and leading men chock-full of personality, so while the establishment of individuals is minimal and fast-tracked, the losses still hit hard because of our satellite familiarity with the men behind the characters.  Perhaps the most ironic aspect of the film is the fact that it is open to interpretation in regard to whether it is pro or anti-war, but maybe that’s poetic justice in a way, as the fog of war often makes it hard to identify good or bad in terms of black and white.  The nature of the operation and Ridley Scott’s decision to focus on the most FUBAR part of it all would lead one to consider the film anti-war, but even if you’re against the military and the ideals it reinforces, you would have to be a soulless individual to not recognize the courage, honor and valor of those willing to risk their lives in order to pull their trapped brothers out of a nightmare predicament.  Black Hawk Down is one of the truest looks at the military, warts and all, and with technology doing everything it can to change the face of war, skirmishes like the Battle of Mogadishu are a grim reminder that war will almost always find itself in an eyeball to eyeball scenario before all is said and done.

16. Matchstick Men (2003) Matchstick Men marked an interesting point in my journey towards deep film fandom.  I was less than a year out of college, and my taste for film was expanding as rapidly as my awareness of actors and directors was ballooning.  I had recently seen Alison Lohman in White Oleander, and she was amazing.  Sam Rockwell was a solid fifteen years into his career (including an early appearance in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that would retroactively blow my mind), but it was a string of appearances in The Green Mile, Galaxy Quest, Charlie’s Angels and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind that put him on my radar.  Nicolas Cage was already a star, but somewhere around Face/Off and Con Air he embraced his unpredictable and instinctual side, and by the time Matchstick Men rolled around he was finding the stride we all know and love him for today.  At 23, I had nowhere near enough life experience to truly understand how dark a comedy Matchstick Men was, but as a man starting the journey through his 40s, the weight of the irony that Roy Waller falls victim to was not lost on me.  As a man with severe OCD that triggers severe Tourette's reactions when untreated, the perfect thing to upset the balance is a teenage daughter he is forced to meet for the first time.  As a professional con artist with a fear of playing the long con, it’s only fitting that the long con he will fall victim to would be one of seismic proportions.  With such strong parallel narratives, a firm boundary is established for the trio of leads to showcase a wide range of emotional tones, not to mention a foundation for Ridley Scott to build his production mechanisms on that captures the interplay between the world of con artists, with brief interludes set to Roy’s episodes from a first person perspective.  In the hands of a regular director Matchstick Men would be a solid but forgettable coming of age meets budding awareness comedy, but Scott elevates the material, turning into a myriad of twists and turns that force us to chase the plot in order to keep up, only to be rewarded once it surrenders itself.  

15. Robin Hood (2010) As perhaps the most curious of all films in the Ridley Scott oeuvre, Robin Hood ended up being quite the experience as a first time viewing.  Anyone even remotely familiar with the longstanding tradition of the Robin Hood legend walks into any viewing of a Robin Hood tale with a built in set of expectations : a swashbuckling titular character full of outlaw charm, a greedy and corrupt Sheriff that runs roughshod over the people of Nottingham, an opportunistic King who cannot step into the sudden power vacuum fast enough, and a damsel in distress.  A major positive of the Ridley Scott Robin Hood is the fact that he chooses not to copy and paste his characters from these familiar constructs, opting instead to ground his world in a bit more of a believable reality in terms of actions and emotions.  Russell Crowe, Mark Strong, Oscar Isaac, William Hurt, Max von Sydow and Kevin Durand all give standout performances in a very large cast deep and rich with talent.  My only true “gripe” about this film, in all honesty, is the fact that they chose not to fully commit to making Marion Loxley (portrayed brilliantly in another standout performance from Cate Blanchett) the center of this narrative universe.  With Robin Hood being stripped of the theatrics and antics usually associated with him and his merry men, not to mention his surname of Loxley, the heart of the film is the story of Marion learning about the death of her husband while in the midst of taking part in a large scale ruse to draw in and defeat Godfrey and his legion, who are acting on behalf of Prince John.  While the perspective does shift between that of Robin, Marion and Prince John throughout the film, Robin is the apex of this triangle, whereas placing Marion as the perspective foundation would help us fast-track our understanding of Scott’s intentions on how we should perceive all of the previously named characters we assume to be familiar with going in.  If you have hesitations about seeing Robin Hood based on assumptions of what it will be, give it a chance, as it is one of the most captivating portrayals of the story I can remember seeing, and perhaps as far away from what my assumptions were about it as a film can be.

14. Body of Lies (2008) For all of the genre hopping that Ridley Scott has done in his extensive career, his canon is notably absent of espionage-based thrillers.  Military films, ensemble casts and action are nothing new to him, and yet outside of Body of Lies, I’d be hard-pressed to label any of his other films as spy films (pardon the use of a reductive genre signifier).  His lack of presence in this realm is a shame, because the genre really fits him.  His curiously active camerawork, penchant for color-timing his films with a dark and sinister hue and consistent exploration of the human elements his characters possess already make his films striking, and when applied to a story rife with tension due to the fog of modern warfare, it makes Body of Lies kinetic with all kinds of energy flowing back and forth between its many moving pieces.  Leonardo DiCaprio puts another notch in his belt of standout performances, and though his screen time shared with Russell Crowe is minimal, DiCaprio brings out the snide best in Crowe during their numerous back and forths.  Oscar Isaac, Mark Strong and a host of others populate the world in which DiCaprio navigates, giving him a host of different temperaments to play off of, which helps us as viewers feel the uneasiness and fleetingly tacit understanding of the situations that DiCaprio’s character shares with them.  Placing the film in Iraq and embedding its story firmly in the C.I.A.’s anti-terrorism efforts gives the film a fascinatingly shaky foundation in the form of fleeting intelligence, an ever-shifting hierarchy of power and ever-present threat of the IED or the suicide bomber.  Perhaps the biggest knock against this film is its solitary existence within the Ridley Scott filmography, as it feels like him dipping his toe into the waters of the genre and making a few waves rather than a full-style immersion.  I’d imagine that if the right espionage-based thriller came down the pipeline before Scott decides to call it a wrap, we could get a potential masterpiece out of him, if not a genre-defining effort at the least, based solely on the potential shown from Body of Lies.  

13. Exodus : Gods and Kings (2014) There seems to be a recurring theme in the films of Ridley Scott involving a sort of humanistic takedown for characters we tend to romanticize in our media.  Be they historical figures like Christopher Columbus or the Mogadishu military team, fictional characters like Robin Hood or Hannibal Lecter, or even conceptual constructs like the many cyborgs sprinkled throughout the Alien franchise, Scott loves depicting them warts and all in his attempts to harness, capture and present a true-to-life portrayal of his cinematic protagonists.  While Exodus : Gods and Kings was not well received due to supposed historical inaccuracies, the whitewashing of region-specific characters and judgement based on Scott’s stance as an atheist, I’d argue that when taken at face value, his portrayal of Moses is the closest he’s come to the bullseye in his attempt to humanize those we canonize.  Like all Ridley Scott epics, the film looks and sounds amazing, and you can definitely see the budget on the screen.  While packing the film with Western movie stars ended up being a detriment to the film due to the cultural shift that was taking place in terms of political correctness and cinematic representation, the cast is a particularly strong one, with Christian Bale’s enthralling performance supported by the likes of Joel Edgerton, John Turturro, Sigourney Weaver, Aaron Paul, Ben Mendelsohn, Ben Kingsley and many more.  The action portrayed on the screen heightens the stakes without being overzealous, the symbolic moments have impact, and the presentation of the ten plagues stands as a shockingly stark contrast to the events preceding it (while also setting up the climactic centerpiece of the film).  Biblical epics may not be for everyone, but for those secure in their faith or those not seeking a film that will preach to them, Exodus : Gods and Kings is definitely a take on Moses worth your time.

12. All the Money in the World (2017) Back in the dark ages of the DOOMonFILM blog, All the Money in the World had the opportunity to be one of the first ten films covered.  Upon revisiting my thoughts on the film, the only thing that has really changed is my approach to writing on film… like all Ridley Scott films, All the Money in the World looks like a moving work of art, the emotional tension is rooted deep in the individual character’s outlook and approach to life (and how these stances clash with one another), and most key, a narrative that is propelled forward early and holds its momentum throughout due to stellar acting and an intriguing sequence of events.  Speaking of intrigue, perhaps the most intriguing thing about All the Money in the World is how the real life emergence of the Me Too movement ironically worked out for the benefit of the film… while Kevin Spacey was likely more than willing and capable of portraying the infamously rich John Paul Getty, the sexual misconduct allegations levied against him forced his removal from the project, opening the door for a standout performance by Christopher Plummer (who was likely better suited to play the role when all was said and done).  Thriller films anchored by the ransom format are nothing new, but the story of John Paul Getty III’s kidnapping, his estranged mother willing to do whatever it takes to get him back, and most importantly, his eponymous grandfather who is more than capable of being the financial savior but unwilling to unhand even a shred of his historically large fortune enhances every part of this familiar format, which in turn brings a new approach to Ridley Scott’s never-ending quest to examine humanity down to its core.

11. The Martian (2015) Usually, the success of a film depends on the collective effort of all those in front of and behind the camera.  The director, crew, post-production staff, writers, producers and actors all share equal responsibility for whether or not the goal of a particular film is achieved, and if that vision is crystalized, everyone involved can celebrate knowing they shared an equal role in said film’s success.  On occasion, however, you run into a situation where the efforts of a single individual can be clearly recognized above and beyond that of the collective, and in my opinion, The Martian is one of these achievements.  To be fair, Ridley Scott deserves tons of credit for taking Drew Goddard’s adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel and turning it into a strong visual and auditory experience.  The ensemble cast is strong from top to bottom… Jessica Chastain, Michael Peña, Sean Bean, Kate Mara, Askel Hennie and Sebastian Stan make an entertaining and emotionally expressive crew, while Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Benedict Wong and Donald Glover all stand out as the Earthbound supporting cast.  When it comes down to it, the star of The Martian, figuratively and literally, is Matt Damon, who spends a sizable amount of the film monologuing and making the most of having so much room to work with.  Luckily for all involved (including viewers), Matt Damon is a pleasure on the big screen and is more than ready, willing and able to shoulder the dramatic burden that the role requires, and with the aforementioned extremely capable ensemble cast picking up the slack, what reads as a low key rumination on extreme isolation and the indomitable will of the human spirit plays as a spirited science-fiction drama that exceeds the bar it set for itself.

10. Black Rain (1989) When it comes to style, Black Rain has it to spare.  Despite apparently being such a traumatic production experience that it caused Ridley Scott to vow never to work in Japan again, the Osaka location gives the film a similar visual texture to Blade Runner balanced against the look of popular gritty crime thrillers of the 1970s like The French Connection, Dirty Harry or the early films of the Death Wish series.  Hans Zimmer shines in his first scoring job for a Ridley Scott film, providing enough dramatic weight and experimental texture to really capture the troubled mindset that fuels the captivating Michael Douglas performance.  Speaking of this performance, the pain, turmoil and need for personal validation that fuels the Douglas portrayal of Nick Conklin plants itself well inside the extremely literal fish out of water scenario that the narrative is built upon… Conklin immediately starts off on the wrong foot with allegations of corruption hanging around him like a dark cloud, the inciting incident is an extreme case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and after an epically fumbled extradition attempt involving a dangerous criminal attempting to topple an opposing mob boss, Conklin and his partner Charlie Vincent find themselves shackled at every turn and unable to work their case.  Ken Takakura’s performance of Detective Massahiro Matsumoto is powerful in terms of his channeled dignity, and is far from the only powerful supporting performance in this film.  Black Rain could have easily been a kitsch crime drama that came one generation to late, forever finding itself damned to being dated by heavy shades of its era, but in my estimation, the combination of Michael Douglas, Hans Zimmer and Ridley Scott standing the test of time makes this film early proof of their talents.

9. White Squall (1996) I can’t speak on behalf of Ridley Scott, but White Squall feels like a redemption film.  With the underwhelming saga 1492 : Conquest of Paradise under wraps and taking a slight beating out in the world, it felt like Scott needed a cinematic win that took place on the open water.  With White Squall, Scott dips into true story territory again, albeit a much more recent and personal one via the sinking of the brigante Albatross.  Scott dips into ensemble cast territory again, and the balance of young talent and character actors is impressive : young versions of Scott Wolf, Jeremy Sisto, Ethan Embry and Ryan Phillipe stand out in the student cast, while John Savage, Julio Oscar Mechoso and Caroline Goodall bring supporting power to Jeff Bridges’ dynamic lead ability.  The lion’s share of White Squall centers around the process of shaping naïve boys into hard-working and respectable men, and the aforementioned ensemble cast more than steps up to the challenge of endearing the audience.  By the time that the titular storm rears its ugly head, we’ve been given glimpses of the power of nature and the ocean, but nothing we’ve been primed with gives us preparation for the aquatic hell that punctuates the story.  For some reason, I seem to have an aversion to films that take place on the open water, and full disclosure, White Squall was not high on my list of anticipated Ridley Scott films.  This is a testament to the true quality of this film, however, because well before the heart-breaking third act climax hits us flush in the feels, I was already locked in to the White Squall experience.

8. Gladiator (2000) When Ridley Scott decides to go big, he puts his everything into it, and in the case of Gladiator, his maximum effort resulted in the first film to make a wide pop cultural impact in the new millennium.  As the official signal of the summer film release schedule for 2000, the film instantly inserted itself into the zeitgeist, so much so that it even took on a deep significance in my favorite TV series, The Sopranos.  Joaquin Phoenix had a healthy resume prior to Gladiator, but his role as the scheming sociopath Lord Commodus put him on the map in terms of the general movie-going public.  Russell Crowe also had years of obscure roles under his belt, and had even transitioned into the Hollywood system prior to Gladiator with appearances in films like Virtuosity and L.A. Confidential, but his portrayal of the dishonored hero to the people Maximus made him a member of the Hollywood elite… so much so, in fact, that his band Thirty Odd Foot of Grunt gained awareness from Crowe’s high profile, a feat that only the rare handful of acting musician have been able to pull off.  Like a modern day Ben Hur, Gladiator captured the imaginations of film fans and critics, dominating at the box office and placing second at year’s end (just behind Mission : Impossible 2) with nearly $200 million domestically and $500 million worldwide.  When awards season rolled around, Gladiator received its flowers while it could still smell them, garnering a number of nominations from the Oscars, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and more, and winning in 48 of its nearly 120 nominations across the board.  There isn’t much to be written or said about Gladiator that hasn’t already, and if not for my general malaise towards Russell Crowe, I’d probably be on board the Gladiator hype train with the general population.  I’m not a hater, however, so I must respect the film for the glorious achievement that it is.

7. Kingdom of Heaven (2005) Using the Crusades as a backdrop for a personal crisis of faith feels like fertile creative ground for a mind like Ridley Scott’s, so it comes as no surprise that Kingdom of Heaven is operating on a very high level in all aspects, even if it is a bit on the long side.  It’s easy to be dismissive of Orlando Bloom in this lead performance, as his stockier frame and majority internalized performance leave plenty of room for one to overlay their preferred casting on top of his subdued performance, but for the raw and direct manner in which Kingdom of Heaven lays out its narrative, Bloom’s performance works well.  He is supported and opposed by a world of talent : Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, Liam Neeson, an unrecognizable Edward Norton and a host of others create a world full of characters all over the spectrum of religious zealotry and hunger for power.  Scott returns to Morocco for his distinct Middle Eastern look, which he manages to make sinister and full of chiaroscuro despite the region’s unforgiving sun, and balances these harsh terrains against more regal locations scattered throughout Spain.  The multitude of arms and wardrobe meant to represent the dueling regions match the epic feel of both the imposing of beliefs and the grand battles that result from opposing belief systems.  The battles and weapons used look great on camera without being overly dramatic or flashy, with much of the close quarters combat looking and feeling as gruesome and intense as it likely was in real life.  Though the film does not feel quite like the same level of spectacle that Gladiator or Exodus : Gods and Kings were, this slow burn will likely win viewers over from act to act much in the same manner that it did me during my introductory viewing.

6. The Duelists (1977) At the risk of being hyperbolic, The Duelists may be one of the most impressive directorial debuts I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing.  Every aspect of this film resonates with the skill and confidence of a seasoned director, which would only serve as a sign of the greatness to come from Ridley Scott in his nearly 50 year career.  One thing that is immediately noticeable is the astounding look of the film… while not quite on the level of a Barry Lyndon, The Duelists does a stellar job turning the period narrative into a living and breathing painting with rich, saturated colors all around, soft accents of light that enhance the objects they touch, and extremely deep lenses that capture the uncultivated nature of the land.  Keith Carradine and a fiercely intense Harvey Keitel hold the audience captive as they battle one another over their personal definitions of honor.  Most importantly, per the film’s title, the duels shown are very realistic rather than stylized for the screen… they are extremely patient in the way they advance, the actual battles are relatively close quarters rather than choreographed like a dance for the camera, and the majority of them end briefly and suddenly.  The film does have touches that emulate the period it presents, but there is a modernity to the film that tosses the often hard to process dialogue and traditions of the period aside for the overall benefit.  The string-driven score also deserves to be mentioned, and providing the Napoleonic Wars as a backdrop allows characters to evolve and move around the world, though when the rubber hits the road, all centers back around to the history of duels between our protagonist and antagonist.

5. American Gangster (2007) Gangster films have been an American staple since the early days of Hollywood, but much like history or other aspects of the entertainment sphere, the Black experience is often minimalized, trivialized, and more often than not, overlooked completely.  Maybe that’s what makes American Gangster such an intriguing film… not only does the Frank Lucas story get the same treatment that Once Upon a Time in America or The Godfather got, but it gets this treatment at the hands of Ridley Scott, a director whose previous 16 films would give you no indication that he would have aspirations to tell such a niche story.  Nevertheless, the film does several key things that I am surprised a non-Black director (forgive me for how shortsighted that sounds) would be aware of : Harlem is shown in all of its historic glory as bigger than the sum of its parts; the story of Black migration in the face of post-slavery and Jim Crow America is a key element to why Frank Lucas stood out in Harlem; and, perhaps most importantly, Frank Lucas, not to mention the majority of his peers and counterparts, are shown as wise, calculated and shrewd businessmen willing to do dirty work, rather than the animalistic thugs that Black gangsters are often portrayed as.  The cast of American Gangster reads like a who’s who of the early 2000s acting and musical spectrum, which is fitting considering the level of names the people were portraying for their reality-based cinematic counterparts.  As glamorous and well-made a movie as American Gangster is, the film is not afraid of going eyeball to eyeball with the grim and brutal reality of the organized crime game, and it is this dynamism that made this film an instant classic, not to mention one of the best in the Ridley Scott oeuvre.  

4. G.I. Jane (1997) It was pretty much impossible to be alive and cognizant in the late 1990s and not be aware of the phenomenon that was G.I. Jane.  Maybe it was the defiant teenager in me, but with all the hype surrounding the film at the time of its release (not to mention the whirlwind of tabloids that was the marriage between Demi Moore and Bruce Willis), I skipped it at the time and never did find my way back around to checking it out.  Much like Gus Van Sant’s To Die For (which got a similar treatment from me), I’m realizing that I cheated myself out of a classic film.  Ridley Scott takes the construct of David versus Goliath and not only makes it more universally relevant by substituting a woman in the David role (which, whether we like it or not, immediately forces us to examine our ideas on gender roles and norms), but Goliath comes in several forms : the patriarchy, the United States military, an overzealous Master Chief and a wishy washy politician are all hurdles that Lieutenant Jordan O'Neil must overcome, not to mention the grueling process that is Navy SEAL training.  Ridley Scott is no stranger to visceral and vivid production, and everything about this film rocks you with weight of Lieutenant O’Neil’s journey, be it the cold look of the film, the intense sound design, or the brutally in-your-face cinematography.  The soundtrack on this film also has no business being as good as it is, with a couple of my personal favorite music cues involving songs from The Pretenders and Bikini Kill.  Perhaps the most important outcome from this film was the performance from Demi Moore herself… at the time, I remember G.I. Jane receiving some harsh criticism, with many people pointing out Moore’s performance in particular.  With so many years removed from its release, not to mention the benefit of a fresh perspective from a first viewing, I must recognize G.I. Jane for the forward-thinking accomplishment it is.

3. Thelma & Louise (1991) Ridley Scott already had at least two classics under his belt (three, considering your thoughts on Legend) by the time he directed Thelma & Louise, so nobody was doubting his ability to make compelling and stark cinematic visions.  What Thelma & Louise did mark, however, was Scott’s ability to make a classic outside of the science-fiction realm.  Thelma & Louise is many things all effortlessly wrapped up into one : it’s a buddy-based roadtrip picture, an outlaw film, a very dark comedy, and most importantly, it is a symbolic analogy on how much turmoil litters the path that women must travel through life, and how quickly someone else’s bad decision can change a woman’s life for the worst.  Geena Davis was America’s sweetheart at the time this film came out, and Susan Sarandon was entering the third decade of what had already been a relatively successful career, but Thelma & Louise made both women instant icons, not to mention the last pair of co-leads in a film to both be nominated for Best Actor or Actress awards at the Oscars.  The film also won for Best Original Screenplay, it became an instant benchmark in the feminist film movement, and 25 years after its initial release, it was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress for its cultural, historical and aesthetic significance.  Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen and Christopher McDonald all had standout supporting roles, and Brad Pitt’s brief but memorable appearance marked his shift from featured extra to eventual leading man.  Words truly do not do a film like Thelma & Louise justice, despite the fact that it is very easy to gush over this absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking film… perhaps one of the few films that ends on a tragic note that still manages to instill optimism in viewers.

2. Alien (1979) With an impressive debut film under his belt, it seems that Ridley Scott’s career trajectory could have carried him in any direction.  His name clearly held weight in the industry at that point, with his promise being evident to all, and in the wake of the monumental success that was Star Wars (which came out the same year as The Duelists), Fox’s hold on the Alien property suddenly shifted from a low speculation project to a promising science-fiction property.  Scott accepted the offer to direct the film, and as they say, the rest was history… Scott’s keen eye and penchant for style met with the creature design of H.R. Giger, incredible set design and a script reminiscent of The Thing that was being pitched as “Jaws in space”.  A cast of strong character actors was assembled, composed of Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto, but the true cherry on top was the breakout star-making performance of Sigourney Weaver.  While the premise of the film is relatively surface, the mixture of science-fiction, horror and psychological thriller aspects makes for a compelling journey full of unexpected twists and turns, with the most famous of all being the instantly iconic chest-bursting Xenomorph scene.  I highly doubt that when Ridley Scott wrapped on Alien he would have expected it to receive the instant accolades that it did, so it probably would have been impossible to fathom at the time that the film would go on to be a cult classic recognized by critical media and scholars at the highest level, not to mention the cornerstone of a franchise that found success in the realm of print and video games, as well as an equally iconic peer in the Predator.  While Alien wouldn’t be the last journey into the world of classic films for Ridley Scott, it’s arguable that it marked the most important step of his then budding career, fast-tracking him into the fraternity of Hollywood big hitters less than five years into his professional career.