Favorite Ridley Scott Film

[Dilmo]

To me, Ridley Scott is one of todays best directors. His visual style is as compelling as the story he's telling. Please vote for your favorite, and if you have the time, explain why. I can't wait to see Kingdom Of Heaven. Thank you.

My pick is Alien. I had never seen anything like this film before. It scared the hell out of me in 1979. It set a benchmark for sci-fi/horror films to come, with many impersonators. A real classic.

*Not available on dvd.

[Surf Monkey]

For me it's a real toss between Alien and Blade Runner. I went with Alien because it has a much more coherent plot. Scott's films have gotten worse and worse over the years IMO.

[WraithGTS]

Wow . . . decisions decisions . . . tough choice.

I think I am going to have to go with Blade Runner. I feel this film stands out due to its longevity. You take just about any Sci-Fi from that time period, and the majority of them fail to stand the test of time. Most Sci-Fi from the 80's is laughable from a special effects stand point, from a technology stand point, etc . . .

Blade Runner on the contrary withstood the test of time in those departments. So . . . it gets my vote . . .

Peace

[Notoriousaurus]

Blade Runner = Best Movie Evar! (next to Cherry 2000.)

[I 8 Piglet]

For me its really close between Black Hawk Down and Gladiator. I went with Gladiator just because that one gets more screen time. Although I have yet to see Bladerunner.

[Keith]

Alien is my choice. Incredible movie from the 1st frame until the credits roll.

[Welles and Ford Fan]

I had to go with his debut film: The Duellists.
I'm a nut about the Napoleonic Wars anyway, but this one rivals Barry Lyndon for visual splendor.

To me, much of Scott's best period pieces (past or future) involve a realistic recreation of the world his story is set in. His 19th Century Napoleonic France is wonderfully recreated. In his commentary on the superb SE DVD he explains just how economically he achieved it.

[Bananaslug79]

I haven't seen all of Scott's "classics," but the ones I have I don't think do him justice. While Alien and Bladerunner have their merits as great films for their genre, I think Ridley is one of those directors that just gets better with age. For this reason I voted for Gladiator just for its polish as a superbly put together film, but Black Hawk Down comes pretty damn close. It was a very underrated film at the time.

[raptors661]

its a tough choice between alien and black hawk down because they are both damn good movies, but i chose alien because i saw that one first

[MrMike]

I voted for Gladiator. It was a really tough choice between Gladiator and Alien. I just have more favoritism towards epic movies, so that was the deciding factor. It's been a long time since I've seen Blade Runner. I wasn't too thrilled with movie when I saw, but my tastes have changed and matured. I think, now, I would love it. I guess I'll have watched it again soon and see if my vote changes.

[Monterey Jack]

R. Scott movies I've seen, ranked best to worst:

1.) Alien: A+

2.) Black Hawk Down: A-

3.) Matchstick Men: A-

4.) Thelma & Louise: A-

5.) The Duellists: B+

6.) White Squall: B+

7.) G.I. Jane: B

8.) Gladiator: B-

9.) Hannibal: C-

10.) Legend: D-

Blade Runner is a movie I only saw once about 12 years ago (on a pan & scan TV broadcast ), so I don't really remember much of it. I've been holding out for an SE DVD release, but it looks like that's going to be held up forever. I'm looking forward to Kingdom Of Heaven.

[Indyphantom]

easy one...Alien.

[John Yaya]

It's a tie for me....

Alien & Blade Runner .... two films that are still every bit amazing to watch since the first time I saw them

other Ridley Scott favorites..
Gladiator
Black Rain
Black Hawk Down
Legend
Thelma & Louise
Hannibal

quite looking forward to Kingdom Of Heaven too

[aedavela]

Alien wins by a hair over Black Hawk Down.

[furthest1]

I picked Blade Runner. I love that movie. I had to study it for a postmodernism class in undergrad and it's crazy how much there is to unpack in that one movie.

[Lex M]

Black Rain is fucking AWESOME.

[MrMike]

Originally Posted by Lex M

Black Rain is fucking AWESOME.

I had a feeling you would choose that.

[Surf Monkey]

Looks like consensus. Alien is his best film according to the 'File with Blade Runner in second place. How anyone can think that Gladiator or Black Hawk Down come anywhere near those two is beyond me. In my opinion both of those movies are incredibly run of the mill and lacking in any real merit, entertainment or artistry wise.

It must be a drag to have your second and third films in a very long career be the most highly regarded. Clearly Scott suffers from the wonderkind effect. He showed amazing potential and then failed to live up to it as his career progressed.

Oh, calm down. It's just my opinion.

[MrMike]

OK, who picked G.I. Jane?

[SeanL]

Well, I gladly picked Black Hawk Down. Scott has many good films, but I had to go with BHD. The movie is well made, but the content is what does it for me...hits close to home.

[Surf Monkey]

Originally Posted by SeanL

Well, I gladly picked Black Hawk Down. Scott has many good films, but I had to go with BHD. The movie is well made, but the content is what does it for me...hits close to home.

I agree that the content is great but isn't the Frontline special (that comes with the disc actually) on the topic much better? I sure thought it was. I mean, stripped of the Hollywood jingoism (and granted, Scott didn't inject much but it is there) the story carries a whole lot more weight. I'm a lot more interested in hearing the stories and seeing the faces of the men who lived through it than I am in seeing Ewan McGregor pretend he has balls.

[Lex M]

Surf, you kinda make it sound like he's on par with Walter Hill, Tobe Hooper, John McTiernan, or John Landis -- guys who totally blew their wad in their first four or five movies (on in Hooper's case, one) and then did C-list hack jobs from then out. Ridley's still considered a world-class filmmaker; Hell, you could argue Spielberg never topped JAWS or CE3K or RAIDERS or ET, but do you write off everything since? It's not like Ridley's fallen on hard times or wanting for A-list material; I'd hardly say directing LEGEND or BLACK RAIN or THELMA AND LOUISE or BLACK HAWK DOWN or MATCHSTICK MEN equates to "never living up to your promise." Those are some pretty major pieces of work.

[Surf Monkey]

Originally Posted by Lex M

Surf, you kinda make it sound like he's on par with Walter Hill, Tobe Hooper, John McTiernan, or John Landis -- guys who totally blew their wad in their first four or five movies (on in Hooper's case, one) and then did C-list hack jobs from then out.

No, I'm not going that far. I think of him more in the Orson Welles genre. Wells had some great films after Kane but never got back to the potential that film showed. Sure, he was making films that surpassed the quality of most of what was around at that time but he never made another Kane. He never came close. Scott seems similar to me, with Thelma and Louise being like his Lady from Shanghai etc.

[kakoi_sugoi_yama]

I had to go with Alien.

[DoubleDeuce]

Originally Posted by MrMike

OK, who picked G.I. Jane?

I think Ashton just punk'd this thread.

[Cool Hand]

I also choose Black Rain. Not because the others aren't good...but there is some styling uniquely different in this film

SO GET US A DECENT DVD ALREADY!!!

[Istagi]

I think Gladiator is a fine movie, certainly not as good as Alien or Bladerunner, as with others I had a hard time choosing and finaly settled on Alien.

I can find no real faults with Gladiator but I can find no real shining moments or challenges. Even a "bad" Riddley Scott film is still quite watchable and hardly falls into the "bad film" camp.

[Riddick]

I am the Ridley Scott expert and know more about his films then all you peckerheads combined :p

1. Alien, one of the greatest films ever made a frigg'n Masterpiece that no one can argue with unless they are a complete asshole or under the influnce of some mind altering substance.

2. Black Hawk Down, his 2nd best, and the best combat film ever made

3. Thelma & Louise a beautiful and heart warming film about true love and freindship a simple story that smoothly shows you how easily things can spin out of control.

4. Blade Runner a real different way of looking at sci-fi and a great story ta-boot, sci-fi film noir

5. Gadiator the epic that started the epic craze that Hollywood is currently in, they will never catch it no matter how hard they try.

6. Matchstick Men good tight little genre film

7. Hannibal, Legend, and Black Rain are as good if not better than any other middle of the road films of anyones career

The Duelests and Kingdom of Heavan I have not seen

I know you will all say shit about my comments but my top 5 Scott films I'de put up against any other Directors top 5. . . ok maybe just the top 3






Ya know what make it his top 5, this guy Scott is a visual genius and makes the best looking pictures

[BADBRAD]

BLACK HAWK DOWN hands down!

[Dilmo]

Riddick, I've been waiting for you to find your way in here. Don't solely claim that expert position so fast.

[reapersaurus]

Originally Posted by Surf Monkey

Looks like consensus. Alien is his best film according to the 'File with Blade Runner in second place. How anyone can think that Gladiator or Black Hawk Down come anywhere near those two is beyond me. In my opinion both of those movies are incredibly run of the mill and lacking in any real merit, entertainment or artistry wise.

*rolls up sleeves to get dirty*

OK.
I'm sick of this hegemony on Alien and against Gladiator.

I think Alien is an overrated movie.
Yes, I was old enough when it came out - I'm not a young'un dissing something with no benefit of context or knowledge of the era of when it came out.
Yes, it was an incredibly influential monster movie.
However, the true star of the movie, and the person most responsible for Alien's lasting impact, is H.R. Giger, and his enduringly creepy organic/sexual/techno designs, not the director.

The director is responsible for projecting menace and drama into the film.
And face it - Alien is a BORING FUCKING MOVIE.
I have watched it multiple times through the decades trying to see what I'm missing and guess what?
It's still fucking boring.
The scenes trudge by, with such slow pacing and movement that even for a 1980 film, it is impossible to sustain any ongoing dread or alarm since the entire second half of the film is one long "ooh! what's that just off-screen that's going to kill stupid crewman "X"?"

Alien WAS influential, but unfortunately it spawned the wrong genre of film - the boring, time-wasting low-budget sci-fi barely-seen-monster movie that takes too long to do what everyone knows it's going to do: kill everyone else and leave 1 survivor.

Now BLADERUNNER : THAT's an influential movie.
Possibly the most significant sci-fi film since and including Metropolis. This thing gave birth to EVERY single cyber-whatever that's ever been made. It fucking predates Neuromancer, for chrissakes.

But the poll didn't ask me which Riley Scott movie was his best.
It asked me which film was MY favorite.

And that, after some thinking, was Gladiator.
As has been mentioned, Gladiator re-invigorated the sandal epic and popularized the hyper-frame action scenes that are all over now.
But more than that, the story just speaks more to me personally than the others. I like the revenge heroic tale, and the music consistently hits me like a ton of bricks with the losses Maximus endured.

Go ahead - point out its flaws I dare you - I have heard SO many off-the-cuff statements thru the years about how it "sucks" but VERY seldom have I heard one substatantive claim suggesting so.

[raptors661]

Originally Posted by Riddick

2. Black Hawk Down, his 2nd best, and the best combat film ever made

I agree big time(Saving Private Ryan really close behind)Great movie, spectacular 3 disc dvd

[Surf Monkey]

Originally Posted by reapersaurus

Alien's lasting impact, is H.R. Giger, and his enduringly creepy organic/sexual/techno designs, not the director.

It's hard to argue with that. See following...

Originally Posted by reapersaurus

The director is responsible for projecting menace and drama into the film.
And face it - Alien is a BORING FUCKING MOVIE.

I can see why you'd say that. From my perspective though, the contemplative pace of the first quarter of the film is what makes it genius. There hadn't been a sci-fi film like that until Alien came out. Sure, there was 2001 but it's a slow burn from first to last. The thing about Alien's slow pace (for me) is that it pays off when we first see the "pilot" alien set. Without the slow pace leading up to it the pilot wouldn't have carried nearly the impact it did. Giger's set for that scene is unquestionably one of the most amazing sets ever shot in Hollywood. You know that Alien means business when you see that set. And from that point forward the pace gets faster and faster until it goes nuclear at the end. Compared to contemporary films it's moderate by the close but at the time it seemed frantic.

That being said, I respect your criticism. No two people are ever going to perceive any film in exactly the same way.

[NotaNumber]

I voted for other. It's a hard choice between Alien and Blade Runner, especially after having seen the preview cut of Blade Runner which even with the rough edges is still I feel the best version. Too bad it's not available, nor is a new cut of this film.

[Riddick]

What the fuck are all you douche knockers :p talking about? not every movie has to be paced like a mtv video. sometimes slower is better - just ask any woman.

I never said Gladiator wasn't a great movie, its just not his best.

As far as Black Hawk Down goes, it is the quintessential combat film. although I have never been in combat, I have had extensive conversations with those who have, and they have assured me of the reality that was depicted in that film.

Ridley Scott is an amazing director, with a great vision. His visual style alone is better than pretty much any other director out there. The feeling he generates from watching his films is the director's job. He gets you to experience certain emotions just by viewing film. And he does it in a enjoyable and unique way. I also like Blade Runner and the visuals in that movie are incredible, unfortunately the movie's history is a mess and may not ever see the light of day.(litigation and all)

I realize that I cannot claim to be the ultimate expert on Mr. Scott's films because I have not seen all of them. But. I know a damn good movie when I see one. And the top 5 on my list are damn good films. And 2 or 3 of them could even be considered masterpieces. I have watched Thelma and Louise at least a dozen times. Nobody photographs actors or actresses that well. I don't know what he did to the film, but at the end of the picture Gena Davis and Susan Sarandon have never looked so good in their entire lives. (That's what a director does.)

Back in '79, no one had ever experienced anything like Alien. The surprises kept coming and the tension just slowly ramped up to a fever pitch that has not been surpassed to this day. But since I'm an old bastard compared to you young snots :p I get to bull my way through this arguement and have my way. (respect your elders)

Now I'm not really serious with my attitude towards my fellow filers it was done with my tounge firmly placed in cheek, who's cheek is another matter but you can be sure she is quite the head turner

In my humble opinion Mr. Ridley Scott is the finest Director working. Has he had a few bombs sure he has, nobody is perfect. But he has made 3 or 4 or 5 films that are at the least astonishing to look at.

So put that in your pipe and smoke it. Now I would go into a more extensive arguement ( like how he frames shots and lighting and all that kind of technical aspects of film making) but this already took me 2 days to type up, so take my word for it the arguement was just a great analysis on film making and Mr. Scott's film making in particular

So I hope I got my point across




Hey, Dilmo back me up man!

[Dilmo]

Originally Posted by Riddick

Hey, Dilmo back me up man!

I'm with you 100%! I even did this poll with you in mind (see my last post). You put it extremely well, that's why I said what I did earlier. You and I see eye to eye on Sir Scott.

[Riddick]

Now all we gotta do is get all the hoople heads in line behind us

I hope Ridley didn't drop the ball on Kingdom of Heaven (Bloom is not my idea of a lead actor)

[Wirehed]

It was a hard choice for me between Alien and Blade Runner, but over all I think Alien is the better film, in fact I think Alien is a near perfect movie and one of my favorites to boot.

I do love Blade Runner, and you can't argue how important the film is to Science Fiction.


Most of his other movies, while probably on par or better than most main stream efforts, are just not in the same class.

[Dilmo]

Originally Posted by Riddick

Now all we gotta do is get all the hoople heads in line behind us

[Surf Monkey]

Originally Posted by Riddick

I hope Ridley didn't drop the ball on Kingdom of Heaven (Bloom is not my idea of a lead actor)

Are you kidding me? An American film that aggrandizes the Crusades (The fucking CRUSADES!!!) can't be a good thing, especially in light of the current global political atmosphere. Besides, it looks really stupid to me. Just another lame attempt to capitalize on the LOTR franchise.