Ridley Scott movies: 20 greatest films ranked worst to best

20. A GOOD YEAR (2006)

Written by Marc Klein based on the book by Peter Mayle. Starring Russell Crowe, Albert Finney, Marion Cotillard.

“A Good Year” is a change of pace film from Scott who usually made films on a grander scale. Perhaps Scott identified a bit with his lead character who is a high octane British investment banker who inherits a vineyard in France and learns to embrace a quitter kind of life. The film features a charismatic performance from Russell Crowe in the lead role. Seen in retrospect the film is also interesting in that it was one of the first times future Oscar winner Marion Cotillard was exposed to American audiences.

19. BODY OF LIES (2008)

Written by William Monahan. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Oscar Issac.

“Body of Lies” received a mixed response from critics and movie goers when it was released in 2008. The story of a CIA agent (Leonardo DiCaprio) involved in Middle Eastern politics and espionage has a somewhat convoluted plot but it does boast Scott’s typical high production standards and visual style.

18. ALIEN: COVENANT (2017)

Written by John Logan, Dante Harper, Jack Paglen, Michael Green. Starring Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup.

Scott returned again to the “Alien” franchise that had launched his career into the stratosphere back in 1979 with this film which takes a character from “Prometheus” played by Michael Fassbender and makes him the lead. The film seems to want to warn against the possibilities of robots or synthetic humans such as the one played by Fassbender taking over the universe. The Guardian called the film “…a greatest-hits compilation of the other Alien films’ freaky moments” and the consensus of opinion was that while entertaining the film wasn’t really anything that hadn’t been seen before in the film series.

17. PROMETHEUS (2012)

Written by John Spaihts, Damon Lindelof. Starring Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce.

Originally intended as a prequel to the first “Alien” film “Prometheus” went through lots of changes and rewrites before Scott decided to make the film one that is set before the original “Alien” film but not directly related to events in the original. The film met with mixed results and while the film has a 73 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes it angered some fans who had long anticipated Ridley Scott’s return to the franchise and felt the final film wasn’t worth the wait.

16. SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME (1987)

Written by Howard Franklin. Starring Tom Berenger, Mimi Rogers, Lorraine Bracco.

A somewhat forgotten gem among Ridley Scott’s filmography is this thriller from 1987. The elaborate trailer and advertising campaign sort of misrepresented this film as a science fiction type film which sent audiences into the theaters expecting another “Blade Runner” or “Alien” only to be disappointed in what they found. Seen on its own the film is a taut thriller and domestic drama about a cop (Berenger) assigned to protect a murder witness (Rogers) only to fall in love with her. The film boasts the first major performance from Lorraine Bracco who would go on to TV history as Dr. Melfi on “The Sopranos.” The largely unknown Bracco managed to generate Oscar speculation for her role as Berenger’s jilted wife but a nomination did not materialize. (She did though make it into the Oscar race three years later for “Goodfellas.”)

15. WHITE SQUALL (1996)

Written by Todd Robinson based on the book by Charles Gieg. Starring Jeff Bridges, Ryan Phillippe, Scott Wolf.

Scott brought the same sense of suspense and fear to the ocean that he did to space in some of his earlier films in “White Squall.” The films title comes from a type of wind storm that occurs at sea. Jeff Bridges stars as a teacher and sailor who takes a group of teenage boys on a sailing trip to teach them about the ocean and life only to have the group face much more life and death situations than expected. Scott brings a true sense of claustrophobia to the trapped passengers and some of the final shots of the film of those who don’t survive are quite haunting.

14. KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (2005)

Writer: William Monahan. Starring Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Marton Csokas, Liam Neeson.
Though the much-hyped promise of a “director’s cut” often brings more attention after a film’s theatrical run, it rarely changes the public’s perception of that movie. Not so with Scott’s medieval historical drama “Kingdom of Heaven.” After previewing the film before release, the studio pared 45 minutes from Scott’s theatrical cut, much to the director’s displeasure, and the result was critical scorn, largely centering on the film’s lack of continuity. At year’s end, however, Scott released his original cut of the film, which was greeted with cheers from critics and audiences alike as the new version filled in the missing story pieces that had previously puzzled audiences. The power of Ridley Scott in action.

13. HOUSE OF GUCCI (2021)

Writers: Becky Johnston, Roberto Bentivegna. Starring Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Jack Huston, Salma Hayek.
Throughout his career, Scott has become used to his films being big — often ambitious in subject and epic in scale. But rarely has he ever directed a collection of performances as big as those that highlight “House of Gucci,” his historical crime drama set in the heart of the Italian fashion scene. With 4 Oscar winners and one nominee all acting their hearts out with a weird variety of Italian accents, Scott’s family saga, despite mixed reviews, brought out adult audiences that had avoided returning to theaters since COVID and became the most successful adult-skewing drama of the pandemic era.

12. ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD (2017)

Writer: David Scarpa. Starring Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer, Mark Wahlberg, Timothy Hutton, Charlie Plummer.
This drama centering on the notorious kidnapping of oil heir John Paul Getty III presented Scott with the most challenging dilemma of his career. The film was ready for release with Kevin Spacey in the key role of J. Paul Getty, the grandfather of the kidnapped boy when one month before the film’s premiere, numerous sexual misconduct allegations were leveled against Spacey. The premiere was cancelled, and Scott, facing the possibility that his film would never see the light of day, boldly recast the role with Christopher Plummer, had eight days of reshoots and opened the finished film in theaters on time. And Plummer was nominated for an Oscar for his performance.

11. AMERICAN GANGSTER (2007)

Written by Steven Zallian. Starring Russell Crowe, Denzel Washingon, Ruby Dee.

Scott once again teamed with Russell Crowe for this atmospheric gangster film about heroin smugglers in 1960s Harlem, New York. Denzel Washington plays the gangster who runs the drug trade in the city and Crowe plays a DEA agent bent on bringing him down. The film was generally quite well reviewed by critics with Roger Ebert giving it four stars. The film earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture-Drama as well as nods for Washington as Best Actor and Scott as Best Director. Famed actress Ruby Dee received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her very small role in the film which made her at 85 the second oldest person to ever be nominated in the category. She didn’t win the Oscar but she did take home the SAG Award that year.

10. NAPOLEON (2023)

Writer: David Scarpa. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Tahar Rahim, Ben Miles, Ludivine Sagnier, Rupert Everett, Paul Rhys.

Scott took on a monumental project in chronicling the life of the great French leader, focusing both on Bonaparte’s legendary military acumen and his complex relationship with his wife, Empress Josephine (Vanessa Kirby). Several of the film’s epic battle scenes — particularly the battle on the ice at Austerlitz — are among Scott’s finest action sequences, but the shifts in tone between the violence on the battlefield and the often-comical antics in Napoleon’s bedroom rested uneasily with some critics. In the title role, Joaquin Phoenix handles the job in his own distinctive way, not unlike the emperor he’s portraying.

9. MATCHSTICK MEN (2003)

Written by Ted and Nicholas Griffin based on the book by Eric Garcia. Starring Nicholas Cage, Sam Rockwell, Alison Lohman.

“Matchstick Men” is a highly satisfying comedic crime drama from Scott and is quite different from the rest of his filmography. The film boasts superb performances from its three leads Nicholas Cage, Sam Rockwell and Alison Lohman. Cage stars as a small time con man afflicted with a number of psychological disorders such as Tourette’s syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is hard to discuss the films plot in any detail without giving too much away so fans of Scott’s may wish to seek out this lesser known work of his and see how masterfully he weaves together a story where nobody really is who they appear to be.

8. THE LAST DUEL (2021)

Writers: Nicole Holofcener, Ben Alleck, Matt Damon. Starring Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, Ben Affleck.

With a script by Oscar nominee Nicole Holofcener and the Oscar-winning screenwriting team of Matt Damon & Ben Affleck, “The Last Duel” is arguably Scott’s most literate big-screen epic. Though the film, set in medieval France, is not without Scott’s trademark action sequences, the recounting of a possible rape told from three different points of view offers a character-based puzzle for which the film supplies no easy answers. With a story this sensitive, Scott was fortunate to have a cast as skilled as Damon, Affleck, Adam Driver and particularly Jodie Comer who do the material justice.

7. THE MARTIAN (2015)

Written by Drew Goddard based on the book by Andy Weir. Starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig.

This comedic science fiction film was nominated for seven Oscars and won the Golden Globe for Best Picture (Comedy or Musical) and Best Actor (Comedy or Musical) for Matt Damon. The film brings Scott back to familiar territory:  an astronaut stranded on Mars and trying to survive. Unlike the “Alien” films there are no creatures hindering Damon’s survival. His only problems are an inability to signal anyone that he is still alive and his own at times comic attempts to come up with schemes to get his home base hear him. While some objected to the film being classified as a comedy at the Golden Globes, Damon’s humorous line readings and the offbeat presence of Kristin Wiig more than justify its comedy classification.

6. THE DUELLISTS (1977)

Written by Gerald Vaughn-Hughes based on the book by Joseph Conrad. Starring Keith Carradine, Harvey Keitel, Albert Finney.

Ridley Scott got off to an auspicious start when “The Duelists” his first film was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and won a special award there for Best First Work. Scott started his career directing commercials and some episodic British television prior to taking on this ambitious film whose acclaim set him on a journey as one of film’s greatest directors. The film received great acclaim from critics for its historical accuracy as well as its attention to detail in the costuming and art direction departments. This attention to detail would become a hallmark of Scott’s work. Scott has said he was greatly influenced on this film by the work of Stanley Kubrick and in particular Kubrick’s film “Barry Lyndon.”

5. BLACK HAWK DOWN (2001)

Written by Ken Nolan. Starring Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Eric Bana.

Scott received his third Best Director Oscar nomination and the film itself won Oscars for its Editing and Sound. The film is a technical masterpiece of war filmmaking. It is set in 1993 during a civil war in Somalia. As the UN tries to keep peace in the area the US deploys a bunch of special op forces to depose the leader of a militia who has declared himself the country’s leader. In addition to its technical achievements the film boasts a particularly strong cast including Hartnett, McGregor, Bana, Sam Shepard, Hugh Dancy, Ioan Grufffud, Jason Issacs, Zeljko Ivanek, Orlando Bloom, Tom Hardy and even “Modern Family’s” Ty Burrell.

4. GLADIATOR (2000)

Written by Daniel Franzoni, John Logan, William Nicholson. Starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Oliver Reed.

“Gladiator” remains Scott’s most successful film at the Academy Awards where it won a total of five awards including Best Picture. It also won Best Actor for star Russell Crowe, Best Costumes, Best Sound, and Best Visual Effects. Scott himself was overlooked as Best Director in favor of Steven Soderbergh for “Traffic.” Soderbergh had the advantage of having two directing nominations and also two films of his up for Best Picture. (“Erin Brockovitch” being the other one.)  Crowe and Scott would work together frequently in the future after teaming for this masterful epic about a Roman gladiator who returns to Rome to avenge the murder of his family by a sleazy Emperor played by Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix.

3. THELMA AND LOUISE (1991)

Written by Callie Khouri. Starring Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Brad Pitt.

Scott received his first Oscar nomination for this landmark film that became a cultural phenomenon upon its release. It is the story of two female friends who go on an ill-fated road trip. When Thelma (Geena Davis) is being attacked by a man in the parking lot of a bar Louise (Susan Sarandon) shoots and kills the man to defend her friend. The two then decide to flee to Mexico to avoid prison. On their flight they become increasingly involved in more and more crimes while a compassionate police officer (Harvey Keitel) tries to coax them into turning themselves in. The film met with as much controversy as it did acclaim. While many critics praised the filmmaking and performances some social commentators found the film to be a man hating diatribe and some religious leaders objected to what they felt as the films glorification of suicide.

2. BLADE RUNNER (1982)

Written by Hampton Fancher, David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Ruther Hauer, Sean Young.

While “Blade Runner” has become a film classic due to its stunning visual achievements and inventive story the movie was considered a bit of a disappointment on its first release. Expectations where high for the film since Scott was coming off of the huge success of “Alien” and Harrison Ford was following up “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Audiences expected another action-packed roller coaster ride instead of the moody intellectual drama that “Blade Runner” was. There was also great controversy as to the ending of the film when studio officials insisted a key plot point regarding Ford’s character be changed. Scott has reworked the film over the years and finally got to release the film he wanted to about 10 years later in a reworked director’s cut. It is a bit shocking to look back and see how the visionary work of the film only received two Oscar nominations one for Visual Effects (which it lost to “ET”) and one for Art Direction which it unbelievably somehow lost to the naturalistic “Gandhi.”

1. ALIEN (1979)

Written by Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett. Starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright.  

The poster read “In space, no one can hear you scream” but audiences did scream quite loudly in what not surprisingly we have chosen as Scott’s greatest directorial achievement. The film mixed standard science fiction space travel with an Agatha Christie type “And Then There Were None” plot as slowly one by one the astronauts of a spaceship are killed off by a monstrous acid dripping lizard like creature. Scott further played with audience expectations when he made the ultimate soul survivor who defeats the alien not your standard action hero but instead the character of Ellen Ripley, a tense unassuming third ranked officer of the ship who uses her intelligence to outwit the alien and also found a place in film history as one of the first great female action heroes. Scott smartly chose an unknown New York stage actress named Sigourney Weaver for his lead role. Weaver’s presence in the film among an ensemble of more recognizable actors made it even more suspenseful and surprising that she would be the final character alive to outwit the creature. Weaver’s inexperience as a film actress was such that Scott often had to remind her not to look into the camera. Some members of the rest of the cast were quite unhappy that the novice Weaver was featured so prominently and made filming a difficult experience for the actress. But Scott stood by his choice and together they would launch the Ripley character into film history and three sequels including the hugely successful James Cameron directed “Aliens” which earned Weaver a Best Actress Oscar nomination. The film won an Oscar for its Visual Effects and is still is griping of an experience as it was on first viewing. It is amazing to think that Scott accomplished all this on only his second time directing a film.