In the pantheon of great directors, a case could certainly be made for Ridley Scott as one of the all-time greats. The man behind Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator and so many more is still cranking them out at eighty-nine years old, with his latest, The Dog Stars, hitting theaters this weekend. With a Treasure Island reimagining on the way and a whole whack of other films planned, including another Alien movie, Scott shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
But of all his great movies, which one is the best?
While I think most fans would probably choose one of his big three — Alien, Blade Runner or Gladiator — they aren’t the only stone-cold classics under his belt. There’s the Michael Douglas action flick Black Rain, which we’re big fans of here at JoBlo and which remains one of the best cop movies of the eighties. There’s also Thelma & Louise, which is so iconic that a still from it was used on the official Cannes poster this year, and was certainly ahead of its time back in 1991.
There’s also Black Hawk Down, which Quentin Tarantino considers the best film of the 21st century (even if Scott isn’t on board with that acclaim), The Martian and — a personal favorite — Kingdom of Heaven, a movie that was reviled when it was released in a butchered theatrical cut but was revealed to be a masterpiece when Scott reissued it as one of his signature director’s cuts.
Even a lot of Scott’s presumed “lesser” films are worth a revisit, with some of them being real gems, like the noir thriller Someone to Watch Over Me, the overlooked White Squall or the Demi Moore flick G.I. Jane. I even have a soft spot for his black-hearted, demented Cormac McCarthy film The Counselor, which was made as a tribute to his equally talented brother, the late Tony Scott.
But what is your favorite Ridley Scott movie? Take the poll below and let us know in the comments!
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