One of the most famous filmmakers of the modern era, Ridley Scott has directed a huge number of beloved and fascinating movies across his prolific career. Often compared to legendary names like Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese, Scott has produced a wide variety of well-accomplished stories over the decades that have no shortage of passionate and devout fans.
If you've ever found yourself wondering which of the director's efforts are considered to be the best of his career thus far then, hopefully, this listing of his top 10 highest-ranking movies on review aggregate site Metacritic should make things a little clearer.
10 Alien: Covenant (65)
The sixth movie made in the Alien franchise, the third directed by Scott and the second in his prequel series to the continuity, Alien: Covenant is quite a messy movie but a soft majority of critics seem to agree that it's still one of the director's better movies.
Starting out as a fairly straightforward retelling of the original Alien movie, the story shifts entirely at almost exactly the halfway mark to become a more classical gothic horror tale that acts as a sequel to Scott's previous movie in the franchise, Prometheus.
9 Gladiator (67)
By far one of Scott's most well-known and frequently-quoted movies, Gladiator is an epic tale of revenge and honor set in ancient Rome.
Nominated for 12 Oscars, and winning 5, the movie is remembered for single-handedly revitalizing the 'swords and sandals' genre despite nothing after it ever really recapturing its success.
8 The Duellists (70)
Released in 1977, The Duellists was Scott's first feature-length movie at almost 40-years of age and his patience appears to have paid off, producing a hugely successful and memorable debut that quickly made the director a name to watch.
A historical drama centering on a persistent rivalry between two military officers throughout the Napoleonic Wars, the story was based on a short story by Joseph Conrad but the gorgeous, picturesque, cinematography was clearly inspired by Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon.
7 All the Money in the World (72)
A more recent movie from Scott, his 23rd since The Duellists 40 years prior and the second released that year along with Alien: Covenant, this dramatization of the kidnapping of oil heir John Paul Getty III showed that the director had no plans to slow down soon.
All the Money in the World wasn't a financial hit but was nevertheless widely-publicized as it was the first major movie starring Kevin Spacey to be released in the wake of misconduct and assault allegations made against him, which prompted Scott and the production to reshoot scenes of the movie to completely replace Spacey with Christopher Plummer (who earned an Oscar nomination for his performance) scarcely a month before its scheduled release, which was still kept.
6 Black Hawk Down (74)
Scott's modernization of the war movie genre chose a tragic and calamitous incident caused by a U.S. military raid in Somalia in 1993 as its backdrop, utilizing an incredible ensemble of actors and all of the sleeknesses of producer Jerry Bruckheimer's signature style.
The movie was nominated for 4 Oscars, earning the director his third nomination for Best Director, and became a hugely influential even outside of the world of movies.
5 American Gangster (76)
Another of the many collaborations between Scott and Russell Crowe following the success of Gladiator, American Gangster was a dramatization of a true story that incorporated fellow Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington, more famous his many collaborations with Scott's brother, Tony.
Though the movie suffered through several years of production troubles and setbacks, Scott steered the movie towards being a financial and critical success which earned 2 Oscar nominations.
4 The Martian (80)
Tonally the opposite of what Scott achieved with his Alien movies, yet visually very similar, The Martian is one of the director's most energetic comedies and earned 7 Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture.
Adapted from Andy Weir's best-selling novel of the same name, the story follows Matt Damon's castaway astronaut stranded alone on Mars and quickly turns the horrific scenario into one of the most upbeat survival movies ever made.
3 Blade Runner (84)
Scott's third feature-length movie is one of his most iconic and continues to this day as a hugely debated and obsessed-over milestone in the science-fiction genre.
Based on Philip K. Dick's novel 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep', the movie balances striking production design with weighty existential ideas in a lasting way, a belated and similarly-well-received sequel directed by Denis Villeneuve arriving 35 years later with original star Harrison Ford.
2 Thelma & Louise (88)
Just almost taking the top spot is Scott's widely-loved road movie starring Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon as the title characters, with all 3 being nominated for Oscars for their work on the movie.
Though often an enjoyable comedy, Thelma & Louise deals with serious subject matter and quickly became known as a standout entry into feminist cinema which endures in its popularity and topicality today.
1 Alien (89)
Scott's second movie and most probably his most well-known, Alien changed sci-fi movies in almost as big a way as Star Wars and also continues as a franchise today.
Sigourney Weaver's lead role in the movie came to be seen as another landmark moment in feminist representation of women on screen and its unforgettable blend of psychosexuality and body horror stunned critics just as much as it did general audiences.
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