The Biggest Ridley Scott Films, Ranked from Greatest to Worst

While the film faced some slight backlash for its historical inaccuracies, Black Hawk Down had a positive reception, and won two Academy Awards, Best Film Editing and Best Sound.

The film opens with about thirty minutes of exposition and setup, and the rest of it is pretty much nonstop shooting and explosions. (Although it presents such things with much more taste and emotion than typical shoot-‘em-ups like Rambo. Watching it, you end up wincing or flinching every time a bullet almost hits one of the main cast, and feel legitimate sadness when one of the soldiers is killed).

7. The Martian

After a string of films that underperformed critically for about 10 years, Scott returned to his peak form with his 2015 hard science fiction project, The Martian. Based on the best-selling novel by Andy Weir, the film follows a lone astronaut (Matt Damon) left behind on Mars by his team. As he struggles to survive on his own, he also tries hard to contact Earth, hoping they’ll be able to send rescue before it’s too late.

The faithfulness to the source material that Scott took adapting Weir’s novel could’ve been a disaster, with audiences’ eyes glazing over at the scientifically-accurate discussions of space travel or hearing Damon talk about the botanical logistics of growing potatoes on Mars. Yet Scott manages to shuffle between three fascinating plotlines (Damon’s survivor story, his team coming to terms with abandoning him and then resolving to save him, and NASA trying to figure out a way to bring him back) in a way that keeps the plot chugging forward.

It’s a welcome addition to Scott’s science fiction projects, and while it may not be as suspenseful or engrossing as Alien or Blade Runner, it still makes for a very interesting watch.

8. Kingdom of Heaven

There’s a critical distinction to make between the Kingdom of Heaven theatrical cut and Kingdom of Heaven: The Director’s Cut. Like many of the director’s other released movies, Scott oversaw the production of a few edited versions of this film, with the far less entertaining, shorter version being the one shown in theaters. Whereas the theatrical cut is a choppy mess full of poorly defined, inconsistent characters and an overall story that’s hard to follow, Scott’s director’s cut expands the main narrative in the best way imaginable.

In 12th-century Europe, a blacksmith (Orlando Bloom) travels to Jerusalem to defend the Holy City against the Muslim Sultan, Saladin. On par with Scott’s other historical epics, the three-plus hour director’s cut stretches the film’s storyline into a masterpiece, chronicling the lengthy journey of a humble commoner (Bloom) struggling to come to terms with his faith, as well as showcasing the conflict that might exist between individuals of varying religious beliefs.

Orlando Bloom doesn’t quite have the charisma to take the lead on a film of this size and subject matter — coming off flat and with a subpar emotional range — the movie manages to redeem itself by excellent performances from supporting cast members like Liam Neeson, Edward Norton, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, Ghassan Massoud, and David Thewlis. Just make sure to watch the director’s cut of this one — don’t settle for anything less.

9. The Duellists

Scott’s newest film, The Last Duel, seems to have more than a few similarities to his directorial debut, The Duellists. Based on a short story by Joseph Conrad, The Duellists tells the story of a pair of Napoleonic Era French officers (Harvey Keitel and Keith Carradine) who continuously duel each other multiple times over the years.

Released when Scott was 40-years-old, The Duellists is a movie clearly based around the style of Stanley Kubrick’s earlier Barry Lyndon on a notably much smaller scale (Lyndon was three and a half hours, whereas The Duellists is an hour and forty minutes), but on its own, The Duellists manages to be a largely entertaining film and a very impressive debut work. Included are themes that would become central points of interest that Scott continued to explore in later movies, such as the meaning of life and general concerns about mortality (there’s an excellent scene where Keitel’s character’s life flashes before his eyes as he nearly loses a duel). It’s a decent period film that also illustrates another of Scott’s interests (historical films) that would again become a recurring area of interest for Scott to flesh out further in his filmography.

10. The Last Duel

Scott’s best film in years, The Last Duel tanked at the box office. (Due to low theater attendance owing to the pandemic, it earned a mere $30 million against a $100 million budget.) Financial performances aside, The Last Duel is an inspired medieval epic that makes fantastic use of its cast and nonlinear presentation, with many critics likening it to Akira Kurosawa’s 1950 classic, Rashomon.

In the late 14th century, veteran knight Sir Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) challenges his squire (Adam Driver) to a duel after Sir Jean’s wife (Jodie Comer) accuses the squire of assault.

Another entertaining historical film from Scott, The Last Duel might not have as grand a story as Gladiator or Kingdom of Heaven, but its fragmented plot line and shifting perspectives results in a film that’s unique to Scott’s filmography.

11. American Gangster

If there’s one genre Scott specializes in, it’s the historical epic. Even though many of these films offer a sensationalized slice of real-world history, the movies themselves are captivating enough to earn their prestigious place in Scott’s filmography – something that can be said about his 2007 biographical film, American Gangster.

Taking advantage of America’s growing involvement in the Vietnam War, Harlem gangster Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) smuggles vast shipments of illegal substances into New York, prompting the F.B.I. to investigate his criminal activities.

As with most of Scott’s films, the historical accuracy of American Gangster is dubious at best. Yet, like Kingdom of Heaven or The Last Duel, Scott manages to use a real-world figure to create a dramatic film, serving as an homage to the Universal gangster epics of the 1930s and ‘40s.

12. House of Gucci

A movie as sleek and stylish as its titular characters, House of Gucci isn’t a very strong film from Scott, the finished film falling more so into campier or melodramatic territory than anything Scott has worked on before. In spite of this tonal weakness, the movie’s impressive lineup of actors more than redeem the movie’s lesser qualities.

Marrying into the wealthy Gucci family of fashion designer fame, the opportunistic Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) attempts manipulating her weak-willed husband (Adam Driver) to seize control over his family’s business empire.

With a cast that includes Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, Salma Hayek, and Al Pacino, there’s no denying House of Gucci’s cast is anything but noteworthy. As it is, every actor does an admirable job playing their historical counterparts, each of them disappearing into their roles as the larger-than-life members of the Gucci family. However, it’s the acting alone that makes House of Gucci worth seeing, with Scott offering little in the way of a compelling story to rope audience members in and keep them engaged.