Ridley Scott on the conspiracy that robbed him of a Palme d’Or
Ridley Scott hates a lot of things. In recent years, the octogenarian film legend has railed against everything from millennial moviegoers, superhero movies, historians who complain about the accuracy of his films, and the French. He also enjoys having a pop at his peers, such as when he boasted that he’d made four films in the time it took Martin Scorsese to make Killers of the Flower Moon. It’s not particularly well known, though, that Scott also loathes the Cannes Film Festival. Why, you may ask? Well, he steadfastly believes there was a conspiracy in that historic festival’s voting body that robbed him of a Palme d’Or right at the start of his career.
In 1977, Scott’s directorial debut, The Duellists, was released. It told the swashbuckling tale of a series of duels between two rival officers during the Napoleonic wars of 1803 to 1815. The movie was beloved by critics, with many feeling the sword fights were the best ever committed to film, and it was nominated for a host of awards. At the Baftas, it received nominations for ‘Best Cinematography’ and ‘Best Costume Design’, while Scott won ‘Best Foreign Director’ at the David di Donatello Awards in Italy.
The film’s biggest accolade would come at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival, though, where it was in competition for the hugely prestigious Palme d’Or with 22 other films from around the globe. Unfortunately for Scott, the Palme d’Or went to Padre Padrone, which was directed by the Taviani brothers, while the prize of ‘Best First Work’ went to The Duellists.
However, instead of being happy to win an award at Cannes for his first feature film, Scott was upset. In 2024, he claimed to The New York Times that he was screwed out of the big prize by chicanery and subterfuge. He alleged that the jury, chaired by iconic Italian filmmaker Roberto Rossellini, was against giving his film the Palme d’Or – but Rossellini himself wasn’t. In fact, he claimed Rossellini told him, “Listen, I love the movie. I want to give you the Palme d’Or.”
Here’s where it gets murky, though. Scott claimed Rossellini also let slip, “The committee are rejecting it because somebody in there has bribed the committee to vote for somebody else.” He asked the young English director what he wanted to do about it, and Scott says he shrugged, “I never thought I’d come this far.” Perhaps Rossellini saw this as Scott tacitly resigning himself to defeat because he allegedly said, “Good man”, and then awarded the Tavianis their Palme d’Or.
Scott hadn’t actually resigned himself to a gracious defeat, though. He was furious and railed against the notion that “money had been chucked in at the top”. Sadly, the whole debacle soured him on the Cannes experience in general – and he went on to hold a hell of a grudge. In fact, in the 47 years since this alleged daylight robbery, only two Scott films have ever been shown at Cannes – 1991’s Thelma & Louise and 2010’s Robin Hood – and neither were in competition.
In truth, the injustice of it all still bothers Scott, so it’s no wonder he dismissed the idea of making a grand return to the festival. After all, if it supposedly loved his first film so much, why did the jury allegedly sell out to the almighty dollar to avoid rewarding it properly? Ultimately, the Gladiator icon scoffed, “I never go there. I fucking hate it”.
