Ridley Scott picks his favourite sci-fi movies of all time
The historical epic may have been his genre of choice since the turn of the millennium, with Napoleon marking his fifth foray into the genre since Gladiator and eighth overall if you include the latter’s upcoming sequel. However, the name of Ridley Scott will always be tied to sci-fi for two movies above all others.
Taking the basic concept of a haunted house film and transplanting it to outer space, Alien was a watershed moment that launched a sprawling franchise that’s still going strong today and spawned countless thinly veiled imitators. For his very next feature, he delivered another seminal sci-fi, with Blade Runner proving every bit as monumental as his previous foray into the format, and Scott is fully aware.
When asked to name his favourite sci-fi movies, the filmmaker named Alien and Blade Runner because, as he put it: “I’m not going to be modest about that”. Nor does he have to be given their respective status as two of the genre’s best ever, even if James Cameron’s sequel to the former proved every bit as illustrious as its predecessor.
In typically curmudgeonly form, Scott elaborated on Blade Runner and ultimately lamented the seismic impact it had on cyberpunk at large. “I think we got it really right on Blade Runner, which in a way is a problem because Blade Runner has been a very strong influence on lots of other films,” he said. “Which is nice, but it’s a bit boring. You’ve got to move on. You’ve got to move forward. It’s hard to move forward because I think I landed first on real dystopia.”
His number one wasn’t one of his own works, though, but Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. As meticulously crafted and awe-inspiring as it may be, Scott remains adamant that “the star of the film was HAL”. Virtually every major sci-fi movie released since 1968 has owed at least a small debt of gratitude to Kubrick’s masterpiece, which clearly even extends to those who’ve made classics of their own.
He’s been dismissive of the franchise in the past, but that didn’t stop Scott from naming Star Wars as his second-favourite sci-fi film of all time. However, he made a point of clarifying that he was explicitly talking about “George Lucas, the one he did”.
A deep cut from his own formative years rounded out the selection, with On the Beach released in cinemas in December 1959, shortly after Scott turned 22 years old. He did get his dates slightly mixed up by referring to it as one that was “made when I was in my teens,” but he hasn’t forgotten the effect it had on him.
Starring Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner, Scott recalled the apocalyptic romantic drama as a “beautiful black and white movie,” with Australia the only safe haven left for mankind following the events of World War III that decimated the human population.
Check out the full list below.
Ridley Scott’s favourite sci-fi movies:
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
- Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977)
- Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979)
- Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982)
- On the Beach (Stanley Kramer, 1959)
