Ridley Scott’s favourite science fiction movies
When it comes to the big names in science fiction cinema, it’s hard to look beyond the extraordinary work that Ridley Scott has provided throughout his career. Scott has delivered some of the most significant works in the genre, with visions of the future in an awe-inspiring and sometimes terrifying way.
It was Scott’s second feature, Alien, that laid down the blueprint for science fiction horror, and he followed up with one of the most visually striking movies ever released in the shape of Blade Runner. Scott’s other works in sci-fi include other films in the Alien franchise (Prometheus and Covenant) 2015’s The Martian.
But like any science fiction master, Scott also has his own personal favourites, and he once named his top five choices in the genre via Wired. Interestingly, Scott couldn’t help himself from adding two of his own work to the list, but not before he named two of the most significant sci-fi movies ever made.
It is number one for Scott is Stanley Kubrick’s incredibly influential 1968 classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. The movie is widely considered one of the greatest science fiction films of all time, telling of humankind’s evolutionary development from prehistoric apes to space-faring, technologically advanced travellers, so it’s easy to see why Scott features it in its number one spot.
The science fiction movie genre would have a gaping hole in its history were it not for Scott’s next pick, George Lucas’ 1977 epic space opera Star Wars, later titled Episode IV – A New Hope. The first film in the Star Wars franchise remains one the most popular film in the world of sci-fi, kicking off arguably the genre’s most significant franchise.
As mentioned above, Scott couldn’t quite help himself from naming two of his own films in his top five list, but given their quality, we won’t deny him his selection. The first is 1982’s Blade Runner, an adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s 1962 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? starring Harrison Ford. A wonderful score by Vangelis and themes of identity in artificial intelligence, not to mention the glorious visuals, more than justifies Scott’s admission.
The other Scott movie the director includes is 1979’s Alien, the film that birthed the sci-fi franchise of the same name. It stars Sigourney Weaver, John Hurt, Harry Dean Stanton and Ian Holm and tells of a deadly extra-terrestrial who hunts down a crew who are investigating a derelict spaceship.
The final selection of Scott might be unheard of. It’s On the Beach, the 1959 post-apocalyptic science fiction drama directed by Stanley Kramer and starring Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner, an adaptation of Nevil Shute’s novel of the same name, telling of the aftermath of a global nuclear war.
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, 1972)
- On the Beach (Stanley Kramer, 1959)
