Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Harmonia (A) on December 01, 2002 at 12:29:17

In Reply to: You missed some super films by Ridley Scott !!! posted by Doomsday Machine on November 29, 2002 at 10:32:59:

I've seen them all. I didn't list them on purpose. Mentioning The Duellists and Blade Runner amongst the other director's films was praise indeed, and giving Scott more credit than many others here would.

Ridley Scott makes very well crafted, highly popular commercial films. He has a strong visual style, acquired from his days as a commercial director/art director. Perhaps dues to this background, Scott tends to make glossy, good looking films, that are visually arresting and about as seep as a dime. The two I listed above are the closest he has gotten to "great" or "art" IMO.

I enjoyed Thelma and Louise a lot, Alien too (scared the heck outa me in theaters, a sci-fi classic fersher), even Gladiator (a one-time guilty pleasure). (I'm even looking forward, guardely, to Scott's new movie based on the Aubrey/Maturin series.) But "great", by any objective standard of film excellence, they are not. I love Blade Runner, but that doesn't put Scott into my list. It takes more than one or two films.

Black Rain, in fact, was dreadful. Black Hawk Down had me nearly leaving the theater.

I don't mind if you love Gladiator, we're all entitled to our own favorites. Just consider enlarging your horizons a bit if you're going to insist it's a "great" film.

"Entertaining" doesn't necessarily = "great". Some directors can do both, and more consistently. That's why they're in my list and Ridley Scott isn't.