The Best Ridley Scott Movies, Ranked - and How to Stream Them

Published on

Jack Seale

Jack Seale

JustWatch Editor

You never know quite what sort of film you’re going to get next with director Ridley Scott, but you almost always know it’s going to be different to his previous one, and more often than not it’s going to be good. The British film-maker has been at the top of the business for nearly 50 years and now, at the incredible age of 86, he has a new film, Gladiator II, that could be one of the biggest of 2024. See below for our ranking of the best Ridley Scott films and where to stream them in the United Kingdom.

Ridley Scott came out of the gate quickly in 1977 with the critically acclaimed historical drama The Duellists, and he soon had a couple of masterpieces in the bag. His second film, Blade Runner, a sci-fi neo-noir, made Harrison Ford equally iconic as Rick Deckard.

Scott’s career is not without its fallow periods - he had one after Blade Runner, making a few relatively forgettable films before roaring back with Gladiator, a Roman epic with the action of a blockbuster and the tight, simple story of a claustrophobic character piece. 

The great director only became more unpredictable from there, working again with Gladiator star Russell Crowe but remoulding him as a romantic lead in the surprisingly gentle Alien: Covenant

By 2015 it seemed as if Scott’s career might finally be tailing off a little, but then he came back yet again with The Martian, starring Matt Damon as a man stranded on the Red Planet. Ambitious, witty and imaginative, it’s one of Scott’s finest blockbusters.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Scott’s most recent pictures is how talked-about they are: directors who keep going into their old age tend to churn out movies that are politely well received by their fans without making too much wider impact, but Scott still has a knack for cultural relevance. In 2021, after a long absence either side of the Covid pandemic, he delivered both the challenging period drama Napoleon. You wouldn’t put it past him to come up with a couple more hits, and perhaps a couple more interesting duds, before he finally folds away his director’s chair.

Where to watch the best Ridley Scott movies streaming online

In the meantime there is a large back catalogue to enjoy - see below for our take on Ridley Scott’s films, ranked from best to worst, and how to stream them.

  1. Alien

    Alien

    1979

    # 1

    During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs on the planet, a creature inside one of the eggs attacks an explorer. The entire crew is unaware of the impending nightmare set to descend upon them when the alien parasite planted inside its unfortunate host is birthed.

  2. Blade Runner

    Blade Runner

    1982

    # 2

    In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.

  3. Gladiator

    Gladiator

    2000

    # 3

    In the year 180, the death of emperor Marcus Aurelius throws the Roman Empire into chaos. Maximus is one of the Roman army's most capable and trusted generals and a key advisor to the emperor. As Marcus' devious son Commodus ascends to the throne, Maximus is set to be executed. He escapes, but is captured by slave traders. Renamed Spaniard and forced to become a gladiator, Maximus must battle to the death with other men for the amusement of paying audiences..

  4. Thelma & Louise

    Thelma & Louise

    1991

    # 4

    Taking a break from their dreary lives, close friends Thelma and Louise embark on a short weekend trip that ends in unforeseen incriminating circumstances. As fugitives, both women rediscover the strength of their bond and their newfound resilience.

  5. The Martian

    The Martian

    2015

    # 5

    During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.

  6. A Good Year

    A Good Year

    2006

    # 6

    Failed London banker Max Skinner inherits his uncle's vineyard in Provence, where he spent many childhood holidays. Upon his arrival, he meets a woman from California who tells Max she is his long-lost cousin and that the property is hers.

  7. Black Hawk Down

    Black Hawk Down

    2001

    # 7

    When U.S. Rangers and an elite Delta Force team attempt to kidnap two underlings of a Somali warlord, their Black Hawk helicopters are shot down, and the Americans suffer heavy casualties, facing intense fighting from the militia on the ground.

  8. The Duellists

    The Duellists

    1977

    # 8

    In 1800, as Napoleon Bonaparte rises to power in , a rivalry erupts between Armand and Gabriel, two lieutenants in the French Army, over a perceived insult. For over a decade, they engage in a series of duels amidst larger conflicts, including the failed French invasion of Russia in 1812, and shifts in the political and social systems of Europe.

  9. Prometheus

    Prometheus

    2012

    # 9

    A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.

  10. Napoleon

    Napoleon

    2023

    # 10

    An epic that details the chequered rise and fall of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his wife, Josephine.

  11. American Gangster

    American Gangster

    2007

    # 11

    Loosely based on the criminal career of Frank Lucas, a gangster from La Grange, North Carolina, who smuggled heroin into the United States on American service planes returning from the Vietnam War, before being detained by a task force led by Newark Detective Richie Roberts.

  12. House of Gucci

    House of Gucci

    2021

    # 12

    When Patrizia Reggiani, an outsider from humble beginnings, marries into the Gucci family, her unbridled ambition begins to unravel the family legacy and triggers a reckless spiral of betrayal, decadence, revenge, and ultimately… murder.

  13. The Last Duel

    The Last Duel

    2021

    # 13

    King Charles VI declares that Knight Jean de Carrouges settle his dispute with his squire, Jacques Le Gris, by challenging him to a duel.

  14. Kingdom of Heaven

    Kingdom of Heaven

    2005

    # 14

    After his wife dies, a blacksmith named Balian is thrust into royalty, political intrigue and bloody holy wars during the Crusades.

  15. Gladiator II

    Gladiator II

    2024

    # 15

    After his home is conquered by the tyrannical emperors who now lead Rome, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum and must look to his past to find strength to return the glory of Rome to its people.

  16. Someone to Watch Over Me

    # 16

    Claire Gregory, an upper class New York personality, witnesses a murder in a luxurious nightclub. Detective Mike Keegan, recently promoted, is assigned to protect her.

  17. Black Rain

    Black Rain

    1989

    # 17

    Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and as they try to track him down, they get deeper and deeper into the Japanese Mafia scene and they have to learn that they can only win by playing the game—the Japanese way.

  18. Hannibal

    Hannibal

    2001

    # 18

    Living in exile, Dr. Hannibal Lecter tries to reconnect with now disgraced F.B.I. Agent Clarice Starling, and finds himself a target of revenge from a powerful victim.

  19. Robin Hood

    Robin Hood

    2010

    # 19

    When soldier Robin happens upon the dying Robert of Loxley, he promises to return the man's sword to his family in Nottingham. There, he assumes Robert's identity; romances his widow, Marion; and draws the ire of the town's sheriff and King John's henchman, Godfrey.

  20. Alien: Covenant

    Alien: Covenant

    2017

    # 20

    The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise but is actually a dark, dangerous world.