Ridley Scott is known as a master filmmaker, and with his new epic, The Last Duel in theaters, he's still in the director's chair at the age of 83. While known for the science fiction films like Alien, Scott is equally famous for his historical epics such as Gladiator and The Duelists.
Unlike other genres, the historical epic has the burden of history to deal with, and has to be at least somewhat faithful to the facts. The epic means taking real life, and the true stories of people and nations, and wrestling it into a comprehensive narrative that rings true, doesn't distort too much, and is still entertaining. All of this can be daunting to many filmmakers, not to mention expensive, which is why few directors will attempt historical epics and fewer studios will back them. Scott is consistently a director who prefers the big canvas and attempts to make the sort of epic, either science fiction or historical, that Hollywood once produced on a regular basis.
1492: Conquest Of Paradise (1992)
Scott often makes movies about larger-than-life men, who are driven by obsession and ambition to acts of cruelty. However, the decision to include someone as problematic as Christopher Columbus wasn't a good one. On top of that, the problems here are a dull script, muddled history, and a miscast leading man.
Scott whitewashes Columbus' near-genocide of the native population, largely blaming it on the other people along on the expedition. Another problem is Gerard Depardieu's performance as Columbus. Depardieu has a heavy French accent that not only doesn't work with an Italian character, but is difficult for the viewer to understand. The story being told is never clear to the viewer and no real connection is made with the audience. One of Scott's worst films, this is thoroughly mediocre.
Exodus: Gods And Kings (2014)
The Biblical epic was a standard in Hollywood for decades, a genre nearly owned by director Cecil B. DeMille and his version of the Exodus - 1956s' The Ten Commandments. Scott tried to bring the genre back with Exodus: Gods And Kings, the 2014 film that retells the story, but this time without Charlton Heston.
For an epic to work, it has to inspire, but Exodus: Gods And Kings fails to do so. At 2:30 minutes, the film is long and tedious with some poor CGI standing in for both Egypt and the flood. The fact that a film shot in 2014 features mostly white actors playing Egyptians is also problematic.
Robin Hood (2010)
This film started as a script called Nottingham that centered on a sympathetic portrayal of the Sheriff of Nottingham and focused on a love triangle between the Sheriff, Maid Marion, and Robin Hood (here given an unflattering characterization). In the original script, Robin is framed for a series of vicious murders, and the sheriff is forced to investigate to clear him.
Not liking this, Scott had it rewritten into a Robin Hood origin tale, jettisoning all the things that had made the original script unique in the first place. The film feels like a weak version of Gladiator, even with a very serious Russell Crowe performance in the lead. After the classic '90s Robin Hood, audiences weren't impressed with another Robin Hood movie in the same vein.
The Duelists (1977)
Set in the Napoleonic Age, the film is about two men, one of whom forces the other to fight a series of duels over a perceived slight. The duels go on for a number of years before finally being settled.
This was Ridley Scott's first film as a director and won "Best First Work" at Cannes in 1977. Starring Harvey Keitel as the duelist who forces Keith Carradine to keep fighting against his own will, the film is a remarkable debut. While Scott has obviously patterned the look of the film after Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, The Duelist stands on its own as a brilliant allegory on how countries slide into war. Beautifully photographed and paced, it can be hard for the viewer to believe this was Scott's first film.
Kingdom Of Heaven (2005)
Scott's Middle Ages crusader epic Kingdom of Heaven tells the story of Balian of Ibelin, a blacksmith who joins the Crusades in the Middle East and whose journey to Jerusalem becomes a mission to save the city and its people.
The Crusades is a huge subject, and Scott controls the complicated narrative and history masterfully. The fight over the 'Holy Land' is not an easy subject and remains a loaded one, but Scott manages to avoid the heroes and villains narrative; there is a lot of gray on both sides of the battle. It is a beautiful movie to look at, well-paced, with a vast narrative that is clear and easy to follow. The director's cut is the version to view, as it adds back nearly an hour of narrative and subplots not in the theatrical cut.
Gladiator (2000)
Maximus, a Roman general, seeks deadly revenge on the corrupt and treacherous emperor, Commodus who murdered Maximus' family and led to his enslavement. Working his way through the gladiator ranks, he comes within striking distance of the emperor.
Probably the historical epic Scott is most known for, and one of his most popular films. While some of Scott's historical films can be hit or miss, this one is excellent, winner of 5 Oscars for Best Actor, Best Picture, Best Costume Design, Sound Design, and Visual Effects. Russell Crowe gives a great performance as Maximus, and Joaquin Phoenix is suitably despicable as Commodus. There is an alternate director's cut available that is longer, with selected scenes and commentary. One of Scott's best films, and one of his most financially successful.