Happy 83rd Birthday, Ridley Scott! Born today in 1937, this English film producer and film director's features are acclaimed for their atmospheric, highly concentrated visual style, rich details, and cinematography.
Though his films range widely in setting and period, they frequently showcase memorable imagery of urban environments, whether distant planets, future cityscapes or 2nd-century Rome. Several of his films are also known for their strong heroine lead characters.
Scott's visual style, incorporating a detailed approach to production design and innovative, atmospheric lighting, has been influential on a subsequent generation of filmmakers.
As a young man, Scott wanted to join the Royal Army (his elder brother Frank had already joined the Merchant Navy) but his father encouraged him to develop his artistic talents instead.
Scott then went to West Hartlepool College of Art, followed by London's Royal College of Art, where he helped found the film department, graduating with first-class honours.
Scott began his career in the 1960s as a set designer, then director, for BBC TV. It was here where he honed his filmmaking skills by making inventive mini-films for television commercials.
In 1968, Scott (along with his younger brother Tony Scott ['Top Gun']) founded Ridley Scott Associates (RSA), a United Kingdom-based commercial production company, through which he directed some three thousand television commercials.
In the late 1970s, Scott had his commercial breakthrough in directing the first film of which he is best known.
This was the 1979 British/American sci-fi/horror film 'Alien'. On a budget of $8.4–14 million, the film grossed $104.9–203.6 million at the box office.
The following year, 'Alien' won two BAFTA Awards for Best Sound and Best Production Design. This occurred at the 33rd British Academy Film Awards in late March 1980.
One month later, 'Alien' was nominated an Oscar for Best Production Design. However, it won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects. This occurred at the 52nd Academy Awards in mid-April 1980.
The success of 'Alien' later spawned a media franchise of films, novels, comic books, video games, and toys.
It also launched Sigourney Weaver's acting career, providing her with her first lead role.
The story of her character's encounters with the Alien creatures became the thematic and narrative core of the sequels 'Aliens (1986), 'Alien3' (1992), and 'Alien Resurrection' (1997).
Three years after the release of 'Alien', Scott directed the second film of which he is best known. This was the 1982 American sci-fi/action film 'Blade Runner'.
The film is loosely based on American writer Philip K. Dick's 1968 science fiction novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.
The soundtrack for 'Blade Runner' was composed by Greek musician and composer of electronic, progressive, ambient, jazz, and orchestral music Vangelis.
He had been nominated later the same year of the film's release for a BAFTA and a Golden Globe as best original score. However, he didn't win either award.
One year prior, Vangelis had composed the Oscar-winning score for the 1981 British sports/drama film 'Chariots of Fire'.
Upon release, 'Blade Runner' initially underperformed in North American theaters and polarized critics; some praised its thematic complexity and visuals, while others critiqued its slow pacing and lack of action.
American Los Angeles Times journalist and film critic Sheila Benson, for example, called it "Blade Crawler" "because it's so damn slow".
Nonetheless, the film eventually became an acclaimed cult film regarded as one of the all-time best science fiction films. Hailed for its production design depicting a decaying future, Blade Runner is also a leading example of neo-noir cinema.
One year later, 'Blade Runner' won three BAFTA Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design. This occurred at the 36th British Academy Film Awards in mid-March 1983.
The success of 'Blade Runner' later influenced many science fiction films, video games, anime, and television series.
It also brought the work of Dick to the attention of Hollywood, and several later big-budget films were based on his work, such as 'Total Recall' (1990), 'Minority Report' (2002) and 'A Scanner Darkly' (2006).
One of the most notable commercials to come out of the RSA was in 1984. This is regarding the ad for Apple Computers, of which Scott had directed. The commercial had aired during the XVIII Super Bowl.
The images in the ad were an allusion to George Orwell's noted 1949 science fiction novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, of which described a political, dystopian future ruled by a televised "Big Brother".
Originally a subject of contention within Apple, it has subsequently been called a watershed event and a masterpiece in advertising.
Seven years later, Scott co-produced and directed the third film of which he is best known. This was the 1991 American female buddy adventure/crime road film 'Thelma & Louise'.
The supporting cast for the film included Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, and Brad Pitt in one of his first major film roles.
Despite some controversy at the time of its release, accusing the film of portraying a negative view of men, 'Thelma & Louise' became a critical and commercial success.
The following year, 'Thelma & Louise' received six Oscar nominations. Scott was nominated for Best Director, and both Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis were nominated for Best Actress.
However, it only won one for Best Writing (Original Screenplay). This occurred at the 64th Academy Awards in late March 1992.
To date, 'Thelma & Louise' is the most recent film to have two actors nominated in the same category for either Best Actor or Best Actress.
At the intersection of several genres, it is now considered a classic. It influenced other films and artistic works and became a landmark of feminist film.
In 1993, 'Blade Runner' was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
In 1995, The Clio Awards added it to its Hall of Fame, and Advertising Age placed it on the top of its list of 50 greatest commercials.
Five years later, Scott directed the fourth and final film of which he is best known. This was the epic 2000 American/British/Maltese/Moroccan historical drama action/adventure film 'Gladiator'.
Upon release, the film received generally favorable reviews from critics, with praise for the acting (particularly Crowe's and Phoenix's performances), Scott's direction, visuals, screenplay, action sequences, musical score and the production values.
Despite this, 'Gladiator' was a box office success. On a budget of $103 million, 'Gladiator' grossed $460.5 million at the box office, making it the second highest-grossing film of 2000.
'Gladiator' was inspired by American author, journalist, photographer, sideshow performer, stage magician, animal trainer, and filmmaker Daniel P. Mannix's 1958 book Those About to Die: The Way of the Gladiator.
The film's computer-generated imagery effects were created by British post-production company The Mill, who also created a digital body double for the remaining scenes involving Oliver Reed's character Antonius Proximo due to Reed dying of a heart attack during production.
Of 'Gladiator', Roger Ebert wrote: [...] "instead of moves we can follow and strategy we can appreciate, Scott goes for muddled closeups of fearsome but indistinct events. The crowd cheers, although those in the cheaper seats are impossible to see because of the murky special effects."
One year later, 'Gladiator' won multiple awards. Most notably, this included four BAFTA Awards for Best Film, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Production Design. This occurred at the 54th British Academy Film Awards February 25, 2001.
One month later, 'Gladiator' won five Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Russell Crowe), Best Visual Effects, Best Costume Design and Best Sound Mixing. This occurred at the 73rd Academy Awards on March 25, 2001.
Since its release, 'Gladiator' has also been credited with reinventing the swords and sandals genre and rekindling interest in entertainment centered around ancient Greek and ancient Roman culture such as the British-American-Italian historical drama television series Rome (2005–2007).
In 2002, 'Alien' was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
In 2003, Scott was knighted for his "services to the British film industry". In a 2004, in a BBC poll, Scott was named the tenth most influential person in British culture.
In 2007, Warner Bros. released The Final Cut, a 25th-anniversary digitally remastered version of 'Blade Runner'. This is the only version over which Scott retained artistic control.
In 2008, 'Alien' was ranked by the American Film Institute as the seventh-best film in the science-fiction genre, and as the 33rd-greatest film of all time by Empire.
In 2015, Scott received an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Art in London.
In 2016, the United States Library of Congress selected 'Thelma & Louise' for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
In 2017, Scott served as an executive producer on Denis Villeneuve's ('Arrival') 2017 American sci-fi/thriller film 'Blade Runner 2049'.
For the film, Harrison Ford reprises his role as Rick Deckard. Now a former blade runner, his character in the film had been missing for three decades.
In 2018, Scott received the BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement.
Scott commonly uses slow pacing until the action sequences. Examples include 'Alien' and 'Blade Runner'.
A trademark he employs is the use of sound or music to build tension, as heard in 'Alien', with hissing steam, beeping computers and the noise of the machinery within the claustrophobic bowels of the space tug Nostromo.
His other trademark is stunning visuals - he personally sketches most of his own storyboards, left-handed, with great artistic style.
Among his credits, Scott is also known for directing 'Legend' (1985), 'G.I. Jane' (1997), 'Hannibal' (2001), 'Black Hawk Down' (2001), 'Matchstick Men' (2003), 'American Gangster' (2007), 'Prometheus' (2012), 'The Martian' (2015), and 'Alien: Covenant' (2017).
Scott claims to have an eidetic memory, which he says aids him in visualizing and storyboarding the scenes in his films.
Scott has also been described by Academy Award-winning British film producer Michael Deeley as "the very best eye in the business".
Being the actors' director that he is, Scott favors extensive use of the two-camera 'V' set-up, thus enabling his actors to play more fluidly off one another without being constantly interrupted by calls to "Cut!".
The British Academy Film Awards have described Scott as "a visionary director, one of the great British filmmakers whose work has made an indelible mark on the history of cinema.
Forty years since his directorial debut, his films continue to cross the boundaries of style and genre, engaging audiences and inspiring the next generation of film talent."
Nicknamed R-Scott or Rid, Scott has been active from 1965–present.
#borntodirect
@RidleyScottFree
@Sir_RidleyScott
@BFI
@bafta
@bbc
@libraryofcongress
@AmericanFilmInstitue
@tcm
@RogerEbert
@nytimes
@latimes
@empireonline
@Biography
@Brtiannica
No comments:
Post a Comment