Ridley Scott's Good, Bad and Ugly (First period)

[Gabriel Girard]

From The Duellists to G.I. Jane

[mavrach]

GOOD: Alien - This might be my all-time favorite movie, I grew up with it and have seen it dozens of times. This movie was intended to be just another disposable monster movie, titled "Star Beast" and described as being a man in a rubber suit chases a girl down a cardboard hallway. Then the studios wondered why their director was taking the project so seriously. The sets are completely believable as a lived-in huge spacecraft, providing infinite dark corners where the then-mysterious creature might be hiding. The alien ship and final monster design are original and horrifying, leaving a vagueness that leads to the horror. And with the less-is-more approach to the alien, this adds up to one of the scariest films you'll ever see. The movie is a reassurrance to me that the right director can elevate the material if he's given control.

And as opposed to say Brave, this movie effectively acts as a great feminist statement by undermining audience expectations. When people walked into Alien, they expected the captain to save the day and end up with one of the girls. Instead, Dallas is the third to die and Ripley (remember Sigourney Weaver was not famous then) ends up the sole survivor.

BAD: Black Rain - An awesomely cool atmosphere that somewhat overstays it's welcome. A little leaner and this movie would've had many more repeat viewings from me.

UGLY - Ridley Scott doesn't really have uglies. His movies fall into two tiers: freaking awesome movies, and fairly good movie that retain a cool mood. If I had to pick an Ugly it would be Legend - I've only seen it once and never had a particular desire to return to it. It doesn't come off as being particularly special or as having any specific mythology. It feels like someone just said "Let's make a fantasy movie."

[cdouglas]

Good: Alien - All due respect to Blade Runner, but I'm in love with every frame of this movie. Never get tired of revisiting it.

Bad: 1492: Conquest of Paradise - Not quite the disaster people claim it is, but a missed opportunity. You would think we'd have gotten a great Christopher Columbus film by now, but filmmakers keep coming up short. Still, this is probably the best of them (certainly better than that Marlon Brando trainwreck).

Ugly: I'm also gonna have to go with Legend. A great-looking flick which otherwise feels like a lazy, hallucinatory series of fantasy film conventions. Tim Curry is pretty entertaining, but this one has not held up too well. It works better with the Goldsmith score than with the Tangerine Dream effort (enjoyable as that music is on its own terms). All of that said, I still don't hate it.

[mkiker2089]

I'm going to have to cheat on this one

Good - Alien, I like the sequel better (there seem to be two camps on that regard) but no one can deny the original kicks butt as well.

Bad - GI Jane. It's too meh for it's own good. It feels like a cop out. Scott gave in to the fads of the day and let himself lose his innovation.

Ugly- no there isn't one. To me Legend isn't ugly. It is what it's meant to be, a hallucinogenic variant of the fantasy epic. That makes it niche viewing and I think therefore exempt from ugly status. Just like you shouldn't give poor marks to country music even though it sucks, you just aren't the intended audience. Does that make any sense?

[Gabriel Girard]

Ugly- no there isn't one. To me Legend isn't ugly. It is what it's meant to be, a hallucinogenic variant of the fantasy epic. That makes it niche viewing and I think therefore exempt from ugly status. Just like you shouldn't give poor marks to country music even though it sucks, you just aren't the intended audience. Does that make any sense?

I tdoes make sense but I still disagree. I still enjoy Willow, The Neverending Story and Labyrinth so it should be in my wheelhouse. I think Legend fails to reach anything beyond looking good. Although I have to amit the beginning is pretty good and offers a good sense of wonder, the movie gets worse as it goes along.

[Mitchell Hattaway]

Good: Blade Runner

Bad: Legend

Ugly: Someone to Watch Over Me