Ridley Scott’s All-Time Favorite Movie Was One He Directed Himself

No one has ever accused Sir Ridley Scott of being shy with his feelings, but when Letterboxd asked the director for his four favorite films at the premiere of “Alien: Romulus,” he still managed to be a bit surprising by naming one of his own. To be fair, he also named Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey,” George Lucas’ “Star Wars: A New Hope,” and Jean-Jacques Annaud’s “Quest for Fire” alongside his own “Blade Runner,” so he had some pretty fantastic picks to offer in addition to showing his 1982 cyberpunk opus a little love. There’s definitely a bit of a science fiction thread through his four favorites, and each one is a look at humanity through a slightly tilted lens, but let’s talk a bit more about “Blade Runner” and why it deserves just as much if not more love than Scott’s more popular sci-fi film, “Alien.” 

I’ll be totally transparent here: “Blade Runner” is one of my favorite movies of all time. It was the first movie I ever watched with letterboxing and it made such an impression on me that I have an origami unicorn tattoo on my leg. The story of Harrison Ford’s Rick Deckard, tasked with hunting down rogue replicants, was one that shattered my young movie-watching mind due to a combination of the story itself, the performances of the replicants (especially Rutger Hauer), and the absolutely stunning visuals. So it’s no surprise to me that Scott would claim such a brilliant film as one of his favorites, but let’s look into why it means so much to him personally. 

It’s understandable that “Blade Runner” wasn’t a massive crowd-pleaser because it’s honestly an existential bummer, but it’s one of the greatest and most influential movies ever made and it deserves to be appreciated as such. Here’s to “Blade Runner,” and to Sir Ridley Scott for not only making it but having the guts to name it among his favorite work.