9. Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

The problem with Scott's sprawling epic about the Crusades lies solely with the casting choice of Orlando Bloom as the lead. Playing a French expatriate who ends up defending Jerusalem against European forces, Bloom is so far out of his league against the likes of Jeremy Irons and Liam Neeson that the whole movie often feels comical. But it's a complex film that deals with some serious moral issues, and if you can get past Bloom, it's definitely worth the two-and-a-half-hour runtime.

8. The Duellists (1977)

Scott's first feature was a Cannes Palme d'Or finalist in 1977. Working from a novella by Joseph Conrad, the young director brilliantly evoked Conrad's Napoleonic Wars setting; you'll be amazed by what Scott managed with a tiny budget. And the drama — about a years-long standoff between French officers Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel — still works.

7. American Gangster (2007)

American Gangster features Denzel Washington playing the drug-trafficking-kingpin version of Denzel Washington, being chased by the 1970s-cop version of Russell Crowe. And it's almost as fun as it sounds, especially if you can ignore the predictable ending. Plus, the background (the emerging international heroin trade during the 1970s) is fascinating.

6. Matchstick Men (2003)

I sometimes forget Matchstick Men was directed by Ridley Scott; this story about Nicolas Cage as a phobic con-artist, Sam Rockwell as his swindling partner, and Cage's attempt to bond with his estranged daughter, feels more like something by Steven Soderbergh. But that's not a bad thing — if anything, it proves Scott's range — and, given Scott's visual mastery, it's the best-looking con-man movie you'll ever see.

5. Black Hawk Down (2001)

The war-film fanatic is hard to satisfy; there's always some discrepancy that sends them into a fit. But Black Hawk Down is a war-film fanatic's war film — it not only tells the true story of a Black Hawk helicopter shot down in Mogadishu, but it delivers unrivaled verisimilitude. Scott's attention to detail makes the story feel intimate and real, and therefore all the more harrowing.

4. Thelma & Louise (1991)

When a movie title becomes a verb, it's safe to say it's made a lasting impact on pop culture. With great performances and an unforgettable climax, Thelma & Louise broke out of the "chick flick" ghetto.

3. Gladiator (2000)

Gladiator kicked off a wave of epic sword-and-sandal movies, many of them distinguished more by the pectorals on display than by any great filmmaking. But Scott's film still stands out for its frantic pace, racing from the opening battle to the final showdown between Maximus and Commodus. It may not be Scott's most transcendent movie, but it's one of his most satisfying.

2. Blade Runner (1982)

I'm putting this at #2, but it's really #1b. Blade Runner is a masterpiece, so dense with ideas about identity, religion, and human evolution that it's easy to get lost in your own head trying to digest what's on screen. But it's also just as fun to unplug your brain and watch it for Scott's haunting portrait of a dystopian Los Angeles.

1. Alien (1979)

Alien earns top seed for three reasons. One: thirty years after its initial release, the scene inside the Nostromo's mess hall is still horrifying. Two: Alien upended gender roles in sci-fi by featuring Sigourney Weaver as the heroine, Ripley, a character originally written as male. And three: it's not very often that a movie creates and simultaneously dominates a sub-genre, as Alien did with the tricky "sci-fi horror." (Just try to think of a better example.)

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