Ridley Scott Blasts Modern Cinema, Says He Only Watches His Own Movies

During a recent talk at the BFI Southbank in London, the legendary filmmaker shared a strong opinion about the state of modern cinema.

Speaking on Sunday, October 5, during an interview led by his son Luke Scott, the Alien and Gladiator director said he believes Hollywood is full of mediocrity and that most movies being made today simply aren’t very good.

“Right now I’m finding mediocrity, we’re drowning in mediocrity,” Scott said when asked about his current movie-watching habits. He explained that because he struggles to find films that truly impress him, he’s started rewatching his own work instead.

“It’s a horrible thing, but I’ve started to watch my own movies, and actually they’re really good! And also, they don’t age,” he said, adding with a laugh that he recently revisited Black Hawk Down and was surprised by how well it holds up.

Scott talked about how today’s film industry is overloaded with content, saying that the sheer number of movies being made has led to a drop in quality. “The quantity of movies that are made today, literally globally, millions. There’s not thousands, there’s millions, and most of it is s***,” he said.

He went on to explain that only a small portion of modern films stand out as great, noting that many rely too heavily on digital effects rather than solid storytelling. “A lot of films today are saved and made more expensive by digital effects, because what they haven’t got is a great thing on paper first. Get it on paper,” he added.

Scott also reflected on his own career, sharing memories of making Blade Runner, which he described as one of the toughest experiences of his life. “It was the first time I was in Hollywood making a movie, and being there I was a stranger in a strange land,” he said. “Doing it was very hard because… it was so different and such a new universe. People hadn’t experienced that before.”

The director gave credit to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey for inspiring his approach to science fiction and shaping how audiences view artificial intelligence in film. “It all goes back to Stanley,” he said. “Kubrick had the genius idea of HAL, where the mission was more important than the crew. People don’t give enough credit to 2001—it was a major genius act.”

Scott also revealed that he was not the studio’s first choice to direct Alien—in fact, he was the sixth. “A guy called Sandy Lieverson had seen [The Duelist] in Cannes and said, ‘I know you’re looking for a guy to direct Alien, this is your man.’ That’s how it happened. I was the sixth choice.”

He said making Alien wasn’t easy because of the number of opinions he had to deal with. “It was pretty fraught doing Alien, actually,” he admitted. “Everyone had an opinion, and I was not used to opinions. I had to literally draw the line in the sand and say, ‘Back off. Watch me do this, okay?’”

Scott’s comments have sparked debate among film fans, especially his remark about modern movies being “mostly s****.” Coming from one of Hollywood’s most respected directors, it’s a reminder of how much the film landscape has changed since his early days behind the camera.

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