I know that I usually do a movie versus a movie but felt compelled to pit Scorsese against Sir Ridley Scott (he’s a knight ya know!). Both of these directors are highly accomplished and each is more known for their contributions to some of the best films of all time. Scott really made his mark with Alien (1979) and Scorsese with Mean Streets (1973) and Taxi Driver (1976). Both are now into their late careers and still turning out great films – The Martian (2015) by Scott and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) by Scorsese.
The benchmark this go around involves the following:
- Film Diversification – How much variance does each filmmaker have with their filmography?
- Accolades – Which director generated the most awards?
- Box Office Success – Tallying the total box office receipts. For simplicity sake, we will be viewing domestic box office while negating the film’s budget. Also, the numbers will not be adjusted for inflation.
- Critical Success – What was the critic consensus like for their films?
- Pop Cultural Impact – This is the most subjective category but I will attempt to argue a filmmakers influence over others and the impact they’ve had in other mediums.
- Film Diversification
Ridley Scott is obviously taken by sci/fi and fantasy stories and Scorsese crime dramas. However, how much did each seem to deviate from these genres?
Let’s take Martin Scorsese first. He’s known by many for raw, exciting dramas that have organized crime involved to some degree. This is ever true when you consider films such as The Departed, Goodfellas, Casino, and Gangs of New York. He does deviate from what he is mainly known for. Take for example the films, The Aviator (one of the many Scorsese/DiCaprio collaborations), Shutter Island, Kundun, The Color of Money, and Hugo. Each of these shows that Scorsese can handle different subject matter and still be highly effective. He tackles the thriller with Shutter Island, the biographical drama in The Aviator and Kundun, the poolsharking drama The Color of Money, and the family drama in Hugo (his ode to the history of film and its vital importance).
Ridley Scott doesn’t just do films involving aliens now. He’s done a lot of great films (and some stinkers as well). What should first come to mind is Blade Runner followed by Gladiator, Legend, Thelma & Louise, and Black Hawk Down. When Ridley Scott….sorry, Sir Ridley Scott is really on, he knocks it out of the park. Others unworthy of note include: Hannibal, American Gangster, Robin Hood, and G.I. Jane. However, this category isn’t which films are better but rather which are more diverse. It seems that Scott isn’t necessarily limited to a particular genre either. Many may argue that his strongest suit is the genre of sci-fi and they’d be right but you can’t ignore his other contributions.
Who has the edge? Scorsese. There simply seems to be more of an attempt from the Raging Bull director to branch out of the highly popular genre associated with his name and challenge himself in other arenas. Note: Scorsese has done four crime dramas: Goodfellas, The Departed, Gangs of New York, and Casino. Scott has done four sci-fi films: Alien, Prometheus, Blade Runner and The Martian (with another sequel to the Alien series titled Alien: Covenant coming out in 2016).
“When you love someone, you’ve gotta trust them. There’s no other way. You’ve got to give them the key to everything that’s yours. Otherwise, what’s the point? And for a while, I believed that’s the kind of love I had.” – Sam “Ace” Rothstein (Casino)
2. Accolades
We need to narrow down our consideration include the Oscars, BAFTAs, The Director’s Guild of America Awards and the Golden Globes. Note: Both have Best Picture Oscars.
Martin Scorsese (can you believe he’s only 5’ 4”?!) (Keep in mind that he was also nominated tons of times. For a list of all of his awards, check here.
Oscars – Best Director (The Departed), Best Picture (The Departed)
The Directors Guild of America – Best Director (The Departed), Lifetime Achievement Award
Golden Globes – Best Director (Hugo), Best Director (The Departed), Best Director (The Aviator), Cecil B DeMille Award
BAFTAs – Academy Fellowship, Best Director (Goodfellas), Best Screenplay (Goodfellas), Best Film (Goodfellas), Best Film (Goodfellas)
Sir Ridley Scott (he was knighted in 2003)
Oscars – Best Picture (Gladiator)
BAFTAs – Michael Balcon Award
The Director’s Guild of America –
Golden Globes –
Who has the edge? No brainer here. Scorsese takes the cake again. It’s surprising that Scott hasn’t won more awards. I thought at least he’d come close to Scorsese.
“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I’ve watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those … moments will be lost in time, like tears…in rain. Time to die.” – Roy Batty (Blade Runner)
3. Box Office Success
Ridley Scott
The total box office for Scott’s feature films is $1,556,001,958. That’s a good chunk of change.
In tallying up the domestic grosses for all of Scott’s films, I utilized Wikipedia which gives a list at all of the money generated from his films (check here).
Martin Scorsese
On that other hand, Scorsese has also had a very successful run at the box office. His stats (listed via Wikipedia here), are pretty overwhelming.
The total take in for Scorsese (not adjusting for inflation) is $2,120,100,000. That’s a big step up from Scott but note that his first film was in 1977 whereas Scorsese began in 1967. Theoretically, Scott could still catch up.
Who has the edge? Scorsese. Pretty cut and dry here. However, with a sequel to Prometheus (to be directed by Scott) coming out soon, the gap should get smaller.
“As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster. To me, being a gangster was better than being President of the United States. Even before I first wandered into the cabstand for an after-school job, I knew I wanted to be a part of them. It was there that I knew that I belonged. To me, it meant being somebody in a neighborhood that was full of nobodies. They weren’t like anybody else. I mean, they did whatever they wanted. They double-parked in front of a hydrant and nobody ever gave them a ticket. In the summer when they played cards all night, nobody ever called the cops.” – Henry Hill (Goodfellas)
4. Critical Success
Martin Scorsese
The average rating Scorsese receives on Rotten Tomatoes is 83%.
Sir Ridley Scott
The Alien director has an average film rating on Rotten Tomatoes of 61.72%.
Keep in mind that when calculating these numbers, I used Rotten Tomatoes. Being that the aggregator website was only launched in 1998, the actual number of reviews per older movie will be less (in total).
Who has the edge? Scorsese. Scott just can’t catch a break. Scott’s films are very polarizing, at least critically.
“In space no one can hear you scream” – tagline from Alien
5. Pop Cultural Impact
Ridley Scott
Once Alien took hold in Hollywood, it influenced a bevy of directors and became a box office force with its sequels and prequel (I’m not counting the Alien vs. Predator movies). You couple this with the transcendent film, Blade Runner, and Scott has become known as a thoughtful, visionary director that has a unique take on all of his films, including more recently with Gladiator, Prometheus, and The Martian (forget The Counselor, Body of Lies). Even my personal favorite, Legend, is a cult hit in its own right. Who can forget Tim Curry’s Darkness against Tom Cruise’s Jack in the 1986 fantasy film? More than Scott’s brilliant use of visuals to tell a story, it is his contribution to cinema with Blade Runner that catapults him into another stratosphere. Although the film wasn’t a particular smash hit when it came out in 1982, it has since garnered a giant following with even a sequel in the works with Ryan Gosling starring alongside Harrison Ford. Concepts of love, existence and morality come into play beautifully. Perhaps the reason the film wasn’t a giant success from the get-go was because it was ahead of its time.
Martin Scorsese
Just as Scott pushes films that attempt to challenge us in a way, Scorsese is more focused on how people are affected through the gravitas of their situations. Let’s say he’s more character driven. Just think about it and all of the awards he’s garnered, including all of the awards his actors/actresses have received. You want to tell a more heartfelt, complex character story? Look no further than Scorsese. Just take the great Raging Bull film or the tense drama Taxi Driver. He’s attached to what makes people tick.
Who has the edge? Scott. You cannot deny the influence both of these directors have had already (and they’re still kicking it today!). The reason for Scott in this case is because he seems to have more influence on the masses and not ‘the academy’ per say. Scott’s passion for big ideas does not go unnoticed. He is not only a visionary talent but will likely be placed in the philosophical conversation (thanks Blade Runner). Look, the ‘academy’ understandably loves Scorsese’s films but should probably be more open to films that focus on broader ideas and the sci-fi genre all together.
Overall Win? Martin Scorsese. You have to hand it to the director. With his box office draw, excellent storytelling, and diverse filmography, he remains one of the best directors working in Hollywood.
“You talking to me?” – Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver)
Pop Culture Crunch 