FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER ANNOUNCES
PAST AND PROLOGUE: THE FILMS OF RIDLEY SCOTT

New York, NY (April 26, 2012) — The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced today a complete retrospective of three-time Oscar-nominee Ridley Scott, whose career began in the 70’s and who has continued to excite and enchant audiences with his remarkable storytelling ability. The retrospective will run from May 25 – June 3 and will include the Director’s cut of KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, a new 35mm print of THELMA & LOUISE and the chance for fans to catch all of their favorites on the big screen.

“With ALIEN and BLADE RUNNER, Ridley Scott has been responsible for two of the most lasting and visionary works of science-fiction cinema,” said Film Society Associate Director of Programming Scott Foundas. “But as a filmmaker, he has seemed just as compelled by stories set in the distant past and those set in the combat zones of the present, always finding the human dimension in the mythic and the mythic dimension in the seemingly everyday. As he makes his long-awaited return to sci-fi with this summer’s highly anticipated PROMETHEUS, we’re delighted to pay tribute to Scott and his extraordinary career.”

Born in South Shields, England in 1937, Scott studied photography at the Royal College of Art in London, where he helped to establish a film department and made his first short subject, BOY AND BICYCLE, starring his younger brother (and future director) Tony. Together, the brothers then launched Ridley Scott Associates, a prolific commercial production company that counted future Oscar nominees Alan Parker (MIDNIGHT EXPRESS) and Hugh Hudson (CHARIOTS OF FIRE) among its stable of directors.

In 1977, Scott made his feature directing debut with THE DUELLISTS, an acclaimed adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s novella The Duel, starring the young Harvey Keitel and Ketih Carradine as feuding Napoleonic soldiers. Two years later, ALIEN catapulted him to the top of the Hollywood A-list, though the subsequent BLADE RUNNER would meet with soft box-office and an indifferent critical reaction upon its initial release, only to later be hailed as a classic whose impact and influence spread beyond filmmaking to the realms of real-world architecture and design.

In the decades since, Scott’s work has continued to set a high bar for large-scale studio filmmaking, earning more than $1 billion in domestic box-office receipts, a Best Picture Oscar for GLADIATOR and three Best Director Oscar nominations (for THELMA & LOUISE, GLADIATOR and BLACK HAWK DOWN). In addition, he has maintained a successful television career, serving as executive producer on the long-running CBS series NUMB3RS and THE GOOD WIFE. In 2003, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to the British film industry.

Take advantage of a Double-Shot of Scott!! A double feature package – choose a ticket to any two films for $20 for general public, and $15 for members. Tickets go on sale today at Filmlinc.com, or at the box office. Ticket prices are $13 for the general public, $9 for students and seniors and $8 for members. Screenings will be held at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater (located at 165 West 65th Street, between Amsterdam and Broadway).

Special thanks to the Academy Film Archive/May Haduong, British Film Institute/Fleur Buckley, Chartwell Partners/Denise Orzel, Paramount Pictures/Judy Nicaud, Park Circus/Chris Chouinard, Ridley Scott, Slate PR/Simon Halls and Katherine Rowe, Sony Pictures Repertory/Katie Fry and Christopher Lane, 20th Century Fox/Emily Bear, Caitlin Robertson and Bumble Ward, Universal Pictures/Paul Ginsburg, Walt Disney Studios, Warner Brothers/Marilee Womack.

FILMS, DESCRIPTIONS & SCHEDULE

ALIEN
Ridley Scott, 1979, USA, 35mm; 117m
In space, no one can hear you scream…except for the face-hugging, chest-exploding ETs at the center of Scott’s terrifying, hugely influential sci-fi classic.
*MAY 25, 9PM; MAY 28, 3:45PM

AMERICAN GANGSTER
Ridley Scott, 2007, USA, 35mm; 157m
An honest cop (Russell Crowe) works to take down the thriving heroin empire of gangster Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) in Scott’s sprawling, African-American companion piece to The Godfather.
*MAY 25, 1PM; MAY 28, 6:15PM

BLACK HAWK DOWN
Ridley Scott, 2001, USA, 35mm; 144m
This visceral, Oscar-winning account of the 1993 battle between U.S. Army Rangers and Somali insurgents in Mogadishu set a new standard for cinematic depictions of men in war.
*MAY 28, 1PM; JUN 2, 6:15PM

BLACK RAIN
Ridley Scott, 1989, USA, 35mm; 125m
Brash NYC cop Michael Douglas and partner Andy Garcia team with a veteran Japanese lawman (the great Ken Takakura) to track a missing Yakuza henchman in this sleek, suspenseful East-meets-West thriller.
*MAY 26, 1:30PM

BLADE RUNNER
Ridley Scott, 1982, USA; 117m
Scott’s sci-fi masterpiece not only anticipated our future but designed it. With Harrison Ford as the grizzled gumshoe on the trail of renegade humanoid “replicants.”
*MAY 26, 4PM; JUN 1, 9:15PM

BODY OF LIES
Ridley Scott, 2008, USA, 35mm; 128m
Samarra-based CIA operative Leonardo DiCaprio trails an elusive, bin Laden–esque terrorist , while his Langley-based boss (Rusell Crowe) watches from a safe distance in Scott’s razor-sharp look at the War on Terror.
*JUN 1, 3:45PM; JUN 2, 3:30PM

THE DUELLISTS
Ridley Scott, 1977, UK, HDCAM; 100m
Harvey Keitel and Keith Carradine are Napoleonic soldiers who allow a petty squabble to erupt into an absurd, lifelong feud in Scott’s dazzling debut feature, adapted from a Joseph Conrad novella.
**Screening with Boy and Bicycle
Ridley Scott, 1965, UK, Digital; 27m.
Scott’s abstract short, made while he was a photography student, stars his brother Tony as a truant schoolboy in an industrial British coastal town.
*MAY 25, 6:30PM; MAY 29, 3:30PM; MAY 31, 1PM

1492: CONQUEST OF PARADISE
Ridley Scott, 1992, USA/UK/France/Spain, 35mm; 154m
Scott’s visually stunning, psychologically complex Christopher Columbus bio-pic views the Italian explorer (played by Gérard Depardieu) as a great but flawed man of his times.
*MAY 27, 3PM

G.I. JANE
Ridley Scott, 1997, USA, 35mm; 125m
Pumped-up Demi Moore joins an elite Navy reconnaissance team under the watchful eye of Master Chief Viggo Mortensen in Scott’s high-octane women-in-the-military actioner.
*JUN 2, 9:15PM

GLADIATOR
Ridley Scott, 2000, USA, 35mm; 155m
In the first of his five collaborations with Scott, Russell Crowe stars as a betrayed Roman General who seeks his revenge through the gladiatorial arena. Winner of five Oscars including Best Picture and Best Actor.
*MAY 27, 6PM; JUN 1, 12:45PM

A GOOD YEAR
Ridley Scott, 2006, USA, 35mm; 118m
London investment banker Russell Crowe inherits a Provence vineyard and falls for the charms of a pre-La Vie en Rose Marion Cotillard in this charming, sun-drenched romantic fable.
*JUN 2, 1PM

HANNIBAL
Ridley Scott, 2001, USA, 35mm; 131m
Hannibal the Cannibal is back in Scott’s mordantly funny, darkly romantic Silence of the Lambs sequel. With Anthony Hopkins in top form, and Julianne Moore ably picking up where Jodie Foster left off.
*MAY 27, 9PM; MAY 29, 1PM

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (Director’s Cut)
Ridley Scott, 2005, UK/Spain/USA/Germany, 35mm; 192m
A village blacksmith (Orlando Bloom) becomes an unlikely hero in the Christian-Muslim religious wars of the 12th century in Scott’s masterful Crusades drama, presented here in the rarely screened director’s cut.
*JUN 3, 4PM

LEGEND
Ridley Scott, 1985, UK, 35mm; 94m
Mythical hero Tom Cruise teams up with an assortment of elves, fairies and dwarves to vanquish the forces of darkness in this visually extravagant, cult-classic fantasy.
*MAY 25, 4:15PM; MAY 26, 9:15PM

MATCHSTICK MEN
Ridley Scott, 2003, USA, 35mm; 116m
A phobic con artist (Nicolas Cage), his protege (Sam Rockwell) and the teenage daughter (Alison Lohman) he never knew he had team up to pull the heist of a lifetime in this delightful caper comedy.
*MAY 28, 9:15PM

ROBIN HOOD
Ridley Scott, 2010, USA/UK, 35mm; 140m
Russell Crowe is an older, wizened Robin Hood and Cate Blanchett a hesitant, widowed Marian in Scott’s lyrical, revisionist take on the classic legend.
*JUN 3, 1:15PM

SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME
Ridley Scott, 1987, USA, 35mm; 106m
One of Scott’s most underrated and surprising pictures, this elegant modern-day film noir stars Tom Berenger as a detective assigned to protect the wealthy Manhattan socialite (Mimi Rogers) who has witnessed a brutal murder.
*MAY 29, 6PM; MAY 30, 1PM

New 35mm print!
THELMA & LOUISE

Ridley Scott, 1991, USA, 35mm; 130m
Gal pals turned fugitives Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon go on the lam in Scott’s iconic feminist road movie, nominated for six Oscars and winner for Best Original Screenplay.
*MAY 26, 6:30PM

WHITE SQUALL
Ridley Scott, 1996, USA, 35mm; 129m
Jeff Bridges is superb as the disciplinarian headmaster of a youth sailing academy in this fact-based tale of the doomed final voyage of the brigantine Albatross.
*MAY 27, 12:30PM

FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER
Under the leadership of Rose Kuo, Executive Director, and Richard Peña, Program Director, the Film Society of Lincoln Center offers the best in international, classic and cutting-edge independent cinema. The Film Society presents two film festivals that attract global attention: the New York Film Festival, currently planning its 50th edition, and New Directors/New Films which, since its founding in 1972, has been produced in collaboration with MoMA. The Film Society also publishes the award-winning Film Comment Magazine, and for over three decades has given an annual award—now named “The Chaplin Award”—to a major figure in world cinema. Past recipients of this award include Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, and Tom Hanks. The Film Society presents a year-round calendar of programming, panels, lectures, educational programs and specialty film releases at its Walter Reade Theater and the new state-of-the-art Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center.

The Film Society receives generous, year-round support from Royal Bank of Canada, American Airlines, The New York Times, Stella Artois, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts. For more information, visit www.filmlinc.com and follow #filmlinc on Twitter.

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