<FONT COLOR=#FFFF00<H1><U>Ridley Scott</U></H1>
He is born in 1939, South Shields. Durham (now Tyne and Wear), British-American film director. Scott grew up in West Hartlepool, England, and attended the West Hartlepool College of Art and the Royal College of Art in London.
After working as a set designer and director in British television, he began in 1967 to direct commercials, eventually numbering over 2000, for his own company.
His attention to visual stylization in his commercials, including distinctive atmospheric lightning effects, continued into the feature films he began directing in 1977.
His first was ”The Duellists”, set in Napoleonic France, wich won the best first-feature award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Hes next three films was fantasies: ”Alien”(1979), a science-fiction-horror story; ”Blade Runner”(1982, recut 1992), a science-fiction story notable for Scott´s vision of a grim, dark, polluted future; and ”Legend” (1985) an allegorical fairy tale.
Scott´s subsequent films were set in contemporary times, including the thrillers ”Someone to Watch Over Me” (1987) and ”Black Rain” (1989); again, these were admired for their visual styling. While Scott´s setting in ”Thelma and Louise” (1991) were no less notable, the film´s lead characters and feminist theme were the focus of critical attention.
His ”1492: Conquest of Paradise” (1992) released for the quincentennial of Columbus´ discovery of America, was less received.
