Software Features

A supreme slice of sci-fi/noir with an aesthetic imitated countless times in the last 30 years, Blade Runner sees Scott taking Philip K Dick's thought-provoking novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? as the starting point for two hours of downbeat brilliance, capped off by Rutger Hauer's 'tears in rain' monologue and the 'Is he?/isn't he?' enigma of Hampton Fancher's lean, mean script. A sequel, produced by Scott, is touching down in 2018.

Get it: As Blade Runner exists in numerous different edits (ranging from 1982's 'Work Print' to 2007's 'The Final Cut', the best option is to shell out for the 30th Anniversary Edition that includes them all, plus the in-depth Dangerous Days documentary and many more extras.

A lights-off bigscreen showing of this sci-fi/horror is about as terrifying as home cinema gets, with Scott majoring on slow-burning tension, H.R. Giger's other-worldly designs and a few perfectly-played jump-scares. Let's be honest – your movie collection just isn't complete without it. 

Get it: Pick up the brilliant 2010 Alien Anthology boxset and you can choose between the theatrical release and 2003 Director's Cut, plus kick back with the three sequels.

The movie that kickstarted Scott's career after a string of semi-flops (remember G.I. Jane?), Gladiator harks back to the epics of Hollywood's Golden Age, helped by cutting-edge VFX that brings the Coliseum and its tetchy tigers to life. A big-budget beauty.

Get it: Rest assured that any recent BD features Universal's second stab at a hi-def master rather than the edge-enhanced mess it first put out in 2009.

The director's decision to helm a good-natured female-led road movie may have raised a few eyebrows, but this isn't Scott merely paying the bills – there's an effortless charm to Thelma and Louise's storytelling and he coaxes award-winning performances from Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis as the titular stars.

Get it: The 20th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray serves up a blemish-free transfer and good extras (although some are SD).

A retelling of the rise and fall of New York drug smuggler Frank Lucas could have easily ended up like any other overblown Hollywood crime flick, yet Scott signed Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe to head the cast and went about painstakingly recreating 1970s Harlem. The result is a grand-looking, absorbing thriller.

Get it: Universal's 2007 BD includes an extended cut – the HD DVD release (should you be a retro-head) doesn't.

Tim Curry as the Lord of Darkness! Tom Cruise as some sort of forest-dwelling hippy teen! Conflicting soundtracks! Just three of the numerous reasons that this mid-80s fantasy adventure sunk at the box office. And, sure, it's no Alien, but there's enough playfulness and imagination here to make Legend well worth a re-evaluation.

Get it: Fans will want the US 2010 Ultimate Edition BD. This packs two versions – one a Director's Cut with Jerry Goldsmith score, the other the US theatrical release with Tangerine Dream soundtrack, and oodles of bonus bits.

This ensemble cast actioner recounts the day-long firefight that followed a disastrous US mission in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, and delivers a brutal AV experience replete with what feels like an entire army's worth of ordnance whipping through your movie room. Scott's dirt-spattered visuals only add to its high-octane charms.

Get it: For the biggest array of extra features, check out the 2004 three-disc Special Edition DVD release. But you'll want the more recent Blu-ray's uncompressed PCM 5.1 mix, too.

Another historical adventure from Scott, albeit one that's more noteworthy for its mindboggling (and 3D) imagery than its narrative beats. The director and CGI studio MPC Film have heaps of fun building a detailed Egyptian world and taking Biblical plagues from page to screen, making sure that Exodus... is 150 minutes of pure home cinema eye-candy.

Get it: Last year's Blu-ray matches the sumptuous picture with a wraparound DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix. It's also the only one of Scott's films that is available to buy on Ultra HD Blu-ray in the UK for the moment (The Martian is bundled exclusively with Samsung's UHD deck on these shores).

Fans had been clamouring for Anthony Hopkins' scenery (and flesh)-chewing killer Hannibal Lecter to return to cinema ever since 1991's Silence of the Lambs. Scott accepted the challenge and delivered Hannibal a decade later, a film that proves he has no problem with the stomach-churning horror and operatic violence of the source material. Gruesome, ghoulish fun.

Get it: There are plenty of extras on Universal's MPEG-2 UK Blu-ray (although more on the two-disc DVD release). Different boxsets collect the movie with various other entries in the series.

When Scott announced he was helming an Alien prequel, fans rejoiced. Then it arrived and some fans got the hump because the Xenomorph was basically nowhere to be seen. To that we say, 'Who cares?' This beguiling sci-fi dangles enough references to its parent flick to raise a smile, and enough bloody horror to frighten the hell out of you. There are now two (possibly three) sequels planned, and we couldn't be happier.

Get it: The 3-Disc Collector's Edition packs both 2D and 3D encodes, DTS-HD MA 7.1 theatrics and an insane amount of extras, the highlight of which is the 221-minute The Furious Gods: Making Prometheus doc – a must-watch for any certified movie buff.