TO AUGUST 31

One of a generation of British directors who began their careers making TV commercials, Ridley Scott has always been slick, even when depicting intergalactic horrors or brutal intimidation. Overcoming the latter is the crux of G.I. Jane, the first-female-Navy-SEAL drama whose Aug. 22 opening is this series’ hook. G.I. Jane is not the best example, but Scott does have a flair for mainstream flicks with a feminist kick, including the blatantly manipulative but heroine-affirming Alien (pictured are the cast with Ripley at right, Aug. 15 at 6 p.m.) and the pink-collar-workers-go-wild road movie Thelma and Louise (Aug. 30 at 8:15 p.m., Aug. 31 at 5 p.m.). For pure style, Scott’s most striking films are his debut, the costumed blade-clanker The Duellists (Aug. 21 at 8:30 p.m., Aug. 25 at 8:15 p.m.), and the bleak yet flashy Tokyo-ized L.A. sci-fi thriller Blade Runner, shown here in its even bleaker director’s cut (Aug. 15 at 8:45 p.m., Aug. 16 at 8:45 p.m.). Frankly dumb, but just as visually dazzling, is Black Rain, in which Scott makes the most of the wet streets and neon of the real Tokyo (Aug. 16 at 4 p.m., Aug. 17 at 1 p.m.). At the Kennedy Center’s American Film Institute Theater. $6.50. (202) 828-4090. (Mark Jenkins)