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Ridley Scott has worked with some good composers, but the PSYCHO 2 stuff in LEGEND throws me out of the few times I ever saw the movie, and I'm not nuts about Hanson or FREUD in ALIEN, so I dunno...
Michael Kamen once carped "Ridley doesn't know his arse from his elbow when it comes to music". Truly, Alien, Blade Runner and Legend are iconic scores. In the case of Alien, I think the score was for the most part mangled. On the other hand, I side with Scott and not Goldsmith in regard to the main title music (which I think should have set-up the atmosphere of unease rather than romanticizing space).
One director who has certainly inspired composers (whether or not he is musical himself) is George Miller -- when you look at The Road Warrior, his Twilight Zone segment, Thunderdome and Witches of Eastwick. On the other hand there's the score for Fury Road. 
Terry Gilliam has brought out the best in composers -- Time Bandits, Brazil, Munchausen, Fisher King, Brothers Grimm, Don Quixote, etc.
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On the other hand, I side with Scott and not Goldsmith in regard to the main title music (which I think should have set-up the atmosphere of unease rather than romanticizing space).
It's rare that I agree with you, Paul, but in this case I totally agree. I far prefer the Scott/Rawlings version of the score over the original Goldsmith (the main title, end title, FREUD and whatever else there was).
I do have to be honest -- while I much prefer the revised main title, I don't think the Freud music was more effective than what Goldsmith wrote (plus the audio quality of those Frued cues was mono, and overall poor). They don't ruin the scenes -- but my thought is "why bother with old music when the music written for the film works perfectly well?"
I think Alien is great in any case and the re-edited music doesn't affect my enjoyment of it -- but I also think the re-editing of the music and replacement of the "Shaft" and "End Title" was ultimately unnecessary (and compromised the narrative arc of the score as written).
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The use of Freud in the air shaft scene is one of the most effective, most perfect matches of music to film I've ever seen. The music is what makes that scene—what is arguably both the film's greatest scare and what sets up the palpable sense of dread you feel heading into the third act. I'm not knocking anyone who admires the purity of Goldsmith's full original score (like what I did there?), but Scott knew in his bones and in his adrenal glands how those Freud cues would send audiences' pulses spiking. The dripping acid cue was another moment (while not half as important as "Charcot's Show" and "Desperate Case") that only added to the atmosphere that was being carefully cultivated. Scott is an auteur. He makes every creative choice with utmost care. Far from a disregard for or ignorance of how film music works, the musical shuffling in Alien is the work of a master filmmaker operating at the top of his game.
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I just looked up a photo montage recreation someone did of the shaft sequence with Goldsmith's original cue on YouTube, and one of the top comments is, "You’re missing the tune with the crying violin, most scary piece of music there is."
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Scott knew in his bones and in his adrenal glands how those Freud cues would send audiences' pulses spiking. The dripping acid cue was another moment (while not half as important as "Charcot's Show" and "Desperate Case") that only added to the atmosphere that was being carefully cultivated.
I wouldn't credit Scott with this though -- it was really Terry Rawlings' idea. Rawlings selected the temp music, and Scott went along with his ideas. Scott has admitted it was the editor who originally taught him about what music could do for a scene (however, I wouldn't say Rawlings provided Scott the best education).
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