Tony Scott 1944-2012

[Chris Knipp]

[NYTimes blog]

An Appraisal
A Director Who Excelled in Excess
Tony Scott Made Movies as a Maximalist

By MANOHLA DARGIS
Published: August 20, 2012

Tony Scott, who died on Sunday at 68, apparently from suicide, was one of the most influential film directors of the past 25 years, if also one of the most consistently and egregiously underloved by critics. One of the pop futurists of the contemporary blockbuster, he helped turn Tom Cruise into a megastar with the 1986 smash “Top Gun” and was instrumental in transforming Denzel Washington, over the course of five movies they made together — beginning with the locked-jaw masculinities of “Crimson Tide” (1995) and ending with the working-class heroics of “Unstoppable” (2010) — into a global brand. Mr. Scott made a lot of people rich and even more people happy with his enjoyably visceral work.

The rest HERE.

My favorite of his films would be TRUE ROMANCE, a breezy, pretty faithful rendering by non-Tarantino of a Tarantino script, with some hilarious and classic moments by Brad Pitt, Gary Oldman, Dennis Hopper, Chris Walken, and James Gandolfini.

[Reports of inoperable brain cancer were denied by the family and subsequently retracted by news agencies, including ABC, leaving the suicide a mystery. A number of witnesses saw Scott jump off the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro and he reportedly left two suicide notes.]

[Johann]

He was a solid director. True Romance is my favorite as well. Second best would be The Hunger, a cult classic that has many fans. Critics were chilly. He is partly responsible for getting Reservoir Dogs made.

I understand why he did what he did. Both in his career and in his death.

[Johann]

The report that he had inoperable brain cancer is being disputed. Glad you edited that out Chris.
My thoughts are with his family. He and Ridley collaborated on this years' PROMETHEUS.

[tabuno]

It is probably not too appropriate to assess a film director's work so close to his passing, but at some point it will likely occur by some prestigious commentator. So being someone who really hasn't the film education, I might be given some leeway in stepping on protocol.

What is fascinating about Tony Scott's work as a director is his quantity and style over substance focus in his films which have been used to denigrate or devalue his work as a serious director. Tony's films raise the fundamental movie issue of what makes for a great movie, a classical movie. On a number of levels using the American Film Institute's criteria, Tony Scott might be nominated for a number of his films being great or close to great.

Some of Tony's films have been extremely popular and enduring over time, having historical significance and even cultural impact (though its hard to say whether or not culture or film influenced each other and in what direction).

The Hunger (1983).

Top Gun (1986).

Crimson Tide (1995).

Enemy of the State (1998).

Spy Game (2001).

Deja Vu (2006).

All interestingly enough except for The Hunger each film has a crisp, sharp, and densely involved techno, sound, music, intricate fusion of elements that are strongly appealing and powerful as action thrillers. Most involve a substantive mental qualities at work behind the script and plot outline. Many involve some of America's deepest governmental conspiracy fears that have been so relevant for the past several decades, among the most essential geo-political-economic-power issues facing humanity today. So in some ways, Tony Scott has been among those rare directors who could bring to the mass-audience in huge numbers an intriguing and many times very covert, hidden agenda to the full screen. As a movie genre director, a good number of Tony's movies have a power that can't be ignored by the critics.

[Johann]

Feel free to comment on anything you want tabuno- you've been here ten years. Fire away on anything!

Tony Scott was a very solid film director. That said, I can't stand Days of Thunder and Top Gun has been shown to death. On Oliver Stone's FB page he mentioned that ENEMY OF THE STATE was Tony's best film.

THE HUNGER and TRUE ROMANCE (and Top Gun) ensure that he is a director who will last as long as there are film buffs/an audience.

[tabuno]

Is a show that is "shown to death" indicative of it being a good movie, a cash cow, or what? Or that either the serial rights people are ignorant or the people that keep watching it starved for better programming? Or does Top Gun tap into something more fundamental in the human psyche?

Oh by the way - a decade seems old. It was my birthday yesterday.

[Johann]

Happy Belated Birthday! I hope it was enjoyable.

With regards to Top Gun, I can only speak for myself.
I've seen it so many times over the years (and never by my own volition) that it's almost permanently ingrained.
It was well made and it more than achieved the goal of being a success- it's an iconic film, everybody knows it, but it isn't a classic. Iconic and Classic are not the same thing.
Some people will call it a classic and I won't argue about it.
I can admit it is entertaining, but for me I've just seen it so much that I don't get anything out of it anymore.
And that song "Danger Zone" is one that I just can't stand. I cringe whenever I hear it.