In 1991,
‘93, and ’95 director Tony Scott released “The Last Boy Scout”, “True Romance”,
and “Crimson Tide”. These three films in
my opinion define the kind of filmmaker he was and proved that he had an
original voice, and could give us something we had never seen before in the
realms of action, drama, and well, romance.
Up until ’91
everyone had known him as the commercial director/little brother of Ridley, and
while “Top Gun”, “Beverly Hills Cop II”, and “Days of Thunder” were all
successful, when I watch them now, they do feel dated. However to help Tony break out of his comfort
zone, or maybe to find it, it took two young, and at the time ‘hot’ writers to
give his movies the punch they needed to last through the years.
The first
was writer Shane Black who had just come off creating the “Lethal Weapon”
series and knew how to write fun action with even funnier tough-guy dialogue
that is ripped off to this day. The
story of “The Last Boy Scout” has burned out detective Joe Hallenbeck played by
Bruce Willis who gets teamed up buddy-cop style with an ex-quarterback turned
drug addict Jimmy Dix. The pair tries to
solve a murder amidst corruption and politics.
The dialogue sells the movie better than the performances, and the
visuals outshine anything done by Scott up to that point. The film is gritty, and has an insane amount
of action, with as I said before, things you haven’t ever seen on screen, the
opening football game starts like a commercial for Gatorade, and then ends with
a receiver heading for the end zone, with a football in one hand and a hand-gun
in the other. Taking out innocent
players as he runs the ball in for the touchdown. From there it’s creepy stone-cold killers,
kick-ass one liners, foul-mouthed pre-teens, shootouts using fireplaces and
puppets as weapons, and a ton other hyphenated words that all lead to one of
the most original action movies of its time.
Scott’s next
film was 1993’s “True Romance” and I’m not alone in thinking so, this was his
best film, was written by Quentin Tarantino pre-“Pulp Fiction”. Considered a financial bomb “Romance” the
story of love between a hooker and a lonely guy who would do anything for her introduced
an un-prepared movie-going public to the racy dialogue, insane Mexican
stand-offs, brutal violence and prime-time’s Balky with a face full of
cocaine. In short the movie is
genius. And let’s not forget the amazing
cast, Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette as the leads, with fantastic
cameos and scene-stealers like Sam Jackson, Brad Pitt, Gary Oldman, James
Gandolfini, Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, Sal Rubenik, and Val Kilmer as
Elvis. Like I said, genius. The Walken and Hopper ‘Sicilian’ scene alone
is worthy of classic film greatness. The
movie is a modern day fairy tale that makes lame exposition interesting when
set on a roller-coaster and has Slater calmly talking to his imaginary friend
while a gunfight is going on in the next room.
It’s insane, fun, and romantic enough for any film geek.
In 1995 it
was “Crimson Tide” which began Scott’s collaboration with Denzel Washington,
together they would work on five films including Scott’s last one with
Washington “Unstoppable”. But back to
“Crimson Tide” this was a unique movie in that it mixed real life terror,
partial information about war aboard a nuclear submarine, with the opposing
heads of the sub disagreeing on the proper course of action. Gene Hackman is incredible as the by-the-book
captain that does quite a bit to push the buttons of his new executive officer
Denzel Washington. When the two
powerhouses collide, you have never seen so much intense action in such a
confined space. And the tension
throughout the film just keeps getting higher and higher with a great young
cast, Including Steve Zahn, Danny Nucci, and Lillo Brancato of “A Bronx Tale”
fame. Also on board the toughness of
James Gandolfini, and Viggo Mortensen to balance out the bad-ass cast. This movie is pure testosterone, and I mean
that in a good way. With a Hans Zimmer
score so good that it was used it movie trailers for years. Overall the performances are outstanding and
the resolve is satisfying. And if you
watch closely, you can spot the writing contribution of Quentin Tarantino. Two guys fighting over which is the better
Silver Surfer, Kirby or Moebius? Who
else would make that cool?
I didn’t
want to focus on the tragic death of Tony Scott. The purpose of this blog is to talk about our
love of movies, and there is one thing I will always carry with me from Tony
Scott, he gave me a lot of moments to love in the movies he put on the
screen. Whether it’s Goose giving the
‘bird’ to the enemy, Axel Foley treating a bag of vitamins like an explosive,
Kevin Costner getting his “Revenge”, DeNiro on the pitcher’s mound in the rain,
Hackman blowing up a building because Will Smith “…MADE A PHONE CALL!”, or
making me believe that Denzel was a true “Man on Fire”. Tony Scott will be remembered through his
films, and if you look back at any of the 16 he directed, I guarantee you will
see something you like, even if it is a moment, that is something the man could
catch, a moment, and he would make it original and lasting. I for one will miss those moments we will
never get to see. Thank you Tony.
--Robert L.
Castillo
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