My Descent Into Madness: Introduction

So, with my proven track record of failing to follow through on anything I ever promise to do in a blog, here is my latest quest:  to watch, and document, every film that Tony Scott has ever directed, in chronological order.  Originally I was going to attempt the same thing, but with the films of Tony's brother Ridley.  However, that series of posts would have been too easy.  Every Ridley Scott film generates 1 of 3 responses from an audience:

1. "That was an amazing film!  So well directed!"
2. "That was okay, I guess.  And it was well directed."
3. "That really sucked.  But it was well directed."

That's Ridley's entire filmography in a nutshell.  No challenge there.  But Tony Scott?  That's a challenge.  And it is one that I feel I am well-suited to take on.  I grew up in the 80's and have that nostalgia for cheesy 80's machismo action movies, which makes me the target audience for Scott's early career.  I am also the target audience for his latter films, because I don't have epilepsy.

So, between my own movie library and Netflix's disc and streaming library, I have arranged the complete Tony Scott line-up:

• The Hunger (1983)
• Top Gun (1986)
• Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
• Revenge (1990)
• Days of Thunder (1990)
• The Last Boy Scout (1991)
• True Romance (1993)
• Crimson Tide (1995)
• The Fan (1996)
• Enemy of the State (1998)
• Spy Game (2001)
• Man on Fire (2004)
• Domino (2005)
• Deja Vu (2006)
• The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)

I also plan to watch the 2 episodes he directed for his erotic-horror anthology TV series, The Hunger, which was thematically based on his debut film and co-created by Ridley, and also the short film he made for BMW, Beat the Devil.  Lastly, if I am able to track down a copy, I will watch his 2004 short film Agent Orange.  I will not, however, watch the episode of Numb3rs he guest directed, because it does not stand on its own plot-wise, and TV guest directors rarely add any of their personal style to the episodes they direct, and instead fall in line with the show's established visual aesthetic.

Wish me luck.