Movie buffs across the world were shocked and saddened at the news of Hollywood director Tony Scott's death.

The 68-year-old British-born director, who was younger brother to Academy Award-winning Hollywood director Ridley Scott, committed suicide by jumping off Los Angeles' San Pedro Bridge on Sunday.

Scott was a director who delivered high-paced action thrillers using a flurry of crane shots and whip pans. His stunt sequences and location choices were known for their gritty "real" feeling, as opposed to those movies directed by Hollywood directors who were quick to jump on the CGI bandwagon.

Ahead of his memorial service this weekend, iafrica.com's Philane Ndaba takes a look at some of the filmmaker's most memorable movies, as  well as one of the last interviews with him.

Top Gun (1986)

Easily his most iconic and recognisable film, Top Gun was a major commercial success that remains culturally relevant to this day, as well as being the vehicle that entrenched Tom Cruise as one of Hollywood's top actors. In 2011, Scott told Rotten Tomatoes that a sequel to the film was in the works but it remains to be seen if the project will ever grace our cinema screens.

True Romance (1993)

True Romance is regarded by many critics as one of his best works. He turned Quentin Tarantino's script into a gritty modern-day Bonnie and Clyde filled with the right degree of romance, action, memorable dialogue and visceral images.  The film's scenes of sex and violence set the tone for a film that refused to play by rules of the Hollywood studio system, ushering a new and exciting approach to filmmaking.

Crimson Tide (1995)

As far as sheer, white-knuckle tension goes, no film in Scott's filmography can match the intensity of this navy thriller starring Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman. Scott's framing of the tight spaces of the submarine continued to echo his belief in "the real", forcing audiences to experience the confined space of the film's setting.

Man on Fire (2004)

After a decade of criticism for creating trashy B-grade movies in the mid-to-late 90s, Man on Fire reminded Hollywood that Scott was a filmmaker who could hold his own against his brother.

Washington plays John Creasy, a dark soul with a tortured past and nothing to live for until he meets Pita Ramos (Dakota Fanning), an innocent young girl who re-ignites the hope and humanity long lost in his life until Pita comes along. This is one of Scott's most emotionally moving and challenging films, a film about a man prepared to sacrifice his life for the life of another.

Déjà Vu (2006)

What made this film so special was how Scott used the camera to show audiences both the wonders and frustrations of the moving lens – the reality and the fantasy of the filmmaking process. This 2006 hit mystery thriller – which also stars Washington - was true to its title, with Scott again employing the use of montage to turn an outlandish time-travel device into a canny metaphor for the experience of filmmaking and film-consumption.

Unstoppable (2010)

The last film the father-of-two made before his death. Unstoppable wasn't seen as one of his best movies, but it was his last project, and also starred his dear friend Washington. In an interview after the release of the film, the Academy Award-winning actor said that he didn't want to do Unstoppable but when "Tony called me and said 'Come on', who was I to say no".

A private family affair memorial service will be held this weekend, with a public service to be announced after Labour Day (3 September).

Watch one of Scott's last interviews below, where he talks about his family, his film influences and what made Washington his favourite go-to actor.