Ulysses (1954)
Mar 14, 2023Greek Myth Adventure
Lavishly made Greek myth adventure, an adaptation of The Odyssey with Kirk Douglas as Ulysses/Odysseus
Dino De Laurentiis
Danger: Diabolik (1967)
Jul 4, 2000Masked Super-Thief/Comic-Book Adaptation
Mario Bava directs a sublimely stylish and tongue-in-cheek adaptation of an Italian comic-book about a masked super-thief who delights in outwitting and taunting the bumbling authorities
Matchless (1967)
Feb 8, 2023Spy Film/Invisibility Ring
One of the numerous spy films of the 1960s, featuring Patrick O’Neal who goes into action with a magic invisibility ring
Barbarella (1968)
Mar 26, 2000Softcore Space Opera
Charmingly capricious and silly adaptation of the comic-strip with a wide-eyed Jane Fonda as the spacegoing heroine. Filled with some wonderfully naughty gags and a production and costume design scheme that goes to a gorgeously deranged excess
King Kong (1976)
Nov 6, 2001Giant Ape
The infamous miscalculated Dino de Laurentiis remake of King Kong where the stop-motion is replaced by Rick Baker in an ape suit, while the fairytale romance is replaced by Jessica Lange as a flower child who cracks jokes
Orca (1977)
Aug 6, 2000Killer Whale
After his crass remake of King Kong, Dino de Laurentiis went on to make this blatant copy of Jaws, which was widely ridiculed. Contrarily, i rather liked it – a Moby Dick by way of Jaws, it comes with some visually fantastic moments
Flash Gordon (1980)
Jun 20, 2000Campy Space Opera
Dino de Laurentiis climbed aboard the Star Wars fad with this remake of the classic serial. Against expectation, the film's campy tone and eye-popping sets and costumes work and it has become an audience favourite
Amityville II: The Possession (1982)
May 5, 1999Haunted House/Possession
The first of The Amityville Horror sequels and a far more entertaining film than its predecessor by abandoning the pretence at telling a true story and adding a possession plot and makeup effects to the mix
Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
Feb 19, 2001Mad Scientist's Occult Revenge Plot
Unrelated to the Michael Myers saga, John Carpenter tried to use the Halloween name to launch an original horror series. The plot is a baffling mix of Celtic magic and hi-tech but Tommy Lee Wallace creates some way out effects scenes
Amityville 3-D (1983)
Aug 7, 1999Haunted House
This was the third of the Amityville films, released amid the early 1980s 3D revival. Nothing more than the usual except for various things popping out of the screen
The Dead Zone (1983)
Jun 7, 2000Clairvoyance/Stephen King Adaptation
David Cronenberg adapts a Stephen King novel with Christopher Walken waking from a coma with clairvoyant abilities. An okay film if one that lacks the personal intensity and rich themes of Cronenberg's original works
Dune (1984)
Feb 1, 2001Desert World/Intergalactic Politics/Precognitive Messiah
David Lynch disowned his film version of the classic Frank Herbert SF novel. However, Lynch may be incapable of making a bad film and this, while acting freely with the book, has a visual grandeur that makes it highly watchable
Firestarter (1984)
Jul 29, 2002Pyrokinesis/Stephen King Adaptation
The adaptation of the Stephen King novel with Drew Barrymore giving a fantastic performance as a young girl with pyrokinetic powers on the run as she is hunted by a sinister government agency
Silver Bullet (1985)
Jun 10, 2002Werewolf/Stephen King Adaptation
Overlooked but not entirely unworthwhile Stephen King adaptation about the hunt for a werewolf preying on a small town
Manhunter (1986)
Apr 3, 2000Hannibal Lecter Film
The very first Hannibal Lecter film. Under Michael Mann, this comes with a stylistic flourish very different to what the films became when Anthony Hopkins took the role
Rampage (1987)
Aug 14, 1999Serial Killer Courtroom Thriller
Overlooked film from William Friedkin in which Michael Biehn as a lawyer prosecuting a serial killer. Not without some effective horror moments but Friedkin is more interested in examining the legal justification for the death penalty
Unforgettable (1996)
Apr 19, 2004Transplanted Memories Thriller
Thriller where Ray Liotta undergoes an experimental process to receive an injection of memories from his dead wife and from these sets out to try and solve her murder
Hannibal (2001)
Feb 11, 2001The Silence of the Lambs Sequel
The immediate sequel to The Silence of the Lambs. Anthony Hopkins is back but Jodie Foster is not. Ridley Scott takes the director's chair and creates a slick film but it lacks the compulsive grip the original held
Red Dragon (2002)
Nov 1, 2002Hannibal Lecter Prequel
Following the success of the Hannibal Lecter films, Dino de Laurentiis smartly repackaged Thomas Harris's earlier novel as a Hannibal Lecter prequel
Hannibal Rising (2007)
Feb 26, 2007Hannibal Lecter Origin Story
Building on the successes of the Hannibal Lecter films, this is a prequel that goes back sets out to tell an origin story of how the young teenage Hannibal came to be who he was during World War II