Dino De Laurentiis Company (USA): 17

Hannibal (2013–2015), a psychological horror-thriller series developed by Bryan Fuller for NBC, is based on characters from Thomas Harris’ novels Red Dragon (1981), Hannibal (1999), and Hannibal Rising (2006). The show centers on the dynamic between FBI special investigator Will Graham and forensic psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter, who becomes Graham’s greatest adversary yet also the only person who truly understands him. It premiered on NBC on April 4, 2013, with a 13-episode first season ordered. The pilot episode was directed by ...

Hannibal Rising (2007) is a chilling psychological thriller that serves as the fifth installment in the Hannibal Lecter franchise. Serving as a prequel to Red Dragon, Hannibal, and The Silence of the Lambs, this film brings to life Thomas Harris’ eponymous 2006 novel. It delves into the origins of Lecter’s descent from a vengeful Nazi hunter to a monstrous cannibalistic serial killer. Set in 1944 Lithuania during World War II, we see an eight-year-old Hannibal and his family take refuge in their hunting lodge to escape the advancing German troops. However, after three long years, ...

The psychological thriller, Red Dragon (2002), is an adaptation of Thomas Harris’s 1981 novel. Directed by Brett Ratner and written by Ted Tally, the story follows FBI agent Will Graham in 1980 as he seeks assistance from forensic psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter in a case. After working together on a psychological profile of a killer, Graham becomes convinced that the murderer is also a cannibal. However, when Lecter realizes Graham is getting close to discovering his true identity, he stabs him. Despite this attack, ...

Hannibal (2001), an American crime thriller directed by Ridley Scott and adapted from Thomas Harris’s novel, follows FBI Special Agent Clarice Starling. A decade after catching serial killer Jame Gumb, Starling is blamed for a failed drug raid that cost five lives. She is approached by Mason Verger, the lone survivor of cannibalistic murderer Hannibal Lecter who has been on the run since escaping custody. Verger, a wealthy predator who was left paralyzed and disfigured by Lecter, has been plotting revenge against him and enlists Starling’s help to capture him. ...

U-571 (2000), a submarine film directed by Jonathan Mostow and co-written by Sam Montgomery and David Ayer, takes place during the Battle of the Atlantic in 1942. After successfully sinking an Allied convoy ship, German U-boat U-571 is heavily damaged by depth charges from a British destroyer. The boat’s captain, Kapitänleutnant Günther Wassner, sends out a distress call which is picked up by American intelligence. In response, the US Navy modifies their submarine S-33 to resemble a German supply vessel in order to ...

Assassins (1995), an American action thriller film directed by Richard Donner, features a screenplay written by The Wachowskis and Brian Helgeland. Protagonist Robert Rath, plagued by guilt over his past deed of killing mentor Nicolai, is ready to hang up his deadly profession. However, his plans are halted when he finds out that fellow assassin Miguel Bain has taken out one of Rath’s assigned targets. Despite admiring Rath, Bain also wishes to eliminate him in order to claim the title of the world’s greatest ...

Directed by Michael Cimino, Desperate Hours (1990) is an American neo-noir action thriller film. This remake of the 1955 film and adaptation of the 1954 novel by Joseph Hayes was written by Hayes himself and co-written by Cimino. In Utah, defense lawyer Nancy Breyers finds herself inexplicably infatuated with her client, intelligent yet sociopathic convict Michael Bosworth. During a courtroom hearing, Nancy slips Bosworth a gun and they escape together when he savagely kills ...

The American horror film Silver Bullet (1985) is based on Stephen King’s 1983 novella, Cycle of the Werewolf. It follows the story of Jane Coslaw and her paraplegic younger brother Marty in their small rural town of Tarker’s Mills, Maine during the spring of 1976. A series of murders takes place, starting with railroad worker Arnie Westrum being decapitated by an unseen attacker. Pregnant Stella Randolph, driven to despair, meets a brutal end in her own bedroom. The abusive father Milt Sturmfuller is killed in his greenhouse and even Marty’s best friend Brady Kincaid falls victim to the ...

The film Cat’s Eye (1985), directed by Lewis Teague and written by Stephen King, is an American anthology horror thriller that consists of three tales. While the first two are based on short stories from King’s 1978 collection Night Shift, the third is a unique addition to the film. Each story revolves around a traveling cat, as well as Drew Barrymore, who has minor roles in the first two and a major role in the third. The stray tabby cat finds refuge in ...

Year of the Dragon (1985) is an American neo-noir crime thriller film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino. It follows the story of Stanley White, a highly decorated police captain and Vietnam War veteran who is assigned to New York City’s Chinatown. Desperate to rid the city of Chinese organized crime, White becomes fixated on taking down Joey Tai, a young man who relentlessly climbs the ranks of the Triads. As their rivalry intensifies, they unravel the fragile peace that has long existed between the Triads and the local police precinct. Meanwhile, other criminal groups such as the Italian Mob and Thai ...

Firestarter (1984), an American science fiction thriller horror film, is based on Stephen King’s novel of the same name. Andy McGee and Vicky Tomlinson participated in an experiment during their college years, where they were given a dose of LOT-6, a low-grade hallucinogen. While others suffered from severe side effects, Vicky and Andy gained telepathic powers; she can read minds and he can control others’ thoughts and actions. However, this ability sometimes causes nosebleeds due to its strength. Currently married, the couple has an eight-year-old daughter named Charlene ‘Charlie’ McGee who ...

The British epic historical drama film, The Bounty (1984), directed by Roger Donaldson, portrays the story of Commanding Lieutenant William Bligh and the loss of HMS Bounty to mutineers led by his friend Fletcher Christian. Admiral Hood presides over the court of inquiry as flashbacks take viewers on a journey from Portsmouth, England on 23 December 1787 to an expedition in Tahiti to gather breadfruit pods for transplantation in the Caribbean. Despite harsh weather making it impossible to round Cape Horn after 31 days, Bligh persists and chooses to sail the ship west instead. Along the way, he replaces Fryer with ...

The Dead Zone (1983), an American sci-fi thriller directed by David Cronenberg, is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King and written by Jeffrey Boam. After experiencing a headache from a roller coaster ride in Castle Rock, Maine, Johnny Smith, a schoolteacher, declines his girlfriend Sarah’s offer to spend the night. However, after getting into a car accident on his way home in stormy weather, he ends up in a coma. When he wakes up under the care of neurologist Dr. Sam Weizak, he learns that five years ...

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) is an American science fiction horror film and the third in the Halloween series. Unlike its predecessors, this installment was written and directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, but the familiar faces of John Carpenter and Debra Hill remain as producers. Set in Northern California on October 23rd, we witness shop owner Harry Grimbridge being pursued by unknown men while holding a jack-o-lantern mask. He seeks refuge at Walter Jones’ shop, where he eventually passes out. ...

Halloween II (1981) is an American slasher film directed by Rick Rosenthal. It marks his first time as a director and was written and produced by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. On October 31, 1978, Michael Myers is shot and falls off a balcony by his psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis. Despite his injuries, he manages to flee into the night. While wandering through alleys, he comes across an elderly couple from whom he steals a kitchen knife. He then proceeds to murder a teenage girl next door. Meanwhile, Laurie Strode, who ...

The British heist comedy film, The Great Train Robbery (1978), was both directed and written by Michael Crichton. Based on his 1975 novel of the same name, the story revolves around Edward Pierce, a member of London’s elite society who is secretly a skilled thief. His plan? To steal a shipment of gold aboard the London to Folkestone train, intended as payment for troops fighting in the Crimean War. With two safes in the baggage car, each with two locks requiring four keys, Pierce enlists his accomplices including pickpocket Robert Agar, mistress Miriam, and chauffeur Barlow. A train guard named Burgess is also ...

The American political thriller film, Three Days of the Condor (1975), directed by Sydney Pollack, follows Joe Turner – a bookish CIA analyst with the codename ‘Condor’. He works undercover at the American Literary Historical Society in New York City. The team’s job is to analyze books, newspapers, and magazines from all over the world to compare them to real CIA operations or gather new ideas. One day, while on lunch duty, Turner comes across a strange thriller novel that he reports back to CIA headquarters despite its low sales and translations into various languages. Upon returning from his ...