Legendary film producer Dino De Laurentiis passed away Wednesday at his Beverly Hills, California, home. He was 91. Italian-born De Laurentiis was a risk-taking producer, known for boundary-pushing, high-art films as well as big-budget Hollywood blockbusters. He was behind groundbreaking films like Federico Fellini's La Strada and The Nights of Cabiria, but he also steered campy sci-fi, like Barbarella and Flash Gordon.
He was a champion of director David Lynch, producing the 1984 box-office failure (but cult favorite) Dune, and yet he took a chance on the director again for 1986's Blue Velvet, considered one of the most important surrealist films of all time.
It's hard to say if any other producer has worked with directing talent as formidable and exciting as those De Laurentiis backed. The list includes Roberto Rossellini, Fellini, John Huston, Sidney Lumet, Milos Foreman, David Cronenberg, Lynch, Michael Cimino, Bruce Beresford, Michael Mann, Sam Raimi, Curtis Hanson, The Wachowski Brothers and Ridley Scott.
After the jump, Art Attack takes a look back at some of our favorites. RIP, Dino.
10. Flash Gordon (1980) Director: Mike Hodges
