The past century has presented the world with a galaxy of amazingly talented filmmakers who have managed not only to create brilliant film masterpieces, but also to determine the development of many existing cinema genres. Such outstanding directors undoubtedly include Frank Darabont.
Hungarian immigrant
One of the most famous directors and screenwriters of our time was born in late January 1959 in a refugee camp in the French commune of Montbeliard. Frank Darabonte's nationality is Hungarian, since his parents were citizens of Hungary, but were forced to leave their homeland in connection with the tragic events and the consequences of the failed 1956 revolution. The family of the future filmmaker did not stay in France, and Frank, who had grown up, immigrated to the United States with his relatives.
His earlier childhood and youth passed in Los Angeles. Frank Darabontâs early biography is directly related to the many travels that influenced the formation of his worldview and personality preferences. After studying in high school, the young man showed a genuine interest in the world of cinema, so he chose the film industry as an environment for professional self-realization. Frank's personal life did not work out, he devoted all his strength to cinema.
The beginning of the creative path
The creative work of the cinematographer began with the work on the production of the low-budget horror "Hell of the Night", in which Frank Darabont acted as an assistant producer. It was on the set of the film that he met Chuck Russell. Their meeting was the beginning of many years of fruitful cooperation. Over the next six years, he honed his skills, working in Hollywood as a decorator, then as an assistant to the production designer. During this period, Frank Darabontâs personal life is marked by his marriage to Karin Wagner, the editor of Hollywood movie studios.
Together with Russell, Darabont wrote the script for the third part of the cult horror franchise âA Nightmare on Elm Streetâ. The series with the subtitle âDream Warriorsâ turned out to be several times more original than the previous one, although the creators again used the method of comparing what is happening in a dream and the consequences in reality. According to critics, largely due to the popularity of the third part of the audience, Freddy Krueger took pride of place in the pantheon of the legendary horror villains.
Remakes and sequels
Subsequently, Frank Darabontâs filmography was replenished with a remake of the 1958 classic tape âDropâ, which was shot by Chuck Russell in tandem with Darabont, who performed as a screenwriter. It should be noted that the horror and now looks very impressive. But the tape failed at the box office: earlier the metaphor of the âcommunist threatâ worked successfully, but the public did not like the new author's reading of the plot about the deadly infection, alluding to AIDS.
In addition, Frank Darabont was directly involved in the creation of the fantastic sequel âFly 2â. According to critics, the film is inferior to the original, as it is almost completely devoid of the drama of human destinies, which italics passed in the work of David Cronenberg.
The first tests on TV
If we talk about the direction of Frank Darabont, then we should definitely mention his debut television movie thriller âBuried Aliveâ (1990), in which Tim Matheson and Jennifer Jason Lee played the main roles. The story of a vile woman, overly obsessed with carnal pleasures, and a discouraged and angry husband who managed to get out of the grave, attracted the attention of the public. The audience appreciated the magnificent, witty script and the wonderful performing skills of the actors. The picture was a real gift for fans of the genre.
During this period, the director for the first time shoots a short film based on the short story by Stephen King âWoman in the Roomâ, which is a significant milestone in his career, because subsequently Frank Darabontâs list of best films will be headed by the adaptation of the King of Horror works.
Triumphant debut in the big movie
Frank Darabontâs directorial debut was a phenomenal success. The prison drama âEscape from the Shawshankâ was enthusiastically received by both the audience and cinema experts and was awarded 7 nominations for the Academy Award, including âBest Filmâ.
Existential drama ranks first in the ranking of the best films of the IMDB version, is Nelson Mandelaâs favorite movie masterpiece and Kingâs favorite film adaptation along with âStay with meâ. âShawshank Redemptionâ is undoubtedly and officially the best film project in the world, the standard of directing and film adaptations of King. The script of a humanly touching parable about the irresistible desire of people for freedom, written by Darabont in a draft version, very interested in the director Rob Rainer (âStay with meâ, âMiseryâ). The director offered Darabonte $ 2.5 million for the rights to the script and the production of the film, but Frank, who was seriously considering the generous offer, decided not to miss the chance to create something truly epoch-making and set the picture on his own.
As a screenwriter
After the resounding success of the directorial debut, Darabont did not cease to be a sought-after screenwriter. With his direct participation, the Frankenstein Mary Shelley tapes were released - a historical drama with a loveful recreation of the color of the past era, âFanâ, âEraserâ, âVampiresâ and the military epic drama âSaving Private Ryanâ, which was among the ten most inspiring Films of the 20th century.
Frank also participated in the creation of the television movie "Running the Black Cat", repeatedly wrote scripts for individual episodes of the popular series "Tales from the Crypt" and "Young Indiana Jones."
The second and not the last
The second and not the last film adaptation of King in the director's vision of Darabonte was the mystical drama The Green Mile, which lasts almost three hours and can hurt even the most inveterate cynic for life. The film did not receive cult status as âShawshank Redemptionâ, but was highly praised by critics and viewers. Indeed, a masterpiece in all respects, unfortunately, did not receive a single Oscar; all the figurines were taken away by American Beauty, which in the IMDb rating is inferior to Mila more than a dozen positions. The tape was included in all kinds of lists of the best criminally deprived prizes of sad paintings, giving rise to a lot of imitations and parodies.
After this work, the filmmaker participated in the production of many paintings, among which the films âMajestic,â âThe Salton Sea,â âSpecial Opinion,â and âAccessoryâ are significant. And in King Kong, Frank appeared in a cameo.
Attempt number 3
In fairness, it is worth noting that Frank Darabontâs films based on the works of S. King are not all successful. There is one exception. In 2007, he took a director's chair in the film "The Darkness", which is based on the story "Fog". After two previous extremely successful adaptations, the new project left many at a loss. As it turned out, the director was not going to make a horror film in his classic interpretation. He only borrowed an apocalyptic situation from King to show how people behave, being trapped in their own fear, despair and hopelessness. So Darabont, stuck between horror, thriller and drama, could not please either the critics or most ordinary people. Therefore, he returned to writing scripts, working as part of a creative team of paintings "Godzilla" and "Snow White and the Hunter 2".
Zombie
A significant milestone in the career of Frank Darabonte is deservedly considered the epic "The Walking Dead." Moreover, while Darabotn actively participated in the creation of the project, it was the revived dead that attracted the attention of the audience, and not the overwhelmed surviving heroes. In the first season of the series zombies were just great. They knew how to quietly sneak up on victims, smash windows with stones, climb over fences.
A fan of the work of George Romero Darabont created them with an eye on the "Night", "Dawn of the Dead" and "Day of the Dead." They were just walking. But the frisky and running zombies of Danny Boyle he did not like. Therefore, due to creative differences, the filmmaker left the project during the production of the second season. As a result, the dramatic emphasis of the show shifted to conflicts of living heroes, the number of which increased with each new episode. They almost forgot about zombies.
"City of gangsters"
After the unprecedented popularity of The Walking Dead, Frank decides to continue working on television. He is preparing to release a new author's project "City of Gangsters." The series takes place in Los Angeles in the post-war era. At the center of the story is a deadly confrontation between police and brutal gangsters. Frank invites to the television movie several actors with whom he worked on The Dead. The first season included just six episodes. Such a master as Darabont managed to make a detailed, convex story from the "City".