In the past 14 years, Frank Darabont has only directed four films—three of them excellent, one of them... not so much. This Tuesday marks the DVD release of one of the good ones, THE MIST. As if I needed more convincing to pick it up, apparently the two-discer comes with an enhanced black-and-white version of the film, helping to further convey that old school sci-fi style the film so wonderfully emulates.

Frank Darabont

Genre of choice:
Drama

Filmography:
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Green Mile (1999)
The Majestic (2001)
The Mist (2007)

The Best

1. THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION - This is not the most mind-blowing movie ever made, but at the same time, its placement as #2 on IMDB's Top 250 list is not the least bit surprising. Reason being, it's a movie that can be enjoyed by everyone. It's a prison movie that offers just the right amount of drama, mystery, comedy, intrigue, and feel good entertainment to satisfy any and all moviegoers. Plus you've got Morgan Freeman as the wise old black man. What can go wrong?

2. THE GREEN MILE - Marking not only Darabont's second feature length Stephen King production, but also his second prison drama, THE GREEN MILE is a powerful and heart-stopping picture that manages to work the audience in all the right ways. It's a little overlong, but the writing, directing, and character development are so well done that you rarely notice.

3. THE MIST - Ignoring the borderline horrendous CGI, THE MIST is great little throwback to '50s sci-fi/horror that presents a very interesting idea about people being even more dangerous than the terrifying monsters that surround them. I'm still a little iffy on the ending (haven't yet decided if it's powerful and effective, or melodramatic and stupid), but regardless, the movie's still a lot of fun.

The Worst

THE MAJESTIC - What's most aggravating about THE MAJESTIC is that it presents itself as a much better film than it is, when the reality is it's just an overwrought, saccharine mess. It's no wonder that this is the only Darabont film not also scripted/adapted by himself.

Hidden Gem(s)

BURIED ALIVE - This straight-to-TV film was Darabont's feature debut. It had a budget of $2 million and aired on the USA Network. The plot deals with a cheating wife who plans to kill her husband and get his insurance money. They give him a drug overdose and bury him, but it turns out he's not dead. He escapes from the cheap wooden crate and gets revenge.

Style/Trademarks

Stephen King - Most notably, Frank Darabont has directed several movies (3, to be precise, and 1 short) based on the works of Stephen King.

Recurring Actors - Darabont often casts Jeffrey DeMunn and William Sadler in his films.

Outside of these, Darabont doesn't have many prominent stylistic choices or trademarks that reappear from film to film, though his direction is still strong all the same.

Behind the Camera

Born in a refugee camp in Montbeliard, France, Frank Darabont's parents fled Hungary after the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and moved to the U.S.

One of Darabont's first short films was an adaptation of Stephen King's "The Woman in the Room," which was a "Dollar Baby" (a term coined by Stephen King, meaning he was able to buy the rights to it for a dollar, as King allowed all budding filmmakers to do). This short led to King giving Darabont the rights to adapt "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption," which later became THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, which earned him a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination at the Oscars.

Darabont has also had a successful career as a screenwriter, working on such films as A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS, THE BLOB remake, and THE FLY II, a draft for COLLATERAL, and an unproduced sequel to COMMANDO. He has also doctored scripts for Steven Spielberg, such as with SAVING PRIVATE RYAN and MINORITY REPORT. Additionally, he scripted an early draft of INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL, which Spielberg loved but George Lucas rejected.

Darabont has also written a novella called "Walpuski's Typewriter," which received a limited release.

Upcoming Projects

Darabont's next film is an adaptation of Ray Bradbury's FAHRENHEIT 451, which deals with a fireman in the future whose job is to burn all books, only to question his actions once he meets an underground society of rebels. Tom Hanks is rumored to star. Concerning the film, Darabont has stated, "'Fahrenheit 451' is more relevant today than [when] it was published 50 years ago. George [W.] Bush has made this the most relevant piece of literature ever written."

Other projects of his haven't yet taken off. He's said that he would eventually get around to directing THE LONG WALK, another Stephen King adaptation. In regards to screenplays, Guillermo Del Toro has stated that he'd love to direct a draft of FRANKENSTEIN that Darabont wrote.

Overall

Though he hasn't yet proven himself when it comes to making movies not based on the works of Stephen King, he'll get the chance to do so in 2009 with the release of FAHRENHEIT 451. It's still an adaptation, obviously, but at least it's not a Stephen King adaptation. On the other hand, he's practically the only filmmaker that's managed to do King's writing justice, so maybe it's not such a bad thing if he sticks to what he's good at.

What are your favorite/least favorite Frank Darabont films? Submit your choices in the Strike Back section below!