Known for Art
Dean Tavoularis (May 18, 1932 — April 22, 2026) was an American motion picture production designer whose work appeared in numerous box office hits such as The Godfather films, Apocalypse Now, The Brink's Job, One from the Heart and Bonnie and Clyde. Although born in Lowell, Massachusetts, to Greek immigrant parents, Tavoularis spent his entire childhood and teenage years in Los Angeles, in the shadow of the Hollywood studios. He studied architecture and painting at different art schools and landed a job at the Disney Studios first as an in-betweener in the animation department, and later as a storyboard artist. In 1967, Arthur Penn called him to take charge of the artistic direction of Bonnie and Clyde. Three years later, Penn called him once again to design Little Big Man. But it was working with Francis Ford Coppola in 1972 on The Godfather that set the creative tone of his career. The Godfather Part II and The Conversation, in 1974, consolidated their collaboration, and laid the way for what was to be their joint creative challenge: Apocalypse Now, the film for which Tavoularis created a nightmare jungle kingdom, inspired by Angkor Wat. It was also on the set of Apocalypse Now that he met his future wife, French actress Aurore Clément. (Clément's role was eventually edited out of the final cut of the film, and only restored in the Apocalypse Now Redux version in 2001. From 1967 until 2001, he worked on over 30 films and landed five Academy Award nominations for Art Direction, one of which he won for The Godfather Part II. For the 1982 release One from the Heart he recreated both the Las Vegas 'strip' and McCarran International Airport on the sound stages of Zoetrope Studios. The list of directors with whom he has worked includes: Michelangelo Antonioni (Zabriskie Point, 1970), Wim Wenders (Hammett, 1982), Warren Beatty (Bulworth, 1998) and Roman Polanski (The Ninth Gate, 1999). Tavoularis died on April 22, 2026 in a Paris hospital of natural causes. Description above from the Wikipedia article Dean Tavoularis, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Born
May 18, 1932
Died
April 22, 2026 (age 93)
Birthplace
Lowell, Massachusetts, USA
Filmography
40 films


The Godfather: The Complete Epic 1901–1959
2016 · 7h 3m
country: United States
'The Godfather: The Complete Epic 1901-1959' is a chronological edit of the first two Godfather films, as broadcast by HBO in 2016 and later made available on its streaming platforms. With a runtime of 423 minutes, it incorporates many deleted and extended scenes that were not included in the original theatrical releases of The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II. These include: the young Vito Corleone hunting down Don Ciccio and his men to avenge the brutal murder of his family; the fate of Fabrizio, the traitor responsible for the death of Michael's first wife; and a fairly pivotal reunion scene between Vito and Michael, following his return from Sicily. This version includes additional scenes that were not part of the similar 1981 release of ‘The Godfather 1902–1959: The Complete Epic', which had a runtime of 386 mins. That release was a reduced version of the 1977 television mini-series 'The Godfather Saga', which was broadcast in four separate parts with a runtime of 434 mins.


Carnage
2011 · 1h 20m
country: France
Two pairs of parents hold a cordial meeting after their sons are involved in a fight, though as their time together progresses, increasingly childish behavior throws the discussion into chaos.


Angel Eyes
2001 · 1h 42m
country: United States
A story about a seemingly unlikely couple who cross paths under life-threatening circumstances as though they are destined not only to meet but to save each other's lives. Not once, but twice.


CQ
2001 · 1h 28m
country: United States
A young filmmaker in 1960s Paris juggles directing a cheesy sci-fi debacle, directing his own personal art film, coping with his crumbling relationship with his girlfriend, and a new-found infatuation with the sci-fi film's starlet.


The Ninth Gate
1999 · 2h 13m
country: Spain
A rare book dealer finds himself at the heart of a string of paranormal events when he is hired to find the last two copies of a text, The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows, capable of summoning the Devil.


The Parent Trap
1998 · 2h 8m
country: United States
Hallie Parker and Annie James are identical twins who were separated at a young age due to their parents' divorce. Unbeknownst to their parents, the girls are sent to the same summer camp, where they meet, discover the truth about their relationship, and come up with a plan to switch places in an effort to reunite their mother and father.


Bulworth
1998 · 1h 48m
country: United States
A suicidally disillusioned liberal politician puts a contract out on himself and takes the opportunity to be bluntly honest with his voters by affecting the rhythms and speech of hip-hop music and culture.


Jack
1996 · 1h 53m
country: United States
Born with a rare condition that makes him age four times faster than normal, ten-year-old Jack Powell looks like a forty-year-old man. After years of homeschooling, he enters public school for the first time, eager to make friends and live like any other kid—only to discover that growing up too fast means learning some of life’s hardest lessons early.


I Love Trouble
1994 · 2h 3m
country: United States
Rival Chicago reporters Sabrina Peterson and Peter Brackett join forces to uncover a train wreck conspiracy.


Rising Sun
1993 · 2h 9m
country: United States
When a prostitute is found dead in a Los Angeles skyscraper occupied by a large Japanese corporation, detectives John Connor and Web Smith are called in to investigate. Although Connor has previous experience working in Japan, cultural differences make their progress difficult until a security disc showing the murder turns up. Close scrutiny proves the disc has been doctored, and the detectives realize they're dealing with a cover-up as well.


Shelf Life
1993 · 1h 21m
country: United States
Trapped in a bomb-shelter for thirty years, three adult children act out scenes from television shows in an imitation of 1960's life.


The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980
1992 · 9h 43m
country: United States
Following the release of Part III in 1990, Coppola, Barry Malkin, and Walter Murch edited the three films into chronological order to create this nearly ten-hour epic, incorporating scenes not part of the theatrical releases.


Final Analysis
1992 · 2h 4m
country: United States
A psychiatrist becomes romantically involved with the sister of one of his patients, but the influence of her controlling gangster husband threatens to destroy them both.


The Godfather Part III
1990 · 2h 42m
country: United States
In the midst of trying to legitimize his business dealings in 1979 New York and Italy, aging mafia don, Michael Corleone seeks forgiveness for his sins while taking a young protege under his wing.


New York Stories
1989 · 2h 4m
country: United States
Three tales of love, ambition, and neurosis unfold in the city that never sleeps. In "Life Lessons" (Martin Scorsese), a tormented painter channels heartbreak into his art. In "Life Without Zoë" (Francis Ford Coppola), a precocious 12-year-old navigates privilege and loneliness in a Manhattan hotel. And in "Oedipus Wrecks" (Woody Allen), a man’s domineering mother literally becomes a looming presence over New York.


Tucker: The Man and His Dream
1988 · 1h 51m
country: United States
Ypsilanti, Michigan, 1945. Engineer Preston Tucker dreams of designing the car of future, but his innovative envision will be repeatedly sabotaged by his own unrealistic expectations and the Detroit automobile industry tycoons.


A Man in Love
1987 · 2h 5m
country: France
An American film-star and an unknown British actress meet on set in Rome. She is angry when he refuses to speak to her journalist father, but later they have a passionate relationship.


Gardens of Stone
1987 · 1h 51m
country: United States
At Arlington National Cemetery during the Vietnam era, veteran sergeant Clell Hazard trains young soldiers while mourning those lost in combat. Unable to return to war himself, he mentors Jackie Willow—the idealistic son of a fallen comrade—hoping to prepare him for the realities of Vietnam and the cost of duty.


Peggy Sue Got Married
1986 · 1h 43m
country: United States
At her 25th high school reunion, Peggy Sue faints and awakens in 1960—back in her senior year, before her marriage and all her regrets. Given a second chance to relive her youth, she must decide whether to change the choices that shaped her life or embrace the past that made her who she is.


Rumble Fish
1983 · 1h 34m
country: United States
Absent-minded street thug Rusty James struggles to live up to his legendary older brother's reputation, and longs for the days of gang warfare.


The Outsiders
1983 · 1h 31m
country: United States
In 1960s Tulsa, class divisions ignite a violent rivalry between the working-class Greasers and the privileged Socs. When a deadly encounter forces two Greasers, Ponyboy and Johnny, to flee, their struggle for survival and redemption exposes the fragile innocence and enduring bonds of youth on the wrong side of town.


Hammett
1982 · 1h 38m
country: United States
Chinatown, San Francisco, 1928. Former private detective Dashiell Hammett, a compulsive drinker with tuberculosis who writes pulp fiction for a living, receives an unexpected visit from an old friend asking for help.


The Escape Artist
1982 · 1h 34m
country: United States
The young and self-confident Danny bluffs at the local police-station that he will escape from prison within an hour. What follows is a flashback showing his childhood with his uncle and aunt, who are 'vaudeville'-artists themselves.


One from the Heart
1982 · 1h 39m
country: United States
In a dazzling, dreamlike Las Vegas, longtime couple Hank and Frannie break up on their fifth anniversary and each pursue the fantasy of new love over one neon-soaked night—he with a free-spirited acrobat, she with a seductive musician. But as illusion and reality blur, both must decide whether passion or devotion truly defines the heart.


Apocalypse Now
1979 · 2h 27m
country: United States
At the height of the Vietnam war, Captain Benjamin Willard is sent on a dangerous mission that, officially, "does not exist, nor will it ever exist." His goal is to locate - and eliminate - a mysterious Green Beret Colonel named Walter Kurtz, who has been leading his personal army on illegal guerrilla missions into enemy territory.


The Brink's Job
1978 · 1h 44m
country: United States
In 1950, a group of unlikely criminal masterminds commits the robbery of the century. Led by Tony Pino, a petty thief fresh out of prison, and Joe McGinnis, who specializes in planning lucrative capers, the gang robs Brink's main office in Boston of more than $2 million. However, things begin to go awry when the FBI gets involved, the cops start cracking down on the gang and McGinnis refuses to hand over the loot...


Farewell, My Lovely
1975 · 1h 35m
country: United States
Private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by ex-con Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend, a former lounge dancer. While also investigating the murder of a client and the theft of a jade necklace, Marlowe becomes entangled with seductress Helen Grayle and discovers a web of dark secrets that are better left hidden.


The Godfather Part II
1974 · 3h 22m
country: United States
In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.


The Conversation
1974 · 1h 55m
country: United States
A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.


The Godfather
1972 · 2h 55m
country: United States
Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.


Little Big Man
1970 · 2h 19m
country: United States
Jack Crabb, looking back from extreme old age, tells of his life being raised by Indians and fighting with General Custer.


Zabriskie Point
1970 · 1h 53m
country: Italy
Anthropology student Daria, who's helping a property developer build a village in the Los Angeles desert, and dropout Mark, who's wanted by the authorities for allegedly killing a policeman during a student riot, accidentally encounter each other in Death Valley and soon begin an unrestrained romance.