Death-leap film director ‘had brain tumour’

Here are some of the more notable titles from his three decades in Hollywood:

The Hunger (1982 
A sultry, stylish vampire story which starred David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve. It went on to find cult appeal.

Top Gun (1986) 
The film which turned Tom Cruise into one of the film world’s most bankable stars after playing a naval fighter pilot who becomes a combat ace.

Crimson Tide (1995)
A post Cold War submarine thriller with Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington starring as naval officers at odds over their handling of a nuclear emergency.