Maverick Hollywood filmmaker Samuel Fuller died exactly 12 years ago, on Oct. 30, 1997, at 85. He was never that famous, although he worked as a screenwriter, director and occasional actor for 61 years. But he was that influential, crafting scripts and directing films that ricocheted through American cinema like the retort of a gun.

It is no accident that filmmakers Martin Scorsese, Curtis Hanson, Wim Wenders and Tim Robbins eloquently pay tribute to Fuller's gritty genius in the extras in the seven-disc box set, The Samuel Fuller's Collection: The Collector's Choice.

The set, released this week, contains seven cult titles from Columbia Pictures. Five were written by Fuller; two more were tersely written and directed by Fuller, who started weaving his tales as a New York crime reporter -- starting at age 17!

The five films he wrote for other directors -- including another legend named Douglas Sirk -- are: It Happened in Hollywood (1937), Adventure in Sahara (1938), Power of the Press (1943), Shockproof (1949) and Scandal Sheet (1952). The two films he directed himself: The Crimson Kimono (1959) and Underworld U.S.A. (1961). Each is lovingly restored, enhancing the lambent black-and-white photography.

The Fuller collection is obviously not for casual viewers.

But cinephiles will be excited, even with the oldest, most quirky title. It Happened in Hollywood stars real-life silent film cowboy Richard Dix as a silent film star who loses his career, woman and ranch but not his horse when talkies take over.

While Fuller's script teeters on the maudlin (or perhaps that was Harry Lachman's direction), there are dark undercurrents.

Even this early, Fuller's career path was obvious. After the horrors he would personally experience in the Second World War, that darkness would deepen and inform every film to come.