New Zealand film-maker Lee Tamahori was described as a "classy and very clever" director on Saturday following his death aged 75.

Famed for directing the box office hit "Once Were Warriors", Tamahori went on to forge a career in Hollywood and is regarded as among the most influential Maori figures in the entertainment industry.

Other films directed by Tamahori included the 2001 thriller "Along Came a Spider" and a James Bond film the following year -- "Die Another Day".

A family statement said Tamahori died peacefully at his home on Friday.

Tamahori made a sensational feature film debut in 1994 with "Once Were Warriors".

The adaptation of a novel by author Alan Duff, it told a powerful and confronting story of an urban Maori family and their problems with poverty and violence.

The fi

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