De Bont was born to a Catholic family in Eindhoven, Netherlands, one of 17 children. His earliest works were made while studying at the Amsterdam Film Academy with Dutch avant-garde director Adriaan Ditvoorst. He first became known in the Netherlands as the cinematographer for the infamous 1971 film Blue Movie, followed by the 1973 film Turkish Delight (1973), directed by Paul Verhoeven, starring Rutger Hauer and Monique van de Ven. Since the early 1980s, he has worked frequently in Hollywood, often collaborating with directors including Verhoeven and John McTiernan.[citation needed]
While serving as cinematographer for the 1981 film Roar, de Bont experienced one of many on-set injuries during filming, when a lion lifted his scalp, requiring 220 stitches. After Roar, de Bont shot the 1983 horror film Cujo, an adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name.
In 1988, he was director of photography on the critically acclaimed action film Die Hard. The following year, de Bont shot the Ridley Scott-directed action thriller Black Rain.

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