On this day in movie history - Heart of Darkness (1994 movie & novel):

 

Heart of Darkness

directed by Nicolas Roeg,

written by Benedict Fitzgerald,

based on the novel by Joseph Conrad,

released in the United States on March 13, 1994.

Music by Stanley

.

Cast: Tim Roth, John Malkovich, Isaach De Bankolé, James Fox, Morten Faldaas, Patrick Ryecart, Michael Fitzgerald, Geoffrey Hutchings, Peter Vaughan, Phoebe Nicholls, Allan Corduner, Jan Tríska, Alan Scarfe, Michael Cronin, Iman, Timothy Bateson, Stephen Oxley, John Savident, Charles Kay, Ian McDiarmid, Bhime Souaré, Candice Daly.

Recommended reading:

Heart of Darkness

by Joseph Conrad.

Mass Market Paperback
First published 1899.
Published by Penguin Books.

ISBN 13: 9780140431681
ISBN 10: 0140431683
ASIN: B001KTM47C

Author Joseph Conrad based this novella on his own personal experiences, during a voyage up the Congo River in 1890.

This novella was the inspiration for the movie Apocalypse Now (1979), directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

Description:

Written in the last year of the nineteenth century, Heart of Darkness can be seen in many ways as the first twentieth-century novel.

Its climate of doubt and vagueness, its loss of moral confidence and its need for belief in the midst of spiritual wilderness, its exploration of the subconscious and its affirmation of individual freedom are all themes that were to have an influence on writers such as Orwell, Godling Céline, Borges and Eliot.

In Heart of Darkness Conrad unfolds the story of Marlow’s search for Mr Kurtz, the company agent whose ‘unlawful soul’ has been ‘beguiled beyond the bounds of permitted aspirations’ in his dealings with the natives of the Belgian Congo. Marlow’s adventure involves him in a crucial reappraisal of his own values. It is Kurtz, however, who attains to a vision of the inexpressible, terrifying reality of the heart in this extraordinary exploration of human savagery and despair.

Book cover image: The Steamer Stanley, by F. Hens.

On this day in movie history - Adaptation (2002)

Adaptation

directed by Spike Jonze,

written by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman,

based on the book The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean,

was released in the United States on December 6, 2002.

Music by Carter Burwell.

Cast:

Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Cara Seymour, Brian Cox, Tilda Swinton, Ron Livingston, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Judy Greer, Bob Yerkes, Jim Beaver, Litefoot, Jay Tavare, Doug Jones, Peter Jason, John Cusack, Catherine Keener, John Malkovich, Lance Acord, Spike Jonze, Doug Jones, Curtis Hanson, David O. Russell.

On this day in movie history - RKO 281 (1999)

RKO 281

directed by Benjamin Ross,

written by John Logan,

based on the documentary The Battle Over Citizen Kane by Richard Ben Cramer and Thomas Lennon,

was released in the United States on November 20, 1999.

Music by John Altman.

Cast:

Liev Schreiber, James Cromwell, Melanie Griffith, John Malkovich, Brenda Blethyn, Roy Scheider, Liam Cunningham, David Suchet, Fiona Shaw, Anastasia Hille, Roger Allam, Simeon Andrews, William Armstrong, Jay Benedict, Ron Berglas, Paul Birchard, Neil Conrich, Michael Cronin, Sarah Franzl, Briony Glassco, Louis Hammond, Aaron Keeling, Joseph Long, Gareth Marks, Olivier Pierre, Roger Rose, Rolf Saxon, Adrian Schiller, Kerry Shale, Cyril Shaps, Tusse Silberg, Toby Whithouse, Tim Woodward, Angus Wright, Melissa Hartzel, Zak Shukor, Bobby Valentino, Lucy Cohu, Anthony Maddalena, Tim Packham.

On this day in movie history - Being John Malkovich (1999)

Being John Malkovich

directed by Spike Jonze,

written by Charlie Kaufman,

was shown in the United States on October 29, 1999.

Music by Carter Burwell.

Cast:

John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Ned Bellamy, Eric Weinstein, Madison Lanc, Octavia Spencer, Mary Kay Place, Orson Bean, Catherine Keener, K.K. Dodds, Reginald C. Hayes, Byrne Piven, Judith Wetzell, John Malkovich, Kevin Carroll, Willie Garson, W. Earl Brown, Charlie Sheen, Gerald Emerick, Bill M. Ryusaki, Carlos Jacott, James Murray, Richard Fancy, Patti Tippo, Daniel Hansen, Mariah O'Brien, Gregory Sporleder, Kelly Teacher, Jacqueline Benoît, William Buck, Christine D. Coleman, Jeanne Diehl, Audrey Gelfund, Yetta Ginsburg, Sylvester Jenkins, Roy C. Johnson, Eddie J. Low, Ralph W. Spaulding, David Wyler, Flori Wyler, Kevin Lee, Marlowe Bassett, Jennifer Canzoneri, Kristie Cordle, Denise Dabrowski, Kristin Condon, Charlene Grimsley, Christine Krejer, Erica Long, Yvonne Montelius, Jessica Neuberger, Sara Rifkin, Elizabeth Rivera, Chelsa Sjostrom, Pamela Hayden, Jayne Hess, Michelle Madden, Greg O'Neill, Neil Ross, Bill Wittman, Lance Bangs, Kacee DeMasi, Andy Dick, Eddie L. Fauria, David Fincher, Jester Hairston, Isaac Hanson, Taylor Hanson, Zac Hanson, Dustin Hoffman, Victor Isaac, Spike Jonze, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, Patrick Ryan, Winona Ryder, Gary Sinise, Trevor Lawrence Young.

On this day in movie history - The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc

directed by Luc Besson,

written by Luc Besson and Andrew Birkin,

was released in France on October 27, 1999.

Music by Éric Serra.

Cast:

Milla Jovovich, John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway, Dustin Hoffman, Andrew Birkin, Jane Valentine, Vincent Cassel, Pascal Greggory, Richard Ridings, Desmond Harrington, Timothy West, Gina McKee, Tchéky Karyo, Joseph Malerba, Vincent Regan.

On this day in movie history - Mulholland Falls (1996)

Mulholland Falls

directed by Lee Tamahori,

written by Pete Dexter,

based on a story by Pete Dexter and Floyd Mutrux,

was released in the United States on April 26, 1996.

Music by Dave Grusin.

Cast:

Nick Nolte, Melanie Griffith, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Treat Williams, Jennifer Connelly, Daniel Baldwin, Andrew McCarthy, John Malkovich, Kyle Chandler, Ed Lauter, Larry Garrison, Chelsea Harrington, Johnna Johnson, Rick Johnson, Britt Burr, Melinda Clarke, Ernie Lively, Richard Sylbert, Michael Krawic, Titus Welliver, Robert Peters, William M. Thigpen, Drew Pillsbury, Brad Hunt, Aaron Neville, Buddy Joe Hooker, Eddie Caicedo, Price Carson, Azalea Davila, Suzanne Solari, Alisa Christensen, Bruce Dern, Louise Fletcher, Khris Kaneff, Sharmagne Leland-St. John, Rob Lowe, Johnny Martin, William Petersen, Lisa Rhyne, Randall Rutledge, Christopher Warner.