On this day in movie and book history - The Exorcist III (1990) and Legion (1983)

The Exorcist III

directed and written by William Peter Blatty,

based on novel Legion by William Peter Blatty,

was released in the United States on August 17, 1990.

Music by Barry De Vorzon.

Cast:

George C. Scott, Ed Flanders, Jason Miller, Scott Wilson, Brad Dourif, Grand L. Bush, Nicol Williamson, Nancy Fish, Tracy Thorne, Barbara Baxley, Harry Carey Jr., George DiCenzo, Tyra Ferrell, Lois Foraker, Don Gordon, Mary Jackson, Zohra Lampert, Ken Lerner, Viveca Lindfors, Lee Richardson, Kevin Corrigan, Demetrios Pappageorge, Jodi Long, Samuel L. Jackson, Amelia Campbell, C. Everett Koop, Larry King, Patrick Ewing, Teresa Wright, Fabio, Colleen Dewhurst, The Lennon Sisters.

Recommended reading – Legion

Legion (1983).

by William Peter Blatty.
 
Published by Tor Books.
Paperback.
 
ISBN-10: 0765327139
ISBN-13: 978-0765327130
 
Description:
 
“Jesus asked the man his name, and he answered, ‘Legion, for we are many.’” – Mark 5:9.
 
A young boy is found horribly murdered in a mock crucifixion. Is the murderer the elderly woman who witnessed the crime? A neurologist who can no longer bear the pain life inflicts on its victims? A psychiatrist with a macabre sense of humor and a guilty secret? A mysterious mental patient, locked in silent isolation?
 
Lieutenant Kinderman follows a bewildering trail that links all these people, confronting new enigmas at every turn, even as more murders occur. Why does each victim suffer the same dreadful mutilations? Why are two priests among the dead? Is there a connection between these crimes and another series of murders that took place twelve years ago – one that supposedly ended with the death of the killer?
 
Legion is a novel of breathtaking energy and suspense. But more than this, it is an extraordinary journey into the uncharted depths of the human mind and the most agonizing questions of the human condition.
 
The answers are revealed in a climax so stunning that it could only have been written by the author of The Exorcist – William Peter Blatty.

On this day in movie history - Contact (1997)

Contact

directed by Robert Zemeckis,

written by James V. Hart and Michael Goldenberg,

based on the novel by Carl Sagan,

was released in the United States on July 11, 1997.

Music by Alan Silvestri.

Cast:

Jodie Foster, Jena Malone, Matthew McConaughey, David Morse, Tom Skerritt, James Woods, John Hurt, William Fichtner, Angela Bassett, Jake Busey, Rob Lowe, Geoffrey Blake, Max Martini, Steven Ford, Jay Leno, Larry King, Ann Druyan.