On this day in movie and book history - The Natural (1984 and 1952):

The Natural

directed by Barry Levinson,

written by Roger Towne and Phil Dusenberry,

based on the novel by Bernard Malamud,

was released in the United States on May 11, 1984.

Music by Randy Newman.

Cast:

Robert Redford, Paul Sullivan Jr., Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Rachel Hall, Kim Basinger, Wilford Brimley, Barbara Hershey, Robert Prosky, Richard Farnsworth, Joe Don Baker, Darren McGavin, Michael Madsen, John Finnegan, Alan Fudge, Ken Grassano, Mike Starr, Mickey Treanor, Jon Van Ness, Anthony J. Ferrara, George Wilkosz, Robert Rich III, Sibby Sisti.

Recommended reading:

The Natural

by Bernard Malamud.

Filmed as The Natural (1984), directed by Barry Levinson.

Paperback.

Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

First published 1952.

ISBN: 9780374502003

ISBN 10: 0374502005

ASIN: 0374502005

Description:

The Natural, Bernard Malamud's first novel, published in 1952, is also the first – and some would say still the best – novel ever written about baseball. In it, Malamud, usually appreciated for his unerring portrayals of postwar Jewish life, took on very different material – the story of a superbly gifted "natural" at play in the fields of the old daylight baseball era – and invested it with the hardscrabble poetry, at once grand and altogether believable, that runs through all his best work. Four decades later, Alfred Kazin's comment still holds true: "Malamud has done something which – now that he has done it! – looks as if we have been waiting for it all our lives. He has really raised the whole passion and craziness and fanaticism of baseball as a popular spectacle to its ordained place in mythology." 

On this day in movie history - Deep Impact (1998)

Deep Impact

directed by Mimi Leder,

written by Bruce Joel Rubin and Michael Tolkin,

was released in the United States on May 8, 1998.

Music by James Horner.

Cast:

Robert Duvall, Téa Leoni, Elijah Wood, Vanessa Redgrave, Morgan Freeman, Maximilian Schell, James Cromwell, Ron Eldard, Jon Favreau, Laura Innes, Mary McCormack, Richard Schiff, Leelee Sobieski, Blair Underwood, Dougray Scott, Gary Werntz, Bruce Weitz, Betsy Brantley, O’Neal Compton, Rya Kihlstedt, Aleksandr Baluev, Caitlin Fein, Amanda Fein, Joe Urla, Una Damon, Mark Moses, Derek de Lint, Charles Dumas, Suzy Nakamura, Alimi Ballard, Charles Martin Smith, Katie Hagan, Denise Crosby, Frank Whiteman, Jason Dohring, Jasmine Harrison, Rahi Azizi, Hannah Leder, Tucker Smallwood, Merrin Dungey, Kimberly Huie, William Fair, Francis X. McCarthy, Ellen Bry, Lisa Ann Grant, Leslie Dilley, Concetta Tomei, Mike O’Malley, Kurtwood Smith, Gerry Griffin, Charlie Hartsock, Jennifer Jostyn, Don Handfield, Jason Frasca, Cynthia Ettinger, Benjamin Stralka, Stephanie Patton, Michael Winters, John Ducey, Christopher Darga, Joshua Colwell, Cornelius Lewis, Kevin LaRosa.

On this day in movie and book history - The Godfather (1972)

 

The Godfather

directed by Francis Ford Coppola,

written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola,

based on the novel by Mario Puzo,

was released in the United States on March 14, 1972.

Music by Nino Rota.

 
Cast:

Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard S. Castellano, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte, Al Lettieri, Diane Keaton, Abe Vigoda, Talia Shire, Gianni Russo, John Cazale, Rudy Bond, Al Martino, Morgana King, Lenny Montana, John Martino, Salvatore Corsitto, Richard Bright, Alex Rocco, Tony Giorgio, Vito Scotti, Tere Livrano, Victor Rendina, Jeannie Linero, Julie Gregg, Ardell Sheridan, Simonetta Stefanelli, Angelo Infanti, Corrado Gaipa, Franco Citti, Saro Urzì, Frank Albanese, Chris Anastasio, Norm Bacchiocchi, Max Brandt, Tybee Brascia, Garrett Cassell, Carmine Coppola, Gian-Carlo Coppola, Italia Coppola, Roman Coppola, Sofia Coppola, Don Costello, Robert Dahdah, Richard Fass, Gray Frederickson, Ron Gilbert, Anthony Gounaris, Joe Lo Grippo, Sonny Grosso, Louis Guss, Bobra Harris, Merril E. Joels, Randy Jurgensen, Tony King, Paul Lambert, Peter Lemongello, Tony Lip, Lou Martini Jr., Raymond Martino, Joseph Medaglia, Carol Morley, Dave Moskin, Rick Petrucelli, Joe Petrullo, Burt Richards, Sal Richards, Chuck Riley, Tom Rosqui, Giacomo Rossi Stuart, Nino Ruggeri, Frank Sivero, Filomena Spagnuolo, Joe Spinell, Gabriele Torrei, Nick Vallelonga, Ed Vantura, Ron Veto, Matthew Vlahakis, Ilene Woods, Conrad Yama.

Recommended reading:

The Godfather

by Mario Puzo.

Filmed as The Godfather (1972), directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

Published by Berkley.
First published 1969.
Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0451205766
ISBN-13: 978-0451205766

Description:

“A staggering triumph...The definitive novel about a sinister fraternity of crime.” – The Saturday Review.

“You can’t stop reading it, and you’ll find it hard to stop dreaming about it.” – New York Magazine.

50th ANNIVERSARY EDITION – WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA.

Mario Puzo’s classic saga of an American crime family that became a global phenomenon – nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read.

With its brilliant and brutal portrayal of the Corleone family, The Godfather burned its way into our national consciousness. This unforgettable saga of crime and corruption, passion and loyalty continues to stand the test of time, as the definitive novel of the Mafia underworld.

A #1 New York Times bestseller in 1969, Mario Puzo’s epic was turned into the incomparable film of the same name, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. It is the original classic that has been often imitated, but never matched. A tale of family and society, law and order, obedience and rebellion, it reveals the dark passions of human nature played out against a backdrop of the American dream.

With a Note from Anthony Puzo and an Afterword by Robert J. Thompson.

 

On this day in movie history - THX 1138 (1971)

THX 1138

directed by George Lucas,

written by George Lucas and Walter Murch,

based the 1967 short film Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB by George Lucas,

was released in the United States on March 11, 1971.

Music by Lalo Schifrin.

Painting shown on the Unit Chapel booth screens:

Christ Giving His Blessing, by Hans Memling (1478).

 

Cast:

Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence, Maggie McOmie, Don Pedro Colley, Ian Wolfe, Marshall Efron, Sid Haig, John Pearce, James Wheaton, Irene Cagen, Gary Alan Marsh, John Seaton, Eugene I. Stillman, Jack Walsh, Mark Lawhead, Robert Feero, Johnny Weissmuller Jr., Claudette Bessing, Susan Stroh, Henry Jacobs, Bill Love, Doc Scortt, Gary Austin, Scott L. Menges, Toby L. Stearns, Paul K. Haje, Ralph Chesse, Dion M. Chesse, Bruce Chesse, Mello Alexandria, Brandyn Barbara Artis, Morris D. Erby, Willie C. Barnes, Richard Quinnell, Jean M. Durand, Scott Beach, Neva Beach, Terence McGovern, Julie Payne, James Cranna, Ruth Silveira, Bruce Mackey, David Ogden Stiers, Bart Patton, Dennis Falt, Jack Rigg, Matthew Robbins.