On this day in movie history - The Big Sleep (1978)

The Big Sleep

directed and written by Michael Winner,

based on the novel by Raymond Chandler,

was released in the United States on March 13, 1978.

Narrated by Robert Mitchum.

Music by Jerry Fielding.

Cast:

Robert Mitchum, Sarah Miles, Richard Boone, Candy Clark, Joan Collins, Edward Fox, John Mills, James Stewart, Oliver Reed, Harry Andrews, Colin Blakely, Richard Todd, Diana Quick, James Donald, John Justin, Simon Fisher Turner, Martin Potter.

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 - Monsters (2010)

Monsters

directed and written by Gareth Edwards,

was released in the United States on March 13, 2010.

Music by Jon Hopkins.

Cast:

Scoot McNairy, Whitney Able, Mario Zuniga Benavides, Annalee Jefferies, Justin Hall, Ricky Catter, Paul Archer, Kerry Valderrama, Jonathan Winnford, Stan Wong, Anthony Cristo, Mario Richardson, Jorge Quirs, Erick Arce, Emigo Munkel, Esteban Blanco, Victor Vejan, Cristopher Chararria, Roman Bustamante, Solamon Albarran, Alejandro Sotero, Victorino Angulo, David Alba Garcia, Eduardo Guizak, Alfonso Pineda, Jose Garcia Gomez, Erika Morales Yolanda Chacon, Elsa Rascon Gonzalez, Jose Luis Morales Chacon, Tamilez Morales Chacon, Jonathan Cadena Chacon, Cindy Vanessa Cadena Morales, Javier Acosta Rodriguez, Victor Manuel Martinez Tovar, Walter Hernandez Col, Kenedy Gamaliel Jiminez, Hugo Valuerde, Roberto Saluzan, Cesan Solauo, Aris Martinez, Claudia Valdez, Elizabeth Blanco Sanchez, Gloria Soza, Aura Escobar, Max Alfredo Coe Tux, Ivan Sanchez, Wilfredo Hernandez Alvarado, Ramon Otzoy Sucuc, Erma Bradley, Shelmar Bradley, Luis Cails Sosa Carlos, Rene Moreno Lopez, Kenia Guadalupe Dominluez Yamas, Jesus Jose Moreno Quezada, Marta Maria Acatitla Vasquez, Romeo Arista, Maria Luisa Ontanon, Refugio Tapia Rendon, Katerine Zuleika Guizar Tapia, Joagun Salazan, Anthony Jimenez Jara, Luis Robertomonge Brenes, Oscar Mario Badilla Bora, Neston Herrera, Iserias Antouro Morah, Cooper Smith.

On this day in movie history - The Divide (2011)

 

The Divide

directed by Xavier Gens,

written by Karl Mueller and Eron Sheean,

was released at the South by Southwest Film Festival in the United States on March 13, 2011.

Music by Jean-Pierre Taieb.

Cast:

Lauren German, Michael Biehn, Milo Ventimiglia, Courtney B. Vance, Ashton Holmes, Rosanna Arquette, Iván González, Michael Eklund, Abbey Thickson, Jennifer Blanc-Biehn.