On this day in movie history - L'amore a.k.a. Love (1948 movie & play):

L'amore

a.k.a. Love

directed by Roberto Rossellini,

written by Federico Fellini, Roberto Rossellini, Anna Benvenuti, Tullio Pinelli,

based on the play The Human Voice by Jean Cocteau,

released at the Venice Film Festival in Italy on August 21, 1948.

Music by Renzo Rossellini.

Cast: Anna Magnani, Federico Fellini, Peparuolo, Amelia Robert.

Recommended reading:

The Human Voice

Play by Jean Cocteau.

Translated by Daniel Raggett.

Published by Oberon Books.

Oberon Modern Plays.

First published 1929.

ISBN-10: 1786826542

ISBN-13: 978-1786826541

Description:

'I'm whispering into your ear – and we couldn't be further apart.'

A woman, a phone call, a final conversation. In this extraordinary and prophetic monologue, a woman fights for the person she loves. Jean Cocteau's iconic play explores our desperate need for human relationships – and the machine that has changed them forever. 

On this day in movie history - Wanda (1970)

Wanda

directed and written by Barbara Loden,

released at the Venice Film Festival in Italy on August 21, 1970.

Music by Dave Mullaney.

Cast: Barbara Loden, Michael Higgins, Dorothy Shupenes, Peter Shupenes, Jerome Their, Marian Their, Anthony Rotell, M.L. Kennedy, Gerald Grippo, Milton Gittleman, Lila Gittleman, Arnold Kanig, Joe Dennis, Charles Dosinan, Jack Ford, Rozamond Peck, Susan Clark, Linda Clark, Bill Longworth, Frank Jourdano, Valerie Mamches, Pete Richman, Ed Somavitch. 

On this day in movie history - The Longest Yard (1974)

The Longest Yard

a.k.a. The Mean Machine

directed by Robert Aldrich,

written by Tracy Keenan Wynn,

based on a story by Albert S. Ruddy,

was released in the United States on August 21, 1974.

Music by Frank De Vol.

Cast:

Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, Ed Lauter, Michael Conrad, James Hampton, Harry Caesar, John Steadman, Charles Tyner, Mike Henry, Jim Nicholson, Bernadette Peters, Pervis Atkins, Tony Cacciotti, Anitra Ford, Michael Fox, Joe Kapp, Richard Kiel, Pepper Martin, Mort Marshall, Ray Nitschke, Tony Reese, Sonny Sixkiller, Robert Tessier, Dino Washington, Ernie Wheelwright, Joe Dorsey, Gus Carlucci, Jack Rockwell, Sonny Shroyer, Ray Ogden, Don Ferguson, Chuck Hayward, Alfie Wise, Steve Wilder, George A. Jones, Wilbur Gillian, Wilson Warren, Joe Jackson, Howard Silverstein, Donald Hixon.

On this day in movie history - An American Werewolf in London (1981)

An American Werewolf in London

directed and written by John Landis,

was released in the United States on August 21, 1981.

Music by Elmer Bernstein.

Cast:

David Naughton, Griffin Dunne, David Schofield, Joe Belcher, Brian Glover, Lila Kaye, Rik Mayall, Sean Baker, Paddy Ryan, Jenny Agutter, Anne-Marie Davies, John Woodvine, Frank Oz, Don McKillop, Paul Kember, Colin Fernandes, Albert Moses, Jim Henson, Michele Brisigotti, Mark Fisher, Gordon Sterne, Paula Jacobs, Claudine Bowyer, Johanna Crayden, Nina Carter, Geoffrey Burridge, Brenda Cavendish, Christopher Scoular, Mary Tempest, Cynthia Powell, Sydney Bromley, Frank Singuineau, Will Leighton, Michael Carter, Elizabeth Bradley, Rufus Deakin, Lesley Ward, George Hilsdon, Gerry Lewis, Dennis Fraser, Alan Ford, Peter Ellis, Denise Stephens, Christine Hargreaves, Linzi Drew, Lucien Morgan, Dave Cooper, Susan Spencer, Bob Babenia, Ken Sicklen, John Salthouse, John Altman, Keith Hodiak, John Owens, Roger Rowland, Lewis Alexander, Jack Armstrong, Vic Armstrong, Alan Austen, Roy Beck, Kevin Brennan, John Cannon, Ina Clare, Simon van Collem, Harry Fielder, Noel Flanagan, Alan Flyng, Ryan Folsey, Laurie Goode, Dave Griffiths, Brendan Hughes, John Ketteringham, John Landis, Dave Lanning, Aileen Lewis, Tommy Little, Derek Lyons, Lou Morgan, Ralph G. Morse, James Muir, Terence Mustoo, George Oliver, James Payne, Quentin Pierre, Jack Ross, Terry Sach, Alecia St Leger, David Stone, John Timberlake, Terry Walsh.

On this day in movie history - The Big Easy (1987)

The Big Easy

directed by Jim McBride, and written by Daniel Petrie, Jr.,

was released in the United States on August 21, 1987.

Music by Brad Fiedel.

Cast:

Dennis Quaid, Ellen Barkin, Ned Beatty, John Goodman, Lisa Jane Persky, Ebbe Roe Smith, Tom O'Brien, Charles Ludlam, Grace Zabriskie, Marc Lawrence, Solomon Burke, Gailard Sartain, Jim Chimento, Edward Saint Pe, Robert Lesser, Cheryl Starbuck, Margie O'Dair, Arden Lo, Rickey Pierre, Nick Krieger, Gary Anthony Sturgis, Byron Nora, Archie Sampier, Jeff Hollis, Joy N. Houck Jr., Steve Broussard, Eliott Keener, August Krinke, John Schluter, Zephirin Hymel IV, Jack Harris, George Dureau, Patrick Frederic, Lane Trippe, Nik Hagler, Don Lutenbacher, Carol Sutton, Peter Gabb, Jim Garrison, Dave Petitjean, Buddy Quaid, Dennis Curren, Rico Wheat, Robert Kearney, Joe Catalanotto, Terrance Simien, Gene Chambers, Popp Esprite, Earl Sally, Rudy Chambers, Phillip V. Caruso, Duane Delco.

On this day in movie history - 1000 Women in Horror (2025 documentary & book):

1000 Women in Horror

documentary directed by Donna Davies,

written by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas,

based on the book by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas,

released at the Melbourne International Film Festival in Australia on August 21, 2025.

Cast: Tonjia Atomic, Roxanne Benjamin, Akela Cooper, Mattie Do, Brea Grant, Mary Harron, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Cerise Howard, Kier-La Janisse, Nikyatu Jusu, Nikyatu Jusu, Natasha Kermani, Roseanne Liang, Annalise Lockhart, Toby Poser, Sara Risher, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Lin Shaye, Kate Siegel, Chelsea Stardust, Jenn Wexler, April Wolfe.

Recommended reading:

1000 Women In Horror, 1895-2018

by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas.

Published by BearManor Media.
Published 2020.
ISBN-10: 1629333867
ISBN-13: 978-1629333861

Description:

Blowing a kiss back through time and space from Aaliyah to Jill Rae Zurborg, 1000 Women in Horror, 1895-2018 is a love letter to both the stars and the often-invisible women who have made the genre what it is today. From Classical Hollywood to alt-Nollywood, mumblegore to J-horror, this book offers a tiny global snapshot of the vast number of women who have worked in the creation of dark and spooky movies for well over a century, both behind and in front of the camera, and in films both widely known and comparatively obscure.

Featuring a selected filmography of over 700 feature films directed or co-directed by women, this book also features interviews with Rutanya Alda, Tara Anaïse, Tonjia Atomic, Anna Biller, Axelle Carolyn, Aislinn Clarke, BJ Colangelo, Mattie Do, Julia Ducournau, Jordan Hall, Catherine Hardwicke, Katherine Kean, Karen Lam, Izzy Lee, Barbara Magnolfi, Marsha Mason, Donna McRae, Patrushkha Mierzwa, Hannah Neurotica, Alexandra Paul, Isabel Peppard, Cassandra ‘Elvira’ Peterson, Debbie Rochon, Mia’Kate Russell, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Elizabeth Shepherd, Jen and Sylvia Soska, Brinke Stevens, Barbie Wilde and Silvana Zancolò.

About the Author: Alexandra Heller-Nicholas is a film critic from Melbourne, Australia. She has written eight books on cult, horror and exploitation cinema with an emphasis on gender politics, including Rape-Revenge Films: A Critical Study (2011), books on Dario Argento’s Suspiria (2015), Abel Ferrara’s Ms. 45 (2017) and Robert Harmon’s The Hitcher (2018), and the Bram Stoker Award nominated book Masks in Horror Cinema: Eyes Without Faces (2019). She is a member of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists and the Australian Film Crit-ics Association. Alexandra holds a PhD in Screen Studies from the University of Melbourne and is an Adjunct Professor at Deakin University and a Research Fellow at RMIT University.

On this day in music history - Sacred Heart, by Shakespear’s Sister (1989)

 

Sacred Heart

by Shakespear’s Sister

was released on August 21, 1989.

Track list:

Heroine; Run Silent Run Deep; Dirty Mind; Sacred Heart; Heaven Is in Your Arms; Twist the Knife; You’re History; Break My Heart; Red Rocket; Electric Moon; Primitive Love; Could You Be Loved; You Made Me Come to This.