On this day in movie history - The Electric Horseman (1979):

The Electric Horseman

directed by Sydney Pollack,

written by Paul Gaer and Robert Garland,

based on a story by Shelly Burton,

was released in the United States on December 21, 1979.
Music by Dave Grusin.
Songs by Willie Nelson:
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys.
Midnight Rider.
Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.
So You Think You're a Cowboy.
Hands on the Wheel.

Cast:

Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Valerie Perrine, Willie Nelson, John Saxon, Nicolas Coster, Allan Arbus, Wilford Brimley, Will Hare, Basil Hoffman, Timothy Scott, James Sikking, James Kline, Frank Speiser, Quinn K. Redeker, Lois Hamilton, Sarah Harris, Tasha Zemrus, James Novak, Debra L. Maxwell, Michele Heyeden, Robin Timm, Patricia Blair, Gary M. Fox, Richard Perlmutter, Carol Eileen Montgomery, Theresa Ann Dent, Perry Sheehan, Sarge Allen, Sylvie Strause, Richard Knoll, Angelo Giouzelis, Mark Jamison, Brendan Kelly, Sheila B. Wakely, X.V. Kelly, Gary Shermaine, Gary Liddiard, Jerry Kurland, J. Carlton Adair, Charles J. Monahan, George W. Etter, Raymond G. Maupin, Bob C. Barrett, Red McIlvaine, Frank Nicholas, Johnny Magnus, Vic Vallaro, Bob Bailey, Roger Lowe, Kim Kephart, E.P. King, Rita Picking, Bernie Pollack, Sydney Pollack, Tom Willett.

On this day in movie history - Love and Bullets (1979):

Love and Bullets

directed by Stuart Rosenberg,

written by Wendell Mayes and John Melson,

was released in the United States on December 9, 1979.
Music by Lalo Schifrin.

Cast:

Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Rod Steiger, Henry Silva, Strother Martin, Bradford Dillman, Michael V. Gazzo, Paul Koslo, Val Avery, Sam Chew Jr., Billy Gray, Jerome Thor, Joseph Roman, Albert Salmi, John Hallam, Sidney Kean, Richard Graydon, Alan Bryce, Robin Clarke, Andy Romano, Lorraine Chase, Raynold Gideon, Ramon Chavez, Rik Colitti, Joe Bellucci, Ray Le Fre, Richard Brose, Lon Carli, Karen Wyeth, James Keane, J. Kenneth Campbell, Michael L. Cooley, Alex Donnelley, Gene Earl, Sapp Gruber, Hans Kronig, Marco Lopez, Charles Lucia, Michael Parrent, Clifford A. Pellow, Josef Rainer, Earl W. Smith.

On this day in movie history - Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979):

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

directed by Robert Wise,

written by Harold Livingston,

based on a story by Alan Dean Foster,

was released in the United States on December 6, 1979.
Music by Jerry Goldsmith.

Cast:

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Persis Khambatta, Stephen Collins, Majel Barrett, Grace Lee Whitney, David Gautreaux, Mark Lenard.

Recommended reading - Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1979):

Whose Life Is It Anyway?

Play by Brian Clark.

Published 1979.

Paperback

Published by Cornelsen.

ISBN 13: 9783454665902

ISBN 10: 3454665906

ASIN: 3454665906

Description:

Ken Harrison, is a successful sculptor with a beautiful girlfriend and everything to live for until a car wreck leaves him paralyzed for life, with no hope of physical recovery. When this charming, witty, angry young man chooses to die his doctors and nurses are determined that he must continue to live.

On this day in music history - Tusk, by Fleetwood Mac (1979):

The album Tusk,

by Fleetwood Mac,

was released on October 12, 1979.

On this day in movie history - Death Car on the Freeway (1979):

Death Car on the Freeway

directed by Hal Needham,

written by William Wood,

was released in the United States on September 25, 1979.
Music by Richard Markowitz.

Cast:

Shelley Hack, Frank Gorshin, Peter Graves, Harriet Nelson, Barbara Rush, Dinah Shore, Abe Vigoda, Alfie Wise, George Hamilton, Robert F. Lyons, Tara Buckman, Morgan Brittany, Nancy Stephens, Gloria Stroock, Hal Needham, Jim Negele, Sid Haig, Buddy Farmer, Hank Brandt, Marguerite DeLain, Roger Aaron Brown, Jack Collins, Dennis Falt, Jerry Jensen.

On this day in music history - The Long Run, by the Eagles (1979):

The album The Long Run,

by the Eagles,

was released on September 24, 1979.

On this day in movie history - And Justice for All (1979):

And Justice for All

directed by Norman Jewison,

written by Valerie Curtin and Barry Levinson,

was released in the United States on September 15, 1979.
Music by Dave Grusin.

Cast:

Al Pacino, Jack Warden, John Forsythe, Lee Strasberg, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Lahti, Sam Levene, Robert Christian, Thomas Waites, Larry Bryggman, Craig T. Nelson, Dominic Chianese, Victor Arnold, Vincent Beck, Michael Gorrin, Baxter Harris, Joe Morton, Alan North, Tom Quinn, Beverly Sanders, Connie Sawyer, Charles Siebert, Robert Symonds, Keith Andes.

Recommended reading - Nothing Lasts Forever (1979):

Nothing Lasts Forever (1979).

By Roderick Thorp.

Filmed as Die Hard (1988).

Published by Graymalkin Media.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1935169181

ISBN-13: 978-1935169185

Description:

The pulse pounding bestseller that started it all.

Inspiration for the film Die Hard.

The greatest action film of all time. – Entertainment Weekly.

A ferocious, bloody, raging book so single-mindedly brilliant in concept and execution it should be read at a single sitting. – Los Angeles Times.

Keeps us in a state of almost unequaled suspense and excitement! – The New Yorker.

High atop a Los Angeles skyscraper, an office Christmas party turns into a deadly cage-match between a lone New York City cop and a gang of international terrorists. Every action fan knows it could only be the explosive big-screen blockbuster Die Hard. But before Bruce Willis blew away audiences as unstoppable hero John McClane, author Roderick Thorp knocked out thriller readers with the bestseller that started it all.

A dozen heavily armed terrorists have taken hostages, issued demands, and promised bloodshed – all according to plan. But they haven't counted on a death-defying, one-man cavalry with no shoes, no backup, and no intention of going down easily. As hot-headed cops swarm outside, and cold-blooded killers wield machine guns and rocket launchers inside, the stage is set for the ultimate showdown between anti-hero and uber-villains. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good fight … to the death. Ho ho ho!

On this day in movie history - Apocalypse Now (1979):

Apocalypse Now,

directed by Francis Ford Coppola,

written by John Milius and Francis Ford Coppola,

based on the novella Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad,

was released in the United States on August 15, 1979.
Music by Carmine Coppola and Francis Ford Coppola.

Narrated by Martin Sheen.

Redux version released in 2001.

Cast:
Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Albert Hall, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne, Dennis Hopper, G. D. Spradlin, Jerry Ziesmer, Harrison Ford, Scott Glenn, Colleen Camp, Cynthia Wood, Linda Beatty, Bill Graham, Francis Ford Coppola, Vittorio Storaro, R. Lee Ermey, Christian Marquand, Aurore Clément, Roman Coppola, Gian-Carlo Coppola, Michel Pitton, Franck Villard, David Olivier, Chrystel Le Pelletier, Robert Julian, Yvon Le Saux, Henri Sadardiel, Gilbert Renkens.

On this day in music history - Bela Lugosi's Dead, by Bauhaus (1979):

The song Bela Lugosi's Dead,

by Bauhaus,

was released on August 6, 1979.

Bauhaus performed this song in the opening titles scene of The Hunger,
a stylish vampire-themed horror movie, directed by Tony Scott and released in 1983.