On this day in movie history -The King of Comedy (1983):

The King of Comedy

directed by Martin Scorsese,

written by Paul D. Zimmerman,

was released in the United States on February 18, 1983.
Music by Robbie Robertson.

Cast:

Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Sandra Bernhard, Diahnne Abbott, Shelley Hack, Margo Winkler, Kim Chan, Frederick De Cordova, Edgar Scherick, Ed Herlihy, Tony Randall, Victor Borge, Joyce Brothers, Catherine Scorsese, Cathy Scorsese, Martin Scorsese, Charles Scorsese, Mick Jones, Joe Strummer, Paul Simonon, Kosmo Vinyl, Ellen Foley, Don Letts, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio.

On this day in movie history – Videodrome (1983 movie & book):

Videodrome

aka Zonekiller, 

directed and written by David Cronenberg,

was released in the United States on February 4, 1983.

Music by Howard Shore.

Cast:

James Woods, Debbie Harry, Sonja Smits, Peter Dvorsky, Leslie Carlson, Jack Creley, Lynne Gorman, Julie Khaner, David Bolt, Reiner Schwarz, Lally Cadeau, King Cosmos, Kay Hawtrey, David Tsubouchi.

Recommended reading:

Videodrome

Studies in the Horror Film

By Tim Lucas.

Published by Centipede Press.

First Edition.

Published 2008.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1933618280

ISBN-13: 978-1933618289

Description:

Released in 1983, David Cronenberg's Videodrome is one of his most original and provocative works, fusing social commentary with shocking elements of sex and violence. Crossing the boundary between science fiction, horror, and social criticism, Videodrome remains a unique and brilliant work in the oeuvre of cinema's greatest maverick.

Tim Lucas had behind-the-scenes access to every facet of production when Videodrome was filmed in 1981. His unique perspective provides interviews with cast and crew, including exclusive, never-before-published interviews with Cronenberg, commentary and analysis of the film, and over sixty black-and-white and color photographs, many never before seen.

Videodrome is the first in the Studies in the Horror Film series, which aims to present critical and popular discussion of the great horror films in affordable, attractive packages.

Tim Lucas is the editor of Video Watchdog magazine, which specializes in critical discussions of popular and obscure horror, fantasy, and science fiction films. He is also a renowned and astute film critic and award-winning writer.

Recommended reading: Stick by Elmore Leonard (1983):

Stick

By Elmore Leonard.

Published by Arbor House.

First published 1983.

Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 0877954364

ISBN-13: 978-0877954361

Description:

After serving time for armed robbery, Ernest "Stick" Stickley is back on the outside and trying to stay legit. But it's tough staying straight in a crooked town -- and Miami is a pirate's paradise, where investment fat cats and lowlife drug dealers hold hands and dance. And when a crazed player chooses Stick at random to die for another man's sins, the struggling ex-con is left with no choice but to dive right back into the game. Besides, Stick knows a good thing when he sees it -- and a golden opportunity to run a very profitable sweet revenge scam seems much too tasty to pass up.

On this day in movie history – The Keep (1983 movie & novel):

The Keep

directed and written by Michael Mann,

based on the novel by F. Paul Wilson,

released in the United States on December 16, 1983.

Music by Tangerine Dream.

Cast:

Scott Glenn, Alberta Watson, Jürgen Prochnow, Robert Prosky, Gabriel Byrne, Ian McKellen, William Morgan Sheppard, Royston Tickner, Michael Carter, Phillip Joseph, John Vine, Jona Jones, Wolf Kahler, Rosalie Crutchley, Frederick Warder, Bruce Payne, David Cardy, John Eastham, Philip Bloomfield, Yashar Adem, Stephen Whittaker, Ian Ruskin, Stephen Jenn, Benedick Blythe, Robin Langford, Renny Krupinski, Peter Guinness, Sean Baker, Timothy Block, Owain Gwyn, Ralph G. Morse, Doug Robinson, Peter Ross-Murray.

Recommended reading:

The Keep

By F. Paul Wilson.

Published by New English Library.

First published 1981.

ISBN 13: 9780450054556

ISBN 10: 0450054551

ASIN: 0450054551

Description:

“Request immediate relocation. Something is murdering my men.”

The message, sent by Captain Klaus Woermann to German Army High Command.

The location: a medieval fortress overlooking the Dinu Pass, high in the Transylvanian Alps.

Where the German garrison was being taken and murdered one by one, night after night, and left, throats torn out, to drive the survivors mad with fear.

The solution: a reinforcing squad of terror-hardened SS Einsatzkommandos.

The mistake: ignorance. The legends of Transylvania meant nothing to them. Nor the existence of an evil centuries older and hideously more powerful than anything in even the most diseased imaginings of an SS killer.

On this day in movie history - Christine (1983 movie & novel):

Christine

directed by John Carpenter,

written by Bill Phillips,

based on the novel by Stephen King,

was released in the United States on December 9, 1983.
Music by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth.

Cast:

Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Robert Prosky, Harry Dean Stanton, Christine Belford, Robert Darnell, Roberts Blossom, Kelly Preston, William Ostrander, Steven Tash, Stuart Charno, Malcolm Danare, David Spielberg.

Recommended reading:

Christine

By Stephen King.

Published by Viking Press.

First published 1983.

Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 0670220264

ISBN-13: 978-0670220267

Description:

It was love at first sight. From the moment seventeen-year-old Arnie Cunningham saw Christine, he knew he would do anything to possess her.

Arnie’s best friend, Dennis, distrusts her – immediately.

Arnie’s teen-queen girlfriend, Leigh, fears her the moment she senses her power.

Arnie’s parents, teachers, and enemies soon learn what happens when you cross her.

Because Christine is no lady. She is Stephen King’s ultimate, blackly evil vehicle of terror…

Christine, blood-red, fat and finned, was twenty. Her promise lay all in her past. Greedy and big, she was Arnie’s obsession, a ’58 Plymouth Fury. Broken down but not finished. There was still power in her – a frightening power that leaked like sump oil, staining and corrupting. A malign power that corroded the mind and turned ownership into Possession.