On this day in movie history - The Exorcist III (movie & novel):

The Exorcist III

directed and written by William Peter Blatty,

based on novel Legion by William Peter Blatty,

was released in the United States on August 17, 1990.
Music by Barry De Vorzon.

Cast:

George C. Scott, Ed Flanders, Jason Miller, Scott Wilson, Brad Dourif, Grand L. Bush, Nicol Williamson, Nancy Fish, Tracy Thorne, Barbara Baxley, Harry Carey Jr., George DiCenzo, Tyra Ferrell, Lois Foraker, Don Gordon, Mary Jackson, Zohra Lampert, Ken Lerner, Viveca Lindfors, Lee Richardson, Kevin Corrigan, Demetrios Pappageorge, Jodi Long, Samuel L. Jackson, Amelia Campbell, C. Everett Koop, Larry King, Patrick Ewing, Teresa Wright, Fabio, Colleen Dewhurst, The Lennon Sisters.

Recommended reading:

Legion

By William Peter Blatty.

Published by Tor Books.

First published in 1983.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0765327139

ISBN-13: 978-0765327130

Description:

“Jesus asked the man his name, and he answered, ‘Legion, for we are many.’” – Mark 5:9.

A young boy is found horribly murdered in a mock crucifixion. Is the murderer the elderly woman who witnessed the crime? A neurologist who can no longer bear the pain life inflicts on its victims? A psychiatrist with a macabre sense of humor and a guilty secret? A mysterious mental patient, locked in silent isolation?

Lieutenant Kinderman follows a bewildering trail that links all these people, confronting new enigmas at every turn, even as more murders occur. Why does each victim suffer the same dreadful mutilations? Why are two priests among the dead? Is there a connection between these crimes and another series of murders that took place twelve years ago – one that supposedly ended with the death of the killer?

Legion is a novel of breathtaking energy and suspense. But more than this, it is an extraordinary journey into the uncharted depths of the human mind and the most agonizing questions of the human condition.

The answers are revealed in a climax so stunning that it could only have been written by the author of The Exorcist – William Peter Blatty.

On this day in movie history - Murder in the First (1995):

Murder in the First

directed by Marc Rocco,

written by Dan Gordon,

was released in the United States on January 20, 1995.
Music by Christopher Young.

Cast:

Christian Slater, Kevin Bacon, Gary Oldman, Embeth Davidtz, William H. Macy, Stephen Tobolowsky, Brad Dourif, R. Lee Ermey, Mia Kirshner, Ben Slack, Stefan Gierasch, Kyra Sedgwick, Alex Bookston, Richie Allan, Herb Ritts, Charles Boswell, David Michael Sterling, Michael Melvin, George Maguire, Nick Scoggin, Douglas Bennett, Joseph Richards, Julius Varnado, Tony Barr, Stuart Nisbet, Gary Ballard, Randy Pelish, Neil Summers, Sonny King, Eddie Bowz, Brian Leckner, Time Winters, James Keane, Lance Brady, Michael Merrins, Ray Quartermus, Lee Mathis, Wayne Parks, Warren Spottswood, Thomas Fenske, Robert Lee, Sheldon Feldner, Fred Franklin, Danny Kovacs, Joseph Lucas, William Hall, Bill Barretta, Randall Dudley, Wally Rose, Amanda Borden, Eve Brenner, Joseph Cole, Richard Kwong, Gary Lee Davis, Paul Abbaszadeh, Mel Allen, Cabran E. Chamberlain, Bundy Chanock, Tory Christopher, William Cleere, Annie Coffey, Sean Coffey, James Anthony Cotton, Charles Cyphers, Mike Ferrante, Laird Macintosh, Mary Mackey, Daniel Mandehr, Theo Mayes, Dennis Pappalardo, Douglas W. Randall, Bob Shuttleworth, Rafael Siegel, Joseph Quinn Simpkins, James A. Swan, Nicole Vigil, Erick Vinther, Ryken Zane.