On this day in television history - Murder in the Heartland (1993):

Murder in the Heartland

a made-for-TV miniseries directed by Robert Markowitz,

written by Michael O'Hara,

was released in the United States on May 3, 1993.
Based on the true Charles Starkweather murder case (1957-1958).
Music by Patrick Williams.

Cast:

Tim Roth, Fairuza Balk, Kate Reid, Brian Dennehy, Randy Quaid, Roberts Blossom, Tom Bower, Rondi Reed, Bob Gunton, Ryan Cutrona, Angie Bolling, Jake Carpenter, Heather Kafka, Don Bloomfield, John Hussey, James Hansen Prince, John S. Davies, Mark Walters, Jennifer Griffin, Milo O'Shea, Gerry Bamman, Jeff Perry, Connie Cooper, Jimmy Ray Pickens, Valentina Marie Lomborg, Tom Smith, Renée Zellweger, Darryl Cox, Marco Perella, John Cantwell, Chamblee Ferguson, Gary Mitchell Carter, Suzi McLaughlin, Joan Arenstein.

On this day in movie history - Assault on Precinct 13 (2005):

Assault on Precinct 13

directed by Jean-François Richet,

written by James DeMonaco,

was released in the United States on January 19, 2005.
A remake of Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), directed and written by John Carpenter.
Music by Graeme Revell.

Cast:

Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Gabriel Byrne, Maria Bello, Drea de Matteo, John Leguizamo, Brian Dennehy, Ja Rule, Currie Graham, Aisha Hinds, Matt Craven, Fulvio Cecere, Peter Bryant, Kim Coates, Hugh Dillon, Tig Fong, Jasmin Geljo, Jessica Greco, Dorian Harewood, Philip Marshall, Arnold Pinnock, Edward A. Queffelec, Robert Hayley, Courtney Cunningham, Leford Lawes, Roman Podhora, Gilson Lubin, Brian King, Laurent Richet, J.C. Kenny, Sasha Roiz, Ray Kahnert, Dave Tommasini, Jeff Ironi, Melissa Thomson, Darren Frost, Al Vrkljan, Titus Welliver, Tony Burton, DTeflon, Colin Glazer, Derwin Phillips.

On this day in movie history - First Blood (1982):

First Blood

directed by Ted Kotcheff,

written by Michael Kozoll, William Sackheim and Sylvester Stallone,

based on the novel by David Morrell,

was released in the United States on October 22, 1982.
Music by Jerry Goldsmith.

Cast:

Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Brian Dennehy, Bill McKinney, Jack Starrett, Michael Talbott, Chris Mulkey, John McLiam, Alf Humphreys, David Caruso, David L. Crowley, Don MacKay, Charles A. Tamburro, David Petersen, Craig Huston, Patrick Stack, Stephen E. Miller, Raimund Stamm, Robert Metcalfe, Stephen Dimopoulos, Bruce Greenwood, Earl Klein, Danny Wozna, Peter Lonstrup, Mike Winlaw, Donald Adams, David Menzies, Frank Richter, Grahman L. Galativk, Ian Hutchinson, Amy Alexander, Gary Hetherington, Alex Kliner, R.G. Miller, Stephen Chang, Suzee Pai, Robert Prowse, Jack Rigg.

Never Cry Wolf (1983) - a REAL walk on the wild side:

Never Cry Wolf

This Disney production, directed by Carroll Ballard, released in the United States on October 7, 1983, is a somber and beautiful nature movie, set in the snow-bound Canadian wilderness.

Charles Martin Smith plays Tyler, a Government biologist, sent to the harsh and unforgiving region to ascertain whether wolves are responsible for the alarming decline of the Caribou herds.

On the outset of his mission, Tyler encounters Rosie (Brian Dennehy), who initially seems friendly – even though borderline psychotic, but later emerges as an astute fortune hunter.

Symbolizing the worst of mankind, Rosie is there only to destroy the habitat in a money-making enterprise.

Early in the story, Tyler is rescued and befriended by Ootek (Zachary Ittimangnaq), and learns about the lifestyle of the indigenous Inuit people.

Never Cry Wolf is a visual feast; the landscape scenery is breathtaking, and Mark Isham’s music score is haunting.

It’s based on the autobiographical book by Farley Mowat, presented here as the character, Tyler.

The slow and thoughtful pace of the movie is lightened with the comic scenes of Tyler drinking tea by the gallon, and urinating around his base camp, scent-marking it as the wolf establishes his territory.

It turns into a battle of the wills and bladders between man and wolf, until the wolf finally accepts the boundary of Tyler's territory.

Later, Tyler learns the wolf is not the culprit and vital to the balance of nature: culling only the injured and slowest Caribou – effectively keeping the herd strong.

The wolves’ main food is the multitudes of field mice – of which Tyler also chows on as an experiment, after the mice swarm his tent and his own food reserves are depleting.

I believe in conservation and I love the wolf in particular.

Never Cry Wolf is delicately compelling and melancholic.

I empathized with Tyler, and appreciate the necessity to conserve and protect this beautiful planet: our home.

One of my favorite scenes is near the end: Tyler, with the heavy snow and the brutal winter set in around him, sits at the edge of a lake and blows hard on a bassoon.

The sound is heard by a distant wolf pack, and they howl back, acknowledging the distance between them, a declaration that neither Tyler, nor the rest of mankind, belong there.

Never Cry Wolf moved me with two reflective and potent realities of the region: sadness and silence.

Everything there seems to be on an inexorable path towards extinction: the caribou, wolves, Inuit people, and even the habitat itself.

The illusion of a place where the only things to cut through the silence are the howl of a wolf, or the wind, is that time appears to stand still.

Charles Martin Smith and Brian Dennehy played great roles.

However, like the wilderness, this movie belongs to the wolves.

One particular line resonates with me, and I hope it never becomes prophetic of the wolves and the plight of the natural world:

I believe the wolves went off to a wild and distant place somewhere, although I don’t really know, because I turned away and didn’t watch them go.

– Charles Martin Smith, as Tyler.

On this day in movie history - Split Image (1982):

Split Image

aka Captured,

directed by Ted Kotcheff,

written by Scott Spencer, Robert Kaufman and Robert Mark Kamen,

based on a story by Scott Spencer,

was released in the United States on October 3, 1982.
Music by Bill Conti.

Cast:

Michael O'Keefe, Karen Allen, Peter Fonda, James Woods, Elizabeth Ashley, Brian Dennehy, Ronnie Scribner, Pamela Ludwig, John Dukakis, Lee Montgomery, Michael Sacks, Deborah Rush, Peter Horton, Ken Farmer, Cliff Stephens, Brian Henson, David Wysocki, Kenneth Barry, Robert A. Cowan, Herbert Kirkpatrick, Chris McCarty, Lee Ritchey, Lynette Walden, Robert Hibbard, Scott Campbell, Melanie Strange, Dave Tanner, Tom Rayhall, Jeanne Evans, Irma P. Hall, Bill Engvall, Peter Hans Sprague, John Carroll, Haley McLane, Kelly Wimberly, James Healy Jr., Charles Assiff, Tad Black, Julie Elizabeth Knell, Michael Minton, Tom Romero, David Sawyer, Mark-Brian Sonna, Ben Stephenson.

On this day in movie history - Best Seller (1987):

Best Seller

directed by John Flynn,

written by Larry Cohen,

was released in the United States on September 25, 1987.
Music by Jay Ferguson.

Cast:

James Woods, Brian Dennehy, Victoria Tennant, Allison Balson, Paul Shenar, George Coe, Anne Pitoniak, Mary Carver, Sully Boyar, Kathleen Lloyd, Charles Tyner, E. Brian Dean, Jeffrey Josephson, Edward Blackoff, Branscombe Richmond, J.P. Bumstead, William Bronder, Jenny Gago, Michael Crabtree, Clare Fields, Claudia Stenke, David Byrd, Loyda Ramos, Obaka Adedunyo, Ted Markland, Phil Hoover, David Blackwood, David Ursin, Jay Ingram, Daniel Trent, Gary Kirk, Dean Abston, David S. Cass Sr., Bill R. Mitchell, John Howard Swain, Dennis Acree, Mark Venturini, Larry Holt, Jeff Ramsey, James Winburn, Peter Stader, Hank Stone, Brian Gaffikin, Michael White, Martin West, Wally Burr, Arlin Miller, Sands Hall, Sam Baldoni, Seymour Cassel, Sydney Urshan.