Wednesday, June 25, 2025

On this day in movie history - Blade Runner (1982 movie & books):

Blade Runner

directed by Ridley Scott,
written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples,
based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick,
was released in the United States on June 25, 1982.
Music by Vangelis.


Cast:

Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, M. Emmet Walsh, Daryl Hannah, William Sanderson, Brion James, Joe Turkel, Joanna Cassidy, James Hong, Morgan Paull, Hy Pyke.

Recommended reading:


Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

By Philip K. Dick.

Filmed as Blade Runner (1982), directed by Ridley Scott.

ASIN: 0586036059
Published by Voyager.
First published 1968.
Paperback.
ISBN-10: 0006482805
ISBN-13: 978-0586036051

Description:

21st Century Bounty Hunter.

Through the mean streets of a grim 21st century megalopolis, bounty hunter Rick Deckard stalked, searching out the renegade replicants who were his prey. But this assignment involved Nexus-6 targets and as a result Deckard quickly found himself involved in a nightmare kaleidoscope of violence and subterfuge – and the threat of death for the hunter rather than the hunted…

“A marvelous and complex book, simply written but leaving all kinds of resonance in the mind.” – Brian W. Aldiss.


Future Noir:
The Making of Blade Runner

by Paul M. Sammon.

Revised & Updated Edition.

ISBN-10: 0062699466
ISBN-13: 978-0062699466

Description from back cover:

The ultimate guide to Ridley Scott’s transformative sci-fi classic Blade Runner.

Ridley Scott’s 2007 “Final Cut” confirmed the international film cognoscenti’s judgment: Blade Runner, based on Philip K. Dick’s brilliant and troubling science fiction masterpiece Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, is among the most visually dense, thematically challenging, and influential science fiction films ever made. Future Noir Revised & Updated Edition offers a deeper understanding of this cinematic phenomenon that is storytelling and visual filmmaking at its best.

In this intensive, intimate, and anything-but-glamorous behind-the-scenes account, film insider and cinephile Paul M. Sammon explores how Ridley Scott purposefully used his creative genius to transform the work of science fiction’s most uncompromising author into a critical sensation and cult classic that would reinvent the genre. Sammon reveals how the making of the original Blade Runner was a seven-year odyssey that would test the stamina and the imagination of writers, producers, special effects wizards, and the most innovative art directors and set designers in the industry at the time it was made. This revised and expanded edition of Future Noir includes:

An overview of Blade Runner’s impact on moviemaking and its acknowledged significance in popular culture since the book’s original 1996 publication.

An exploration of the history of Blade Runner: The Final Cut and its theatrical release in 2007.

A look at its long-awaited sequel, Blade Runner 2049.

The longest interview Harrison Ford has ever granted about Blade Runner.

Exclusive new interviews with Rutger Hauer and Sean Young.

A fascinating look at the ever-shifting interface between commerce and art, illustrated with production photos and stills, Future Noir provides an eye-opening and enduring look at modern moviemaking, the business of Hollywood, and one of the greatest films of all time.


Blade Runner:
The Inside Story

By Don Shay.

Published by Titan Books.
Published 2003.
ISBN-10: 1840232102
ISBN-13: 9781840232103

Description:

In 1982, to coincide with Blade Runner's original release, Cinefex, the respected magazine devoted to movie design and special effects devoted an entire, extended issue to Ridley Scott's sci-fi masterpiece. That issue has been out of print since then, but in constant demand – copies now sell on the collector's market for over $100. Titan Books is proud to bring this classic back into print, in a remastered hardcover edition.

Described as 'the single most comprehensive examination of Blade Runner's special effects', this must-have book contains scores of images not available elsewhere, as well as authoritative text, containing in-depth, exclusive interviews with director Ridley Scott and the legendary designer Syd Mead.

On this day in movie history - The Thing (1982 movie & novella):


The Thing

directed by John Carpenter,
written by Bill Lancaster,
based on the novella Frozen Hell aka Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell,
was released in the United States on June 25, 1982.
Music by Ennio Morricone.


Cast:

Kurt Russell, A. Wilford Brimley, T. K. Carter, David Clennon, Keith David, Richard Dysart, Charles Hallahan, Peter Maloney, Richard Masur, Donald Moffat, Joel Polis, Thomas Waites.

Recommended reading:


Frozen Hell

By John W. Campbell Jr.

Published 2019.
Published by Wildside Press.
Paperback.
ISBN-10: 1479442828
ISBN-13: 978-1479442829

Description:

In 1938, acclaimed science fiction author John W. Campbell published the novella Who Goes There?, about a team of scientists in Antarctica who discover and are terrorized by a monstrous, shape-shifting alien entity. The story would later be adapted into John Carpenter’s iconic movie The Thing (following an earlier film adaptation in 1951). The published novella was actually an abridged version of Campbell’s original story, called Frozen Hell, which had to be shortened for publication.

The Frozen Hell manuscript remained unknown and unpublished for decades, and it was only recently rediscovered. Frozen Hell expands the Thing story dramatically, giving vital backstory and context to an already incredible tale. We are pleased and honored to offer Frozen Hell to you now, as Campbell intended it. You will be among the first people to ever read this completed version of the story.

On this day in movie history - The Omen (1976):


The Omen

directed by Richard Donner,
written by David Seltzer,
was released in the United States on June 25, 1976.
Music by Jerry Goldsmith.


Cast:

Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Billie Whitelaw, Harvey Stephens, Patrick Troughton, Martin Benson, Robert Rietty, Tommy Duggan, John Stride, Anthony Nicholls, Holly Palance, Roy Boyd, Freda Dowie, Sheila Raynor, Robert MacLeod, Bruce Boa, Don Fellows, Patrick McAlinney, Dawn Perllman, Nancy Manningham, Miki Iveria, Betty McDowall, Nicholas Campbell, Burnell Tucker, Ronald Leigh-Hunt, Guglielmo Spoletini, Ya’ackov Banai, Ann Barrass, Mark Baxter, Harvey Bernhard, Michael Byrne, Victor Harrington, Juba Kennerley, Leo McKern, Noel O’Connell, Bill Reimbold, Adam Rhodes, Massimo Serato, Tina Simmons, Christine Spooner, Damian John Spooner, Guy Standeven.

On this day in movie history - Rollerball (1975):


Rollerball

directed by Norman Jewison,
written by William Harrison,
based on the short story Roller Ball Murder by William Harrison,
was released in the United States on June 25, 1975.
Music by André Previn.
Adagio in G minor by Tomaso Albinoni.


Cast:

James Caan, John Houseman, Maud Adams, John Beck, Moses Gunn, Pamela Hensley, Barbara Trentham, John Normington, Shane Rimmer, Burt Kwouk, Nancy Bleier, Richard LeParmentier, Robert Ito, Ralph Richardson.

On this day in movie history - Klute (1971):


Klute

directed by Alan J. Pakula,
written by Andy and Dave Lewis,
was released in the United States on June 25, 1971.
Music by Michael Small.


Cast:

Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi, Roy Scheider, Dorothy Tristan, Rita Gam, Nathan George, Vivian Nathan, Morris Strassberg, Barry Snider, Betty Murray, Jane White, Shirley Stoler, Robert Milli, Anthony Holland, Fred Burrell, Richard B. Shull, Mary Louise Wilson, Marc Malvin, Rosalind Cash, Jean Stapleton, Jan Fielding, Antonia Rey, Robert Ronan, Richard Russell Ramos, Garrett Cassell, Jerome Collamore, Candy Darling, Kevin Dobson, Veronica Hamel, Richard Jordan, Margaret Linn, Tony Major, Harry Reems, Joe Silver, Ellen Stretton, Lee Wallace.

On this day in movie history - Gaslight (1940):


Gaslight

directed by Thorold Dickinson,
written by A.R. Rawlinson and Bridget Boland,
based on the play Gas Light by Patrick Hamilton,
was released in the United Kingdom on June 25, 1940.
Music by Richard Addinsell.


Cast:

Anton Walbrook, Diana Wynyard, Frank Pettingell, Cathleen Cordell, Robert Newton, Jimmy Hanley, Minnie Rayner, Marie Wright, Aubrey Dexter, Mary Hinton, Angus Morrison, Jack Barty, The Darmora Ballet.

Born on this day – Mark Withers:


Mark Withers


Actor

June 25, 1947 – November 22, 2024

Credits:

A Final Gift (2012); Alex: The Life of a Child (1986); Basic Training (1985); Best of the West (1981); Bolden (2019); California Fever (1979); Castle (2013); Citizen X (2002); Criminal Minds (2011); Dallas (1987); Days of Our Lives (1986–1987); Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story (1981); Divorce Court (1986); Drop Dead Diva (2013); Dynasty (1981); Dynasty Reunion: Catfights & Caviar (2006); Frasier (2001); Hart to Hart (1982); Her Life as a Man (1984); Hill Street Blues (1986); Hollywood and Beyond with Steven Brittingham (2018); Hotel (1986); How the West Was Won (1978); Hunter (1986); In Development (2013); It's Your Move (1985); Kaz (1978–1979); L.A. Law (1987); Magnum, P.I. (1982); Matlock (1989); McNamara's Band (1977); Reckless (2014); Remington Steele (1985); Ruby & Martin (2012); Santa Barbara (1985); Sense8 (2017–2018); She Spies (2003); Something About Amelia (1984); Southern Man (1998); Stranger Things (2016); The Creatress (2019); The Dukes of Hazzard (1982); The Greatest American Hero (1981); The Hugga Bunch (1985); The King of Queens (2002); The New Gidget (1987); The Phoenix Incident (2015); The Ultimate Life (2013); The Wizard (1987); Trapper John, M.D. (1979–1981); Trauma Center (1983); True Blood (2013); Turn Around Jake (2014); Wild and Wooly (1978); Wonder Woman (1978); Work from Home (2014).