Film in History (Part 4)

1979-05-14 "Stalker", Russian film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, starring Alexander Kaidanovsky and Anatoli Solonitsyn, is released

1979-05-25 Horror film "Alien", directed by Ridley Scott and starring Sigourney Weaver is released

1979-10-30 Tamla/Motown releases Stevie Wonder's documentary film soundtrack "Journey Through The Secret Life of Plants"

1979-12-07 "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" first movie of the series premieres directed by Robert Wise, starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy

1980-05-23 Horror film "The Shining" released directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, based on book by Stephen King

1980-08-12 Warner Bros, Records releases "One-Trick Pony", the fifth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon; it features the song "Late in the Evening" and was accompanied by a dramatic film of the same name, written by and starring Simon

1980-10-10 Comedy film "Private Benjamin" is released starring Goldie Hawn

1980-12-19 Comedy film "9 to 5" starring Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin is released

1981-02-06 Crime film "Fort Apache: The Bronx" starring Paul Newman released amid protests in the US

1981-06-26 "Stripes", American military comedy film, directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, starring Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, and John Candy premieres

1982-01-21 Shaolin Temple" martial arts film released, first Hong Kong feature filmed in China, directed by Chang Hsin Yen, starring Jet Li in his debut role

1982-03-21 Movie "Annie" directed by John Huston, starring Aileen Quinn, Albert Finney and Carol Burnett premieres

1982-06-25 Science-fiction film "Blade Runner", directed by Ridley Scott, starring Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer, is released

1982-07-14 Musical film adaptation of "Pink Floyd - The Wall", directed by Alan Parker, starring Bob Geldof, and written by Roger Waters, premieres at the Empire, Leicester Square, in London,

1982-07-26 Indian film star Amitabh Bachchan is seriously injured filming a fight scene for the movie "Coolie"

1982-10-08 MGM releases comedy film "My Favorite Year", directed by Richard Benjamin, and starring Peter O'Toole, Mark Linn-Baker, Jessica Harper, and Joseph Bologna

1983-07-15 Film version of "The Pirates of Penzance", starring Kevin Kline, Linda Ronstadt, and Angela Lansbury premieres in US

1983-11-17 Film "Yentl" produced, directed and starring Barbra Streisand and Mandy Patinkin premieres, based on play and story by Isaac Bashevis Singer

1984-01-27 Michael Jackson is burned during filming for Pepsi commercial

1984-04-22 CBS premiere of TV film "Pope John Paul II", starring Albert Finney in title role

1984-05-23 Crime epic film "Once Upon a Time in America" directed by Sergio Leone starring Robert De Niro and James Woods premieres at Cannes

1985-11-05 CBS premieres "Stone Pillow", a dramatic made-for-TV movie starring Lucille Ball as a homeless woman

1985-11-18 Paul McCartney releases film theme single "Spies Like Us"

1985-12-16 Film "The Color Purple" based on novel by Alice Walker, directed by Stephen Spielberg starring Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover premieres in New York

1986-02-03 Pixar Animation Studios (Toy Story; The Incredibles) headed by Edwin Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith, is spun off from Lucasfilm, Ltd as an independent film production company, with backing of Steve Jobs

1986-02-08 Crime film "A Better Tomorrow", starring Yun Fat Chow, premieres in Hong Kong

1986-05-16 Action film "Top Gun" starring Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer, directed by Tony Scott, is released across the US

1986-06-27 Jim Henson's fantasy film "Labyrinth" written by Terry Jones, starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly is released in the US

1986-08-22 "Stand By Me" film based on the novella by Stephen King, directed by Rob Reiner and starring Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O'Connell is released

1987-08-01 Music video channel MTV Europe launches, with Elton John throwing the switch; "Money For Nothing" Dire Straits is the first video presented

1987-09-18 Film thriller "Fatal Attraction" directed by Adrian Lyne, starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close is released

1987-09-30 Roy Orbison and friends (including James Burton; Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, and k.d. lang) film performance at the Ambassador Hotel's Coconut Grove nightclub in Los Angeles, California for Cinemax

1987-10-09 "Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll" documentary film directed by Taylor Hackford of 1986 concerts celebrating rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry is released

1988-03-25 "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Carmen Maura and Antonio Banderas is released

1989-05-20 Premiere of sports fantasy drama film "Field of Dreams", based on W. P. Kinsella's novel "Shoeless Joe", starring Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta and Burt Lancaster in his final film role

1989-06-02 "Dead Poets Society" film starring Robin Williams premieres

1989-06-23 Movie "Batman" premieres directed by Tim Burton, starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson

1989-06-30 "Great Balls of Fire!" a quasi-biographical drama film starring Dennis Quaid as rockabilly pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis premieres; Lewis hates the film and the book from which it is sourced, but praises Quaid's performance

1989-07-14 Film "When Harry Met Sally" is released starring Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, directed by Rob Reiner and written by Nora Ephron

1989-12-14 Biographical drama film "Sikwood", directed by Mike Nichols, and starring Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, and Cher premieres

1990-07-06 "Jetsons the Movie" by Hanna-Barbera with Tiffany Darwish, premieres

1990-11-10 John Hughes' film "Home Alone" directed by Chris Columbus and starring Macaulay Culkin premieres in Chicago

1991-02-14 "The Silence of the Lambs" film based on the book by Thomas Harris, directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, is released (Best Picture 1992)

1991-07-02 Film "Boyz n the Hood" directed by John Singleton, starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Ice Cube is released

1991-12-11 "Hook", a swashbuckling film sequel to the Peter Pan story, directed by Steven Spielberg, and starring Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman premieres

1991-12-20 "Father of the Bride" film comedy starring Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, and Martin Short, premieres; film is a re-make of 1950 vehicle for Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor

1992-02-14 Comedy film "Wayne's World" starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey, based on their Saturday Night Live sketch premieres

1992-10-09 Action thriller film "Under Siege" directed by Andrew Davis starring Steven Seagal in his most famous role is released

1992-11-18 "Malcolm X" film directed by Spike Lee starring Denzel Washington and Angela Bassett is released in the US

1993-01-08 Robert Rodriguez's "El Mariachi" debuts at the Toronto Film Fetsival - will become lowest-budgeted film ever to gross $1 million