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The History of American Cinema: 1983

2/1 -

The DA’s enquiry into the death of Marilyn Monroe in 1962 concludes that the diagnosis of forensic experts at the time that she died of a heart attack due to an overdose of barbiturates to be correct, dismissing allegations that she was murdered. [ADD]

3/1 -

Sherry Lansing, former president of 20^th Century-Fox, forms an independent production company with Stanley R. Jaffe which enters into a five-year exclusive rights agreement with Paramount. [ADD]

18/2 -

Martin Scorsese’s cynical comedy King of Comedy marks a comeback for former screen clown Jerry Lewis.   He plays TV talk show host Jerry Langford who is kidnapped by wannabe comic Rupert Pupkin (Robert de Niro) and fan Sarah Bernhard. [ADD]

Feb -

Roger Corman sells New World Pictures and forms Concorde Pictures. [ADD]

11/4 -

Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi wins the Best Picture Oscar at the 55th Annual Academy Awards. [MORE]

13/4 -

George Cukor's A Star Is Born undergoes extensive reconstruction after approximately 20 minutes of footage that was omitted when Jack Warner ordered the 1954 original to be shortened is discovered.   The footage includes two unseen Judy Garland numbers: ‘Lost That Long Face’ and ‘Here's What I'm Here For.’ [ADD]

26/4 -

United Artists Classics salvage five ‘lost’ Three Stooges films from the MGM vaults.   Two of the shorts, made at MGM before the Stooges Columbia contract, were filmed using the Technicolor two-strip system. [ADD]

25/5 -

George Lucas’s Return of the Jedi, the third film in the Star Wars saga, is released.   Richard Marquand directs. [ADD]

26/5 -

Fay Wray chairs a special tribute to mark the 50th anniversary of the release of King Kong.   A screening of the film is followed by a reception at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel where a collection of Kong memorabilia is also on display. [ADD]

8/6 -

John Landis’s comedy Trading Places is released.  Eddie Murphy stars as a street hustler taken under the wing of wealthy traders Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy as part of a bet to determine whether it is a person’s environment that determines their character.  Dan Aykroyd is the unfortunate trader who finds himself trading places with Murphy. [ADD]

28/9 -

Lawrence Kasdan's The Big Chill, an ensemble drama about a group of college friends who are reunited for a friend’s funeral, is released.   William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Glenn Close, Tom Berenger, Jeff Goldblum, Meg Tilly, JoBeth Williams and Mary Kay Place star. [ADD]

2/10 -

Diane Kurys is given a standing ovation at the New York Film Festival after the screening of her film Coup de foudre (aka Entre nous or At First Sight). [ADD]

21/10 -

Rumble Fish, the second of two small-scale films made by Francis Ford Coppola following the failure of One From the Heart, is released.   The first film was The Outsiders, which was released in March.   The films were shot back-to-back in Tulsa, and are both based on novels by SE Hinton. [ADD]

21/10 -

Philip Kaufman’s The Right Stuff, based on Tom Wolfe’s best-seller about the early days of the American space program.   Scott Glenn, Scott Paulin, Charles Frank, Fred Ward, Lance Henriksen, Dennis Quaid, Ed Harris and Sam Shepard star. [ADD]

9/11 -

Brian De Palma's Scarface rating is downgraded by the MPAA's Classification and Rating Administration from an ‘X’ rating to an ‘R’ rating. [ADD]

18/11 -

Yentl, Barbra Streisand’s directorial debut, is released.   Streisand also stars as a Jewish girl who disguises herself as a boy to attend the rabbinical seminary in Poland.   Filmed in Czechoslovakia, the film is based on Isaac Bashevis Singer's story and co-stars Mandy Patinkin and Amy Irving. [ADD]

22/11 -

Jack Nicholson and Shirley MacLaine star as a boorish ex-astronaut and the object of his affections in TV producer James L. Brooks’ first feature film, Terms of Endearment.  Debra Winger also co-stars as Maclaine’s cancer-stricken daughter. [ADD]

9/12 -

Brian De Palma’s remake of Howard Hawks’ Scarface is released.  Al Pacino plays cocaine dealer Tony Montana, a Cuban refugee who builds a vast drugs empire before excess and mental instability bring about his downfall.   Michelle Pfeiffer, as Pacino’s love interest, struggles to keep up with his powerhouse performance. [ADD]

14/12 -

Silkwood, Mike Nichols’ depiction of the fate of whistle-blowing nuclear plant employee Karen Silkwood, is released.   Meryl Streep plays against type as a working class girl who suspects her employers are out to get her after she exposes their dangerous working conditions.   Kurt Russell, Cher and Ron Silver co-star. [ADD]

16/12 -

Showtime, the country’s second-largest pay-cable TV station after HBO, pays $500 million for five years’ exclusive rights to all Paramount films. [ADD]

20/12 -

20th Century-Fox launch an advertising campaign to attract potential advertisers who wish to take advantage of product placement opportunities within the studio's feature films. [ADD]

Other Key American Films of 1983

Cross Creek (Martin Ritt) [ADD]

National Lampoon’s Vacation (Harold Ramis) [ADD]

Never Say Never Again (Irving Kershner) [ADD]

Star 80 (Bob Fosse) [ADD]

Streamers (Robert Altman) [ADD]

WarGames (John Badham) [ADD]

Zelig (Woody Allen) [ADD]