Cinema nostalgia: 45 years of “Alien” and 50 years of “Chinatown”

Cinema anniversaries are being celebrated this week and it’s an opportunity to rediscover classics such as The Red Violin, The Lion King, Karate Kid, Alien And Chinatown!

The red violin At 25 years

A musical and historical fresco, François Girard’s feature film received the Oscar for best soundtrack. Inspired by the red Mendelssohn, a Stradivarius with a burgundy stripe, the director co-wrote the screenplay, which spans from 1681 to 1997, with Don McKellar. Filming took place over six months and three continents, the most complicated part being convincing the Chinese government to authorize scenes depicting the Cultural Revolution. With its budget of $15 million, The red violin remains one of the most expensive Canadian films ever made. Released on June 11, 1999 in American theaters, the film is available via Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube and Google Play.

The Lion King celebrates its 30th anniversary

Simba, young lion cub son of King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi, must learn to become king while foiling the attacks of Scar, his uncle. Although three screenwriters worked on the project, no one at Disney believed in the success of the animated feature film, with the majority of employees preferring to work on Pocahontas, also in development at the same time. But the sequence of events proved them wrong, The Lion King having become a franchise with revenues of around $2 billion at the box office!

Having opened in North American theaters on June 15, 1994, the animated film, which did not win an Oscar, is available via Apple TV, D+, YouTube and Google Play.

Karate Kid blows out its 40 candles

Presented to us under the title The moment of truth while the sequels took the title of the original version, Karate Kid was written by Robert Mark Kamen at the request of studios who wanted a film similar to Rocky. An undeniable success of 1984, the feature film which popularized karate in the United States gave birth to a franchise with global revenues of $675.58 million. And it’s far from over since a sixth feature film starring Ralph Macchio again in his role as Daniel LaRusso will be released next summer… and Jackie Chan will play the character of Mr. Han. . Having arrived in cinemas on June 22, 1984, Karate Kid is available via TVA+, Apple TV, YouTube and Google Play.

45 years ofAlien – The Eighth Passenger

A young British man signs his second feature film… It’s about Ridley Scott and this film is none other than the now cult Alienwhich launched the franchise that we know and including a new part, Romulus, will be presented in theaters on August 16. At the time, Sigourney Weaver was an unknown, the role having first been offered to Meryl Streep who was unable to accept it due to the death of her partner, John Cazale. And if the 20th Century-Fox studios agreed to finance the feature film, it is only because of the success of Star Warsreleased two years ago! Alien – The Eighth Passenger was released on June 22, 1979 in North American theaters and is available through Prime Video, Crave, Apple TV, D+, YouTube and Google Play.

Chinatown half a century ago

Written by Robert Towne (winner of the only Oscar won by the film out of the 11 nominations received) and directed by Roman Polanski, Chinatown cemented Jack Nicholson’s reputation as a great actor. Inspired by a true story, the feature film nevertheless remains a fiction, the filmmaker having decided to return to Los Angeles two years after the murder of his wife Sharon Tate by members of Charles Manson’s cult due to the depth of the scenario . Released on June 20, 1974, Chinatown is available through Prime Video, Apple TV, Kanopy, YouTube and Google Plus.