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Houston shines as both star and singer in The Bodyguard, with her powerful vocals elevating the soundtrack. The album sold over 45 million copies worldwide, certified 17x Platinum, and won Grammy's Album of the Year. Costner's suggestion led to Houston's iconic cover of "I Will Always Love You" in the film, a standout moment.

Whitney Houston pulls double duty in The Bodyguard as both the starring character and performer on the award-winning album. The Bodyguard stars Kevin Costner as the titular bodyguard, Frank Farmer, who is assigned to protect Rachel Marron (Whitney Houston in her acting debut). The film ended up earning $411 million at the box office (via Box Office Mojo) and Houston was roundly celebrated for her unexpected turn as a movie lead. It wasn't even supposed to be Houston in the role, as Steve McQueen and Diana Ross were originally cast when Lawrence Kasdan wrote the script in the '70s.

A lot of slashers in the early ‘80s leaned on a mystery component, so it would only seem natural that the small screen would adapt this method to attract the horror crowd; however, being unable to show anything by network standards leaves you with only the mystery of the killer to fall back on. Such is the case with Deadly Lessons (1983), a fun enough slasher without the slashing and a stacked cast.

Originally broadcast on March 7th as The ABC Monday Night Movie, Deadly Lessons was schooled by Alice/One Day at a Time on CBS and NBC rolled out their own movie competition; but ABC always had a knack for attracting strong casts and interesting horror based material. Deadly Lessons has the cast part nailed, and offers up an interesting enough thriller as long as you’re not expecting too many slasher tropes, small screen or not.

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All but inventing the ‘new liberal exposé’ suspense format, James Bridges’ smart and effective thriller began as a star showcase with a political message. Its fictional nuclear accident hit screens just before a similar real nuclear accident happened in real life, at Three Mile Island. Historical synchronicity? Box office serendipity? One thing is certain — the show strongly affected the way we view the ‘miracle’ of nuclear-generated power.

The China Syndrome

Blu-ray

Powerhouse Indicator (UK)

1979 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 122 min. / Street Date June 18, 2017 / Available from Amazon UK £14.99

Starring: Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas, James Hampton, Peter Donat, Wilford Brimley, Richard Herd, Daniel Valdez, Stan Bohrman, James Karen, Michael Alaimo, Donald Hotton.

Cinematography: James Crabe

Film Editor: David Rawlins

Production Design: George Jenkins

Written by James Bridges, Mike Gray and T.S. Cook

Produced by Michael Douglas

Directed by James Bridges

In 1979 Saturday Night Live was the hottest ticket on television; we were...

With vast experience on stage and screen (big and small), Eileen Dietz' career has woven a path in-and-out of the horror genre. While horror fans will no doubt associate the actress with her role as the face of evil in William Friedkin's Oscar-winning 1973 film The Exorcist, Dietz has many stories to tell. Fangoria's Australian correspondent Lee Gambin recently sat down for a one-on-one interview to discuss her career and craft.

Lee Gambin/Fangoria: What were some of your very first jobs in the entertainment industry, as I understand you started super young and how did the Neighborhood Playhouse Theatre School benefit you as a young actress?

Eileen Dietz: I worked at a Summer Stock company in Kalamazoo Michigan. It was a very bad place and the director of the theatre only brought me up there to rob me of my innocence if you know what I mean.