Touchstone Pictures
1922 was another off week, but the other nine decades provides both memorable and forgettable films. 1932 saw Garbo go blonde, 1942 saw Shirley Temple get kissed, and 1952 had an Argentinian adaptation of an Irish novel. 1962 produced a classic thriller, and 1972 had two horror films that are more well-regarded today. 1982 brought Rocky Balboa back to the big screen, and 1992 put Whoopi Goldberg in a habit. 2002 had a film about the making of a film that was little seen but deserves an audience, and 2012 was loaded with blockbusters. Did any of your favorites premiere this week? Let us know in the comments below.
1922
- No new films were released this week in 1922.
1932
May 28 – As You Desire Me (USA)
- Cast: Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Erich Von Stroheim, Owen Moore, Hedda Hopper, Rafaela Ottiano, Warburton Gamble, Albert Conti, Roland Varno
- Director: George Fitzmaurice
- Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- Trivia: The film opened in London on July 13, 1932, and received a general UK release on November 14. Adaptation of the 1929 play by Luigi Pirandello. At 71 minutes, it is the shortest of Greta Garbo’s Hollywood films. The only film in which Garbo is blonde. Garbo threatened to quit the film unless Erich Von Stroheim was cast, even though he had been banned from the MGM lot by Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg.
May 28 – Two Seconds (USA)
- Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Vivienne Osborne, Guy Kibbee, Preston Foster, J. Carrol Naish, Frederick Burton, Harry Beresford, Dorothea Wolbert, Berton Churchill, William Janney, Edward McWade, Otto Hoffman, Adrienne Dore
- Director: Mervyn LeRoy
- Production Company: First National Pictures, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: The film’s New York City premiere was held on May 18, 1932. The film opened in London on July 27 but did not receive a general UK release until January 9, 1933. Based on a successful Broadway play of the same name by Elliott Lester. Preston Foster reprises the role he played on the Broadway stage. Edward G. Robinson’s wife, Gladys Lloyd, appears in an uncredited role.
1942
May 29 – Miss Annie Rooney (USA)
- Cast: Shirley Temple, William Gargan, Guy Kibbee, Dickie Moore, Gloria Holden, Jonathan Hale, Peggy Ryan, Charles Coleman, Roland Dupree, Mary Field, George Lloyd, Jan Buckingham, Selmer Jackson, June Lockhart, Edgar Dearing, Shirley Mills
- Director: Edwin L. Marin
- Production Company: Edward Small Productions, distributed by United Artists
- Trivia: The film received a re-release in the US on June 17, 1948. The film shares some similarities with the Mary Pickford silent Little Annie Rooney, but the films are unrelated. The film is notable for being the first on-screen kiss for Shirley Temple. It was Dickie Moore’s first kiss on- or off-screen. The film’s original title was Little Annie Rooney but was changed to Miss Annie Rooney to reflect Temple’s maturity. This was the first of two comebacks for Temple but the film was a flop and she retired again for another two years. Dickie Moore couldn’t dance, so a double had to wear a Dickie Moore mask for all of the dance sequences.
May 29 – Moontide (USA)
- Cast: Jean Gabin, Ida Lupino, Thomas Mitchell, Claude Rains, Jerome Cowan, Helene Reynolds, Ralph Byrd, William Halligan, Victor Sen Yung, Chester Gan, Robin Raymond, Arthur Aylesworth, Arthur Hohl, John Kelly, Ralph Dunn, Tully Marshall
- Director: Archie Mayo
- Production Company: 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: The film began a New York City engagement on April 29, 1942. Fritz Lang was the film’s original director but he left early in the shooting schedule. Based on the novel Moon Tide (1940) by Willard Robertson, but the film’s story deviates greatly from the novel. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography, Black & White. The film was intended as a star-making vehicle in the US for French actor Jean Gabin, but the film was not well received.
May 29 – Perils of the Royal Mounted (USA, serial)
- Cast: Robert Kellard, Kenneth MacDonald, Herbert Rawlinson, Nell O’Day, John Elliott, Nick Thompson, Art Miles, Richard Fiske, Rick Vallin, Forrest Taylor, Kermit Maynard, George Chesebro, Jack Ingram
- Director: James W. Horne
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures
- Trivia: Columbia Pictures’ 18th serial. This was the last project for James W. Horne, who suddenly passed away in 1942.
May 29 – The Falcon Takes Over (USA)
- Cast: George Sanders, Lynn Bari, James Gleason, Allen Jenkins, Warren Jackson, Helen Gilbert, Ward Bond, Edward Gargan, Anne Revere, George Cleveland, Harry Shannon, Hans Conried, Turhan Bey, Charlie Hall, Mickey Simpson
- Director: Irving Reis
- Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures
- Trivia: The film was released in the UK on June 22, 1942. Also known as The Falcon Steps Out. The third Falcon film to star George Sanders. While based on characters created by Michael Arlen, the plot was borrowed from Ryamond Chandler’s Farewell, My Lovely, with the Falcon replacing Philip Marlowe, and New York City replacing Los Angeles. This was the third Falcon film in which Hans Conried appeared as a different character. While set in 1942, stock footage of Times Square is clearly from 1940 with a movie marquees boasting The Boys from Syracuse (1940) and Pygmalion (1938).
May 31 – In Old California (USA)
- Cast: John Wayne, Binnie Barnes, Albert Dekker, Helen Parrish, Patsy Kelly, Edgar Kennedy, Dick Purcell, Harry Shannon, Charles Halton, Emmett Lynn, Robert McKenzie, Milton Kibbee, Paul Sutton, Anne O’Neal
- Director: William C. McGann
- Production Company: Republic Pictures
- Trivia: The film opened in the UK on November 20, 1942. The parrot’s second line was dubbed by a man in a falsetto voice. The first line was ad-libbed by the parrot. Albert Dekker was borrowed from Paramount for this production.
1952
May 26 – Never Look Back (UK)
- Cast: Rosamund John, Hugh Sinclair, Guy Middleton, Henry Edwards, Terence Longdon, John Warwick, Brenda De Banzie, Arthur Howard, Bruce Belfrage, Fanny Rowe, H.S. Hills, Hélène Burls, Bill Shine, Timothy Bateson, Harry H Corbett, June Mitchell, Barbara Shaw, David Scase, Norman Somers
- Director: Francis Searle
- Production Company: Hammer Films, distributed by Exclusive Films
May 28 – The Beast Must Die (Argentina)
- Cast: Narciso Ibáñez Menta, Laura Hidalgo, Guillermo Battaglia, Milagros de la Vega, Nathán Pinzón, Ernesto Bianco, Beba Bidart, Josefa Goldar, Jesús Pampín, Amalia Bernabé, Gloria Ferrandiz
- Director: Román Viñoly Barreto
- Production Company: Argentina Sono Film
- Trivia: Based on the 1938 novel The Beast Must Die by Irish writer Cecil Day-Lewis (father of Daniel), writing under the name Nicholas Blake, part of his series featuring the private detective Nigel Strangeways.
1962
Universal Pictures
May 28 – Cape Fear (USA)
- Cast: Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen, Lori Martin, Martin Balsam, Jack Kruschen, Telly Savalas, Barrie Chase
- Director: J. Lee Thompson
- Production Company: Melville Productions, Talbot Productions, distributed by Universal Pictures
- Trivia: Two premieres for the film were held on April 12, 1962 in Fort Lauderdale and Miami, Florida. The film was released in Canada on May 20, but did not reach the UK until January 10, 1963. Adapted from the 1957 novel The Executioners by John D. MacDonald. Edward Platt, soon to be known as Chief on Get Smart, and 1958 Playboy centerfold Joan Staley have small roles. Alfred Hitchcock was to be the film’s director and J. Lee Thompson used his storyboards. Thompson wanted Hayley Mills to play the daughter but she was unavailable. Polly Bergen’s first film in eight years. Melville Productions was Gregory Peck’s production company but the failure of the film put it out of business. Bernard Herrmann’s score was reused in the 1991 remake. Jim Backus was cast as attorney Dave Grafton but had to drop out due to conflicts with his new TV series Gilligan’s Island.
1972
May 25 – Chato’s Land (USA)
- Cast: Charles Bronson, Jack Palance, James Whitmore, Simon Oakland, Richard Basehart, Ralph Waite, Richard Jordan, Victor French, Sonia Rangan, William Watson, Roddy McMillan, Paul Young, Lee Patterson, Peter Dyneley, Hugh McDermott, Raúl Castro, Verna Harvey
- Director: Michael Winner
- Production Company: Scimitar Films, distributed by United Artists
- Trivia: The film was released in the UK on July 2, 1972. The film was shot in Almeria, Spain. The Hooker ranch house and barn are the same as the McBain house and barn in Once Upon a Time in the West.
May 26 – The Other (USA)
- Cast: Chris Udvarnoky, Martin Udvarnoky, Uta Hagen, Diana Muldaur, Norma Connolly, Victor French, Loretta Leversee, Lou Frizzell, Clarence Crow, John Ritter, Jenny Sullivan, Portia Nelson, Jack Collins
- Director: Robert Mulligan
- Distributor: 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: The film premiered in New York City on May 23, 1972, and began its Los Angeles run on May 24 ahead of its general US release. The film opened in Canada in August 1972, but did not play in the UK until June 7, 1973. Adapted for film by Thomas Tryon from his 1971 novel of the same name. This was the only movie appearance by the twins Chris and Martin Udvarnoky. The twins are never shown together in the same frame. Tryon wanted Ingrid Bergman for the role of Ada but she was unavailable due to a stage commitment. He also wanted Mark Lester to play the twins. Tryon was deeply disappointed with the final cut of the film.
May 27 – Baron Blood (Italy)
- Cast: Joseph Cotten, Franco Tocci, Elke Sommer, Antonio Cantafora, Massimo Girotti, Rada Rassimov, Luciano Pigozzi, Umberto Raho, Nicoletta Elmi, Dieter Tressler, Rolf Hälwich, Gustavo De Nardo, Valeria Sabel, Pilar Castel
- Director: Mario Bava
- Production Company: Euro America Produzioni Cinematografiche, Dieter Geissler Filmproduktion GmbH & Co., distributed by Jumbo Cinematografica
- Trivia: The film was released in the US on October 27, 1972. The Italian title is Gli orrori del castello di Norimberga, which translates to ‘The Horrors of Nuremberg Castle’. This was the first film ever shot aboard a 747. Vincent Price was approached to star in the film but he declined. Ray Milland was also considered but he was unable to travel to the location. Seven minutes of dialogue and graphic imagery were edited out for the US release, and the original score was replaced with a more atmospheric score by Les Baxter.
May 30 – Fright (USA)
- Cast: Susan George, Honor Blackman, Ian Bannen, John Gregson, George Cole, Tara Collinson, Dennis Waterman, Maurice Kaufmann, Michael Brennan, Roger Lloyd-Pack
- Director: Peter Collinson
- Production Company: Fantale Films, distributed by British Lion Films
- Trivia: The film premiered at the Cork Film Fest in Ireland on September 18, 1971, and was released in the UK in October 1971. The film was re-released in the US on March 20, 1981 under the title I’m Alone and I’m Scared. Original working titles were The Baby Minder and Girl in the Dark. Considered to be the first horror film to feature a lone babysitter terrorized by a psychotic murderer.
May 31 – The Final Comedown (USA)
- Cast: Billy Dee Williams, D’Urville Martin, Celia Kaye, Billy Durkin, Raymond St. Jacques
- Director: Oscar Williams
- Distributor: New World Pictures
- Trivia: The film premiered in Chicago in April 1972. The film was re-edited and re-released in 1976 as Blast! with new footage directed by Allan Arkush, and the film credited to director ‘Frank Arthur Wilson’.
1982
May 27 – Britannia Hospital (UK)
- Cast: Leonard Rossiter, Brian Pettifer, John Moffatt, Fulton Mackay, Vivian Pickles, Barbara Hicks, Graham Crowden, Jill Bennett, Peter Jeffrey, Marsha Hunt, Mary MacLeod, Joan Plowright, Robin Askwith, Dave Atkins, Malcolm McDowell, Mark Hamill, Frank Grimes, Gladys Crosbie, Richard Griffiths, Alan Bates
- Director: Lindsay Anderson
- Production Company: EMI Films, distributed by Columbia-EMI-Warner Distributors
- Trivia: The film was screened at Cannes on May 22, 1982, and at the Chicago International Film Festival in November 1982. The film was released in the US on March 4, 1983. Robbie Coltrane had a bit part. Final film of Arthur Lowe, who died shortly after his scenes were filmed. The final film in a trilogy, including If… and O Lucky Man! that featured Malcolm McDowell as Mick Travis. The films have characters in common though they may not have appeared in all three films. McDowell and Mark Hamill did the film for just their expenses because there wasn’t enough money in the budget for their usual fees. McDowell wanted to work with Lindsay Anderson again, and Hamill stepped in when Treat Williams bowed out. This was Anderson’s last film until 1987’s The Whales of August.
United Artists
May 28 – Rocky III (USA)
- Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith, Tony Burton, Mr. T, Ina Fried, Hulk Hogan
- Director: Sylvester Stallone
- Production Company: United Artists, Chartoff-Winkler Productions, distributed by MGM/United Artists Distribution and Marketing
- Trivia: The film premiered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 24, 1982. It was also released in Canada on May 28. The UK release occurred on July 22. Footage from Sylvester Stallone’s appearance on The Muppet Show was incorporated into the opening sequence, with Jim Henson dubbing Kermit the Frog announcing the guest was Rocky Balboa instead of Stallone. Boxers Joe Frazier and Earnie Shavers were in consideration for the role of Clubber Lang. Mr. T was hired in 1981 after winning America’s Best Bouncer. The film’s theme song ‘Eye of the Tiger’ was Oscar nominated for Best Original Song. Joe Esposito recorded ‘You’re the Best’ for the film but Stallone rejected for ‘Eye of the Tiger’. Esposito’s song was used in The Karate Kid. The fight scene between Rocky and Thunderlips took ten days to film. This was intended to be the last Rocky film but due to its success Stallone kept the series going. Hulk Hogan’s film debut.
May 28 – The Escape Artist (USA)
- Cast: Raúl Juliá, Griffin O’Neal, Desi Arnaz, Teri Garr, Joan Hackett, Gabriel Dell, John P. Ryan, Elizabeth Daily, M. Emmet Walsh, Jackie Coogan, Hal Williams, Helen Page Camp, David Clennon, Huntz Hall, Harry Anderson, Carlin Glynn, Margaret Ladd, Garry Marshall, Doug McGrath
- Director: Caleb Deschanel
- Production Company: Orion Pictures, Zoetrope Studios, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: The film was screened at the USA Film Festival on May 7, 1982. Directorial debut of Caleb Deschanel. It was the final film of Joan Hackett, Desi Arnaz, and Gabriel Dell, and the film debut of Harry Anderson. It was also the final film performance of Jackie Coogan, although the next to last released as The Prey, which was shot in 1979, was not released until 1983. The Escape Artist also had a delayed release, filmed in 1980 but released in 1982 after extensive re-editing. Producer and director Garry Marshall appears as the drummer at the nightclub, billed as G.K. Marshall. Desi Arnaz is billed as Desiderio Arnaz after relinquishing his SAG name so son Desi Jr. could pursue his acting career without the ‘Junior’ attached to his name.
May 28 – Visiting Hours (USA)
- Cast: Lee Grant, Michael Ironside, Linda Purl, William Shatner, Lenore Zann, Harvey Atkin, Michael J. Reynolds, Len Watt, Kirsten Bishop, Robbie Robinson, Lorena Gale
- Director: Jean-Claude Lord
- Production Company: Canadian Film Development Corporation, Filmplan International, distributed by Astral Films
- Trivia: The film opened in the UK on April 18, 1982, and in Canada on May 21. Filming took place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada under the title The Fright. The limp Michael Ironside sports at the end of the movie was real. He broke his ankle on the first day of filming.
1992
May 28 – Seedpeople (USA)
- Cast: Sam Hennings, Andrea Roth, Dane Witherspoon, Bernard Kates, Holly Fields, John Mooney, Anne Betancourt
- Director: Peter Manoogian
- Distributor: Full Moon Entertainment
- Trivia: A direct-to-video release in the US. The film received a theatrical release in Mexico on October 21, 1992.
May 29 – Cold Heaven (USA)
- Cast: Theresa Russell, Mark Harmon, James Russo, Julie Carmen, Seymour Cassel, Richard Bradford, Diana Douglas, Talia Shire, Will Patton, Cástulo Guerra, Jeanette Miller
- Director: Nicolas Roeg
- Production Company: Hemdale Film Corporation
- Trivia: The film was screened at TIFF on September 13, 1991. Lenny Von Dohlen appears in an uncredited role. Based on the 1983 novel of the same name by Northern Irish-Canadian writer Brian Moore.
May 29 – Sister Act (USA0
- Cast: Whoopi Goldberg, Isis Carmen Jones, Maggie Smith, Harvey Keitel, Bill Nunn, Mary Wickes, Kathy Najimy, Wendy Makkena, Joseph Maher, Robert Miranda, Richard Portnow, Rose Parenti, Jim Beaver, Jenifer Lewis, Charlotte Crossley, A.J. Johnson, Lois de Banzie, Max Grodénchik, Joseph G. Medalis, Michael Durrell, Toni Kalem, Eugene Greytak
- Director: Emile Ardolino
- Production Company: Touchstone Pictures, Touchwood Pacific Partners I, distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
- Trivia: The film also opened in Canada on May 29, 1992. It was released in the UK on November 20. Guy Boyd appears uncredited as Detective Tate. The film was originally pitched with Bette Midler in mind for the lead. Midler turned the role down fearing her fans would not want to see her playing a nun. The script was rewritten several times by screenwriters including Carrie Fisher and Nancy Meyers. With the screenplay no longer resembling Paul Rudnick’s original, he asked to be credited under the pseudonym of Joseph Howard. The church seen in the film is located in an upper-middle-class neighborhood of San Francisco. The storefronts on the opposite side of the street were redressed to give the appearance of a run-down neighborhood. While the cast was filming in Reno, many of them would hit the town in their nun costumes to play pranks in the casinos, bars and strip clubs. Isis Carmen Jones, who played the younger Deloris, also plays a younger version of Whoopi Goldberg’s Guinan on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Wendy Makkena’s singing voice was dubbed by Andrea Robinson.
2002
May 25 – Last Call (USA)
- Cast: Jeremy Irons, Neve Campbell, Sissy Spacek, Shannon Lawson, Paul Hecht, Natalie Radford, Kathleen Munroe, Brian Paul
- Director: Henry Bromell
- Distributor: Showtime Networks
- Trivia: Based on Against the Current: As I Remember F. Scott Fitzgerald, the 1985 memoir by Frances Kroll Ring, who has a cameo appearance in the film’s final scene as a woman at the bookstore looking at the display of Fitzgerald novels in the window.
United Artists
May 31 – CQ (USA)
- Cast: Jeremy Davies, Angela Lindvall, Elodie Bouchez, Gérard Depardieu, Giancarlo Giannini, Massimo Ghini, Jason Schwartzman, Billy Zane, John Phillip Law, Silvio Muccino, Dean Stockwell, Natalia Vodianova, Sofia Coppola, Bernard Verley, L.M. Kit Carson, Romain Duris
- Director: Roman Coppola
- Production Company: United Artists, American Zoetrope, Delux Productions, Film Fund Luxembourg, distributed by MGM Distribution Co.
- Trivia: The film was screened at Cannes on May 12, 2001, and opened in limited release in the US on May 24, 2002. Roman Coppola’s feature directorial debut. The film’s title is code for ‘seek you’, in line with the movie’s theme of seeking and finding love. The film is inspired by such 60s fare as Danger: Diabolik and Barbarella, which starred John Phillip Law. Law appears in the film-within-the-film in CQ.
2012
May 25 – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (USA)
- Cast: Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton, Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Smith, Dev Patel, Celia Imrie, Ronald Pickup, Tina Desai, Lillete Dubey, Diana Hardcastle, Sid Makkar, Seema Azmi, Paul Bhattacharjee, Rajendra Gupta, Neena Kulkarni, Liza Tarbuck, Denzil Smith, Honey Chhaya, Bhuvnesh Shetty
- Director: John Madden
- Production Company: Dune Entertainment, Ingenious, Participant Media, Imagenation Abu Dhabi FZ, Blueprint Pictures, distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures
- Trivia: The film opened in the UK on February 24, 2012, followed by a limited US release on May 4 ahead of the general release. Based on the 2004 novel These Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach. The hotel is actually the Ravla Khempur; a hotel with stables that is located in Khempur in the state of Rajasthan built in 1620. Due to the success of this film, it was renamed The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
May 25 – Chernobyl Diaries (USA)
- Cast: Jonathan Sadowski, Jesse McCartney, Devin Kelley, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Nathan Phillips, Dimitri Diatchenko, Miloš Timotijević, Alex Feldman, Kristof Konrad, Pasha D. Lychnikoff
- Director: Brad Parker
- Production Company: Alcon Entertainment, FilmNation Entertainment, Oren Peli/Brian Witten Productions, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
- Trivia: The film opened in Russia on May 24, 2012, and was also released in Canada on May 25. The film opened in the UK on June 22, 2012. Brad Parker’s directorial debut. The Ferris wheel seen in the group photo was part of the Pripyat amusement park that was due to open on May 1, 1986, but the Chernobyl disaster occurred on April 26.
May 25 – Men in Black 3 (USA)
- Cast: Will Smith, Cayen Martin, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement, Emma Thompson, Alice Eve, Michael Stuhlbarg, Mike Colter, Nicole Scherzinger, Michael Chernus, David Rasche, Keone Young, Bill Hader, Lenny Venito, David Pittu, Lanny Flaherty
- Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
- Production Company: Columbia Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation, Hemisphere Media Capital, Imagenation Abu Dhabi, distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
- Trivia: The film premiered in Berlin on May 14, 2012 and opened in several international markets on May 23 and May 24. The film opened in Canada and the UK on May 25. Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Yao Ming, and Tim Burton make uncredited cameo appearances as aliens on the TV monitors. Make-up artist Rick Baker has a cameo as the Brain Alien. Chloe Sonnenfeld, the daughter of director Barry Sonnenfeld, plays the flower child who encounters Boris at the carnival. With a budget of $215 million, it is one of the most expensive comedy films ever made. Began filming without a completed script, which led to a delay in production, so the screenplay could be re-written and completed. Production delays forced Alec Baldwin to drop out of the role of Chief X. Many of the aliens in the 1969 MiB headquarters were intentionally made to look like aliens from old black-and-white alien movies from around the same time. Jada Pinkett Smith has a cameo as one of the 1969 Factory party guests.
May 25 – Moonrise Kingdom (UK)
- Cast: Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban, Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward
- Director: Wes Anderson
- Production Company: American Empirical Pictures, Indian Paintbrush, distributed by Focus Features
- Trivia: The film was screened at Cannes on May 16, 2012. It received a limited US release on May 25, followed by a wide release on June 29. The film also had a limited release in Canada from June 1. Auditions for child actors took eight months. Oscar nominated for Best Original Screenplay, and Golden Globe nominated for Best Picture – Musical or Comedy. The dance on the beach at the end of the film was shot last so the two young leads would have time to get to know each other. It was done on a closed set with just the actors, director and cameraman. Kara Hayward got to keep the kitten her character owned in the movie. Before filming, neither Kara Hayward nor Jared Gilman had ever seen a typewriter in person. Wes Anderson is a huge fan of the 1971 movie Melody and has stated this is practically a remake.
May 25 – Under African Skies (US, documentary)
- Cast: Paul Simon, Maya Angelou, Harry Belafonte, David Byrne, Peter Gabriel, Philip Glass, Whoopi Goldberg, Quincy Jones, Hugh Masekela, Paul McCartney, Lorne Michaels, Ray Phiri, Joseph Shabalala, Oprah Winfrey
- Director: Joe Berlinger
- Production Company: RadicalMedia
- Trivia: The film screened at Sundance on January 22, 2012, and received a limited release in the US on May 11 ahead of the general release.
May 26 – Bathing Franky (Australia, limited)
- Cast: Jancita Day, Bree Desborough, Shaun Goss, Brendan Madigan, Alexander Spinks, Letitia Sutherland, Henri Szeps, Ben Tranter, Maria Venuti, Michael Winchester
- Director: Owen Elliott
- Production Company: 76 Pictures, Purple Top Productions
- Trivia: Michael Winchester began writing the script over a ten-year period while working as a beef farmer in Australia.
May 30 – 5 Broken Cameras (USA, limited, documentary)
- Director: Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi
- Distributor: Kino Lorber
- Trivia: The film opened in Isreal in 2011. It was screened at Sundance on January 23, 2012, and played several other film festivals before its US release. The film opened in Canada on June 22 and the UK on October 19. The film earned an Oscar nomination in the Best Documentary category, and won the 2013 International Emmy Award.
20th Century Fox
May 30 – Prometheus (France)
- Cast: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Logan Marshall-Green, Sean Harris, Rafe Spall, Kate Dickie, Emun Elliott, Benedict Wong, Patrick Wilson, Ian Whyte, Daniel James
- Director: Ridley Scott
- Production Company: Scott Free Productions, Brandywine, Dune Entertainment, distributed by 20th Century Fox
- Trivia: The film premiered in Paris on April 11, 2012. A London premiere was held on May 31 followed by the UK release on June 1. The film opened in the US and Canada on June 8. The film began development in the early 2000s as a fifth entry in the Alien franchise, but development of Alien vs Predator in 2002 took precedence. The project remained dormant until 2009 when it was envisioned as a prequel to the original 1979 Alien, but Ridley Scott opted to go in a different direction so as not to repeat story beats from the previous films. The film takes place in the same universe but is not directly connected to the Alien films, but a sequel titled Alien: Covenant ties the films together. Composer Marc Streitenfeld had the orchestra play his compositions backwards, and then digitally reversed the compositions for the final film. This made the music sound unusual and unsettling, which he felt was right for the film. Scott’s original production design concept was to have the planet, creatures and technology look like something that came before the original Alien, but the designers subconsciously incorporated embellishments that were clearly influenced by H.R. Giger’s work, so he was eventually invited to participate. Giger approved of the use of his previous work and gave additional input on the new designs. Giger died in 2014 after a fall, so this was the last Alien-related film he worked on. Scott opted to use real sets and practical effects rather than rely too heavily on CGI, which was only used for more complicated effects. Charlize Theron was originally cast as Elizabeth Shaw, but had to back out due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced by Noomi Rapace. Another change in her schedule allowed Theron to join Prometheus as Meredith Vickers. Patrick Wilson filmed his scenes in one day.
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