Two landmark motion pictures have hit the 45th anniversary milestone this year, and both of them were instrumental in helping usher in the kind of norms, sensibilities, and somewhat radical attitudes that were beginning to burgeon in Tinseltown as the 1960s gave way to the 1970s.

One of them, The Wild Bunch, took screen violence and the western narrative to an entirely different level; the other, Midnight Cowboy, not only became the first X-rated motion picture to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, but it also exemplified a kind of realistic film in which the narrative doused its characters in strife, pain, and struggle, and didn’t offer a seamless resolution at its denouement, but rather the contrary. Its kind of downer tale also became a style and staple for many of the films which followed it into the mid 1970s such as Scarecrow, The Last Detail, etc.

Part of the Kindle ebook deal of the day over at Amazon today is Books Made into Films, a list of 9 books that were adapted to film like I Am Legend and Midnight Cowboy, and more, for just $1.99 each.

Here’s are all 9 ebooks from the sale:

– I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
– The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey
– Midnight Cowboy by James Leo Herlihy
– In the Heat of the Night by John Ball
– Von Ryan’s Express by David Westheimer
– The Vow by Kim Carpenter and Krickitt Carpenter
– The Cider House Rules by John Irving
– A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
– The Unforgiven by Alan LeMay

Hollywood has lost another great; legendary film composer John Barry has passed away at the age of 77. His family confirmed that Barry died Sunday in New York after suffering a heart attack.

Barry crafted many brilliant musical scores over the years, but none perhaps more memorable than his contributions to the world of James Bond. The composer worked on eleven different Bond movies, and there’s no denying that the music he brought to the franchise will live on for eternity.

Apart from his highly recognized work with James Bond, Barry had many other credits to his name — over 100 movies, to be more specific. Over the course of his career he was nominated for seven Academy Awards, won five of them for his work on movies like Born Free, The Lion in Winter, Out of Africa, and Dances With Wolves.

You can find a musical tribute to the great John Barry by continuing on below.