John Boorman

Birthday: 18 January 1933, Rosehill, Carshalton, Surrey, England, UK

Height: 173 cm

John Boorman attended Catholic school (Salesian Order) although his family was not, in fact, Roman Catholic. His first job was for a dry-cleaner. Later, he worked as a critic for a women's journal and for a radio station until he entered the television business, working for the BBC in Bristol. There, he started as assistant but worked later as director on documentaries, such as The Newcomers (1964). His friendship with Lee Marvin allowed him to work in Hollywood (e.g. Point Blank (1967) and Hell in the Pacific (1968)) from where he returned to the UK (e.g. Leo the Last (1970), Zardoz (1974) or Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)). He became famous for Excalibur (1981), The Emerald Forest (1985) and his autobiographic story Hope and Glory (1987) where he tells his own experiences as a child after World War II and which brought him another Academy Award Nomination after Deliverance (1972). Show less «

[1984 comment on Richard Burton] He's like all these drunks. Impossible when he's drunk and only hal...Show more »

[1984 comment on Richard Burton] He's like all these drunks. Impossible when he's drunk and only half there when he's sober. Wooden as a board with his body, relies on doing all his acting with his voice. Show less «

He seems to think he's Lee Marvin. Except he's two feet shorter. And about one third the talent. - O...Show more »

He seems to think he's Lee Marvin. Except he's two feet shorter. And about one third the talent. - On Mel Gibson Show less «

I always think that watching films is very like dreaming.

[on Lee Marvin] I learned more from Lee about filmmaking than from anyone. He has this incredible ec...Show more »

[on Lee Marvin] I learned more from Lee about filmmaking than from anyone. He has this incredible economy and brilliant camera technique. Most actors are completely spastic when it comes to moving properly, but Lee has the economy and quickness of a dancer. Show less «

[on Sarah Miles] Every actor has certain ways of expressing their nerves and with Sarah it was alway...Show more »

[on Sarah Miles] Every actor has certain ways of expressing their nerves and with Sarah it was always terribly difficult to actually get her on the set. There was always a problem, usually with her clothes ... I found myself shouting at her. Then she'd burst into tears and her eyes would go all red so we wouldn't be able to shoot the scene. Show less «

[on the "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy by Peter Jackson] I think it was a brilliant idea to make t...Show more »

[on the "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy by Peter Jackson] I think it was a brilliant idea to make three films ... I'm glad "The Lord Of The Rings" is being made now, and I'm looking forward to seeing it. I'm sure it'll be a big success. Show less «

Movies are the repository of myth. Therein lies their power. An alternative history, that of the hum...Show more »

Movies are the repository of myth. Therein lies their power. An alternative history, that of the human psyche, is contained and unfolded in the old stories and tales. Film carries on this tradition. Show less «

[1987 comment on Sean Connery as James Bond] There was nothing much in Fleming's [Ian Fleming] Bond ...Show more »

[1987 comment on Sean Connery as James Bond] There was nothing much in Fleming's [Ian Fleming] Bond -- English, public school, snobbish -- that connected with him, but he took the character by the throat and shook some sense into it. It was the disparity between the man and the role that made it so compelling. The slickness, the cleverness, the effete charm were there in the scripts, but Sean's animal power made them seem like decorative accretions thinly concealing a real hero in the old mythic mold. Show less «

[on Richard Attenborough] One can not escape the suspicion that Dickie is acting out all his roles a...Show more »

[on Richard Attenborough] One can not escape the suspicion that Dickie is acting out all his roles as mediator, peacemaker, director, chairman, businessman, yet he is redeemed by a true goodness of heart, which drives him to pursue the common good. He has reached out to me just at the moment I needed it, alone and embattled. That is his genius. Show less «

Paul Henreid told me about Michael Curtiz making Casablanca (1942). Curtiz suddenly decided he neede...Show more »

Paul Henreid told me about Michael Curtiz making Casablanca (1942). Curtiz suddenly decided he needed a poodle for a scene. The prop man and assistant directors ran in all directions, searching and making calls. Meanwhile Curtiz and Bogart played chess. Eventually, an animal wrangler arrived with a selection of poodles for the director to choose from. "Not a poodle!", he screamed. "A 'poodel'! With water!". Show less «

[on Jean-Luc Godard] He is wonderfully subversive and wickedly funny. Half of what he says, I'm sure...Show more »

[on Jean-Luc Godard] He is wonderfully subversive and wickedly funny. Half of what he says, I'm sure, is designed to mislead younger filmmakers. Show less «

[on the infamous opening night of Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)] Such is a prime example of why I ...Show more »

[on the infamous opening night of Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)] Such is a prime example of why I never attend my own premieres. I heard about the filmmakers being chased from the theater and several blocks down the street, about people demanding their money back and/or throwing trash at the screen...At the time, I was busy ducking and covering beneath my dining room table at home. Show less «

[on Lee Marvin] The profound unease we feel in identifying with an evil character in a movie is the ...Show more »

[on Lee Marvin] The profound unease we feel in identifying with an evil character in a movie is the recognition that we may be capable of such evil. Lee knew from his war experiences the depth of our capacity for cruelty and evil. He had committed such deeds, had plumbed the depths and was prepared to recount what he had seen down there. Show less «

[on his failed attempt at bringing writer J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" to the screen] Everyt...Show more »

[on his failed attempt at bringing writer J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" to the screen] Everything I learned, the technical problems I had to resolve in planning for "The Lord Of The Rings", I applied to Excalibur (1981). That was my recompense. Show less «

Filmmaking is inventing impossible problems for yourself and then failing to solve them.

John Boorman

John Boorman's FILMOGRAPHY

Feedback about this page?