John Boorman
Encyclopedia
John Boorman is a British filmmaker who is a long time resident of Ireland and is best known for his feature films such as Point Blank, Deliverance
, Zardoz
, Excalibur
, The Emerald Forest
, Hope and Glory, The General
and The Tailor of Panama
.
, Surrey
, England
, the son of Ivy (née
Chapman) and George Boorman. He was educated at the Salesian School
in Chertsey
, Surrey
, even though his family was not Roman Catholic. He has directed a total of 22 movies.
in the late 1950s. He ran the newsrooms at Southern Television in Southampton and Dover before moving into TV documentary film
making, eventually becoming the head of the BBC
's Bristol-based Documentary Unit in 1962.
Capturing the interest of producer David Deutsch, he was offered the chance to direct a film aimed at repeating the success of A Hard Day's Night
(directed by Richard Lester
in 1964): Catch Us If You Can
(1965) is about competing pop group Dave Clark Five. While not as successful commercially as Lester's film, it drew good reviews from distinguished critics such as Pauline Kael
and Dilys Powell
and smoothed Boorman's way into the film industry. Boorman was drawn to Hollywood
for the opportunity to make larger-scale cinema and in Point Blank (1967), a powerful interpretation of a Richard Stark
novel, brought a stranger's vision to the decaying fortress of Alcatraz and the proto-hippy world of San Francisco. Lee Marvin
gave the then-unknown director his full support, telling MGM
he deferred all his approvals on the project to Boorman.
After Point Blank, Boorman re-teamed with Lee Marvin and Toshirō Mifune
for the robinsonade
of Hell in the Pacific
(1968), which tells a fable story of two representative soldiers stranded together on an island.
Returning to the UK, he made Leo The Last
(US/UK, 1970). This film exhibited the influence of Federico Fellini
and even starred Fellini regular Marcello Mastroianni
, and won him a Best Director award at Cannes
.
Boorman achieved much greater resonance with Deliverance
(US, 1972, adapted from a novel by James Dickey
), the odyssey of city people played by Jon Voight
, Burt Reynolds
, Ronny Cox
and Ned Beatty
as they trespass into Appalachian
backwoods and discover their inner savagery. This film became Boorman's first true box office success, earning him several award nominations.
At the beginning of the 1970s, Boorman was planning to film The Lord of the Rings
and corresponded about his plans with the author, J. R. R. Tolkien
. Ultimately the production proved too costly though some elements and themes can be seen in Excalibur
.
A wide variety of films followed: Zardoz
(1973), starring Sean Connery
, was a post-apocalyptic science fiction
piece, set in the 24th century. According to the director's film commentary, the 'Zardoz world' was on a collision course with an "effete" eternal society, which it accomplished, and in the story must reconcile with a more natural human nature.
Boorman was selected as director for Exorcist II: The Heretic
(1977), but the resultant film was widely ridiculed and regarded by many as a failure.
Excalibur
(UK, 1981), a long held dream project of Boorman's, is a retelling of the Arthurian legend, based on the Le Morte D'Arthur
Boorman cast actors Nicol Williamson
and (now Dame) Helen Mirren
against their protests as the two disliked each other intensely, but Boorman felt their mutual antagonism would enhance their characterizations of the characters they were playing. The production was based in the Republic of Ireland
where Boorman had relocated. For the film he employed all of his children as actors and crew and several of Boorman's later films have been 'family business' productions.
Hope and Glory (1987, UK) is his most autobiographical movie to date, a retelling of his childhood in London during The Blitz
. Produced by Goldcrest Films
with Hollywood financing the film proved a Box Office hit in the US, receiving numerous Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations. However his 1990 US produced comedy about a dysfunctional family
, Where the Heart Is
, was a major flop.
The Emerald Forest
(1985) saw Boorman cast his actor son Charley Boorman
as an eco-warrior, in a rainforest
adventure that included commercially-required elements — action and near-nudity — with authentic anthropological
detail. Rospo Pallenberg
's original screenplay was adapted into a book of the same name by award winning author Robert Holdstock
.
When his friend David Lean
died in 1991, Boorman was announced to be taking over direction of Lean's long planned adaptation of Nostromo
, though the production collapsed. Beyond Rangoon
(US, 1995) and The Tailor of Panama
(US/Ireland, 2000) both explore unique worlds with alien characters stranded and desperate in them.
Boorman won the Best Director Award
at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival
for The General
, his black-and-white biopic of Martin Cahill
. The film is about the somewhat glamorous, yet mysterious, criminal in Dublin who was killed, apparently by the Provisional Irish Republican Army
.
In 2004, Boorman was made a Fellow of BAFTA
Released in 2006, The Tiger's Tail
was a thriller set against the tableau of early 21st century capitalism in Ireland. At the same time, Boorman began work on a long-time pet project of his, a fictional account of the life of Roman Emperor Hadrian (entitled Memoirs of Hadrian
), written in the form of a letter from a dying Hadrian to his successor. In the meantime, a re-make/re-interpretation of the classic The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz
with Boorman at the helm has been announced in August 2009.
In 2007 and 2009 he has taken part in a series of events and discussions as part of the Arts in Marrakech Festival
along with his daughter Katrine Boorman
including an event with Kim Cattrall 'Being Directed'.
, County Wicklow
, Ireland
, close to the famous Glendalough
twin lakes. He has seven children. His son Charley Boorman
has a career as an actor but reached a wider audience when he and actor Ewan McGregor
made a televised motorbike trip across Europe, Central Asia, Siberia, Alaska, Canada, and the Midwest USA during 2004
. His daughter Katrine (Igrayne in Excalibur) works as an actress in France. John Boorman's daughter Telsche wrote the screenplay for Where the Heart Is
. She died of ovarian cancer in 1997 at the age of 39 . She was married to the journalist Lionel Rotcage, the son of French singer Régine. Boorman has three other children: Lola, Lee and Lily Mae. He was recently divorced.
Deliverance
Deliverance is a 1972 American thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman. Principal cast members include Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ronny Cox and Ned Beatty in his film debut. The film is based on a 1970 novel of the same name by American author James Dickey, who has a small role in the...
, Zardoz
Zardoz
Zardoz is a 1974 science fiction/fantasy film written, produced, and directed by John Boorman. It stars Sean Connery, Charlotte Rampling, and Sara Kestelman. Zardoz was Connery's second post-James Bond role...
, Excalibur
Excalibur (film)
Excalibur is a 1981 dramatic fantasy film directed, produced and co-written by John Boorman that retells the legend of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. Adapted from the 15th century Arthurian romance, Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory, Excalibur features the music of Richard Wagner...
, The Emerald Forest
The Emerald Forest (film)
-External links:* - a British Library recording....
, Hope and Glory, The General
The General (1998 film)
The General is a British-Irish crime film directed by John Boorman about Dublin crime boss Martin Cahill, who pulled off several daring heists in the early 1980s, and attracted the attention of the Gardaí, PIRA, and UVF. The film was shot in 1997 and released in 1998...
and The Tailor of Panama
The Tailor of Panama
The Tailor of Panama is a 2001 American film based on the 1996 spy novel of the same name by John le Carré, which was inspired by Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana...
.
Early life
Boorman was born in SheppertonShepperton
Shepperton is a town in the borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, England. To the south it is bounded by the river Thames at Desborough Island and is bisected by the M3 motorway...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the son of Ivy (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Chapman) and George Boorman. He was educated at the Salesian School
Salesian School (Chertsey)
Salesian School is a split-site Roman Catholic Comprehensive Secondary School in Chertsey, Surrey. The two sites were originally 2 single-sex education Roman Catholic private schools maintained by the Salesian Fathers and Sisters. The Salesian College at Highfield Road, founded in 1921, was for...
in Chertsey
Chertsey
Chertsey is a town in Surrey, England, on the River Thames and its tributary rivers such as the River Bourne. It can be accessed by road from junction 11 of the M25 London orbital motorway. It shares borders with Staines, Laleham, Shepperton, Addlestone, Woking, Thorpe and Egham...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, even though his family was not Roman Catholic. He has directed a total of 22 movies.
Career
Boorman first began by working as a drycleaner and journalistJournalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
in the late 1950s. He ran the newsrooms at Southern Television in Southampton and Dover before moving into TV documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
making, eventually becoming the head of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Bristol-based Documentary Unit in 1962.
Capturing the interest of producer David Deutsch, he was offered the chance to direct a film aimed at repeating the success of A Hard Day's Night
A Hard Day's Night (film)
A Hard Day's Night is a 1964 British black-and-white comedy film directed by Richard Lester and starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—during the height of Beatlemania. It was written by Alun Owen and originally released by United Artists...
(directed by Richard Lester
Richard Lester
Richard Lester is an American film director based in Britain. Lester is notable for his work with The Beatles in the 1960s and his work on the Superman film series in the 1980s.-Early years and television:...
in 1964): Catch Us If You Can
Catch Us If You Can (film)
Catch Us If You Can was the feature-film debut of director John Boorman...
(1965) is about competing pop group Dave Clark Five. While not as successful commercially as Lester's film, it drew good reviews from distinguished critics such as Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael was an American film critic who wrote for The New Yorker magazine from 1968 to 1991. Earlier in her career, her work appeared in City Lights, McCall's and The New Republic....
and Dilys Powell
Dilys Powell
Elizabeth Dilys Powell was a British journalist, author and film critic.She was born into a middle class family in Bridgnorth, Shropshire. Her mother was Mary Jane Lloyd; her father, Thomas Powell, a bank manager...
and smoothed Boorman's way into the film industry. Boorman was drawn to Hollywood
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
for the opportunity to make larger-scale cinema and in Point Blank (1967), a powerful interpretation of a Richard Stark
Donald E. Westlake
Donald Edwin Westlake was an American writer, with over a hundred novels and non-fiction books to his credit. He specialized in crime fiction, especially comic capers, with an occasional foray into science fiction or other genres...
novel, brought a stranger's vision to the decaying fortress of Alcatraz and the proto-hippy world of San Francisco. Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more...
gave the then-unknown director his full support, telling MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
he deferred all his approvals on the project to Boorman.
After Point Blank, Boorman re-teamed with Lee Marvin and Toshirō Mifune
Toshiro Mifune
Toshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, from 1948 to 1965, in works such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and Yojimbo...
for the robinsonade
Robinsonade
Robinsonade is a literary genre that takes its name from the 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. The success of this novel spawned enough imitations that its name was used to define a genre, which is sometimes described simply as a "desert island story"...
of Hell in the Pacific
Hell in the Pacific
Hell in the Pacific is a 1968 World War II film starring Lee Marvin and Toshirō Mifune, the only two actors in the entire film. It was directed by John Boorman....
(1968), which tells a fable story of two representative soldiers stranded together on an island.
Returning to the UK, he made Leo The Last
Leo the Last
Leo the Last is a 1970 film directed by John Boorman, based on the play The Prince by George Tabori, starring Marcello Mastroianni and Billie Whitelaw.-Plot:...
(US/UK, 1970). This film exhibited the influence of Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
and even starred Fellini regular Marcello Mastroianni
Marcello Mastroianni
Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni, Knight Grand Cross was an Italian film actor. His honours included British Film Academy Awards, Best Actor awards at the Cannes Film Festival and two Golden Globe Awards.- Personal life :...
, and won him a Best Director award at Cannes
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
.
Boorman achieved much greater resonance with Deliverance
Deliverance
Deliverance is a 1972 American thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman. Principal cast members include Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ronny Cox and Ned Beatty in his film debut. The film is based on a 1970 novel of the same name by American author James Dickey, who has a small role in the...
(US, 1972, adapted from a novel by James Dickey
James Dickey
James Lafayette Dickey was an American poet and novelist. He was appointed the eighteenth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1966.-Early years:...
), the odyssey of city people played by Jon Voight
Jon Voight
Jonathan Vincent "Jon" Voight is an American actor. He has received an Academy Award, out of four nominations, and three Golden Globe Awards, out of nine nominations. Voight is the father of actress Angelina Jolie....
, Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
, Ronny Cox
Ronny Cox
Daniel Ronald "Ronny" Cox is an American character actor, singer-songwriter and guitarist.-Personal life:Cox, the third of five children, was born in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, the son of Lounette and Bob P. Cox, a carpenter who also worked at a dairy. He grew up in Portales, New Mexico...
and Ned Beatty
Ned Beatty
Ned Thomas Beatty is an American actor who has appeared in more than 100 films and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain and a Golden Globe Award; won a Drama Desk Award....
as they trespass into Appalachian
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
backwoods and discover their inner savagery. This film became Boorman's first true box office success, earning him several award nominations.
At the beginning of the 1970s, Boorman was planning to film The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
and corresponded about his plans with the author, J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
. Ultimately the production proved too costly though some elements and themes can be seen in Excalibur
Excalibur (film)
Excalibur is a 1981 dramatic fantasy film directed, produced and co-written by John Boorman that retells the legend of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. Adapted from the 15th century Arthurian romance, Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory, Excalibur features the music of Richard Wagner...
.
A wide variety of films followed: Zardoz
Zardoz
Zardoz is a 1974 science fiction/fantasy film written, produced, and directed by John Boorman. It stars Sean Connery, Charlotte Rampling, and Sara Kestelman. Zardoz was Connery's second post-James Bond role...
(1973), starring Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
, was a post-apocalyptic science fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
piece, set in the 24th century. According to the director's film commentary, the 'Zardoz world' was on a collision course with an "effete" eternal society, which it accomplished, and in the story must reconcile with a more natural human nature.
Boorman was selected as director for Exorcist II: The Heretic
Exorcist II: The Heretic
Exorcist II: The Heretic is a 1977 American horror film and the sequel to The Exorcist , directed by John Boorman from a screenplay by William Goodhart and starring Linda Blair, Richard Burton, Louise Fletcher, Max von Sydow, James Earl Jones, Ned Beatty and Kitty Winn...
(1977), but the resultant film was widely ridiculed and regarded by many as a failure.
Excalibur
Excalibur (film)
Excalibur is a 1981 dramatic fantasy film directed, produced and co-written by John Boorman that retells the legend of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. Adapted from the 15th century Arthurian romance, Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory, Excalibur features the music of Richard Wagner...
(UK, 1981), a long held dream project of Boorman's, is a retelling of the Arthurian legend, based on the Le Morte D'Arthur
Le Morte d'Arthur
Le Morte d'Arthur is a compilation by Sir Thomas Malory of Romance tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and the Knights of the Round Table...
Boorman cast actors Nicol Williamson
Nicol Williamson
Nicol Williamson is a Scottish-born English actor who was described by English playwright John Osborne as "the greatest actor since Marlon Brando".-Early life:...
and (now Dame) Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren
Dame Helen Mirren, DBE is an English actor. She has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Awards.-Early life and family:...
against their protests as the two disliked each other intensely, but Boorman felt their mutual antagonism would enhance their characterizations of the characters they were playing. The production was based in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
where Boorman had relocated. For the film he employed all of his children as actors and crew and several of Boorman's later films have been 'family business' productions.
Hope and Glory (1987, UK) is his most autobiographical movie to date, a retelling of his childhood in London during The Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
. Produced by Goldcrest Films
Goldcrest Films
Goldcrest Films is a British film production company founded by Jake Eberts in January 1977. It enjoyed great success in the 1980s with films such as Local Hero , The Killing Fields and Hope and Glory mostly produced by David Puttnam on modest budgets. The company also benefited from the new...
with Hollywood financing the film proved a Box Office hit in the US, receiving numerous Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations. However his 1990 US produced comedy about a dysfunctional family
Dysfunctional family
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
, Where the Heart Is
Where the Heart Is (1990 film)
Where the Heart Is is a 1990 romantic comedy film directed by John Boorman, and starring Dabney Coleman and Uma Thurman.-Plot summary:Stewart McBain is a successful self-made demolitions expert who blows up buildings for a living. In the midst of one such project, a group of protesters stops the...
, was a major flop.
The Emerald Forest
The Emerald Forest (film)
-External links:* - a British Library recording....
(1985) saw Boorman cast his actor son Charley Boorman
Charley Boorman
Charley Boorman is an English TV adventurer, travel writer and actor. He is well known for his association with motorcycles and enthusiasm for biking.-Education:...
as an eco-warrior, in a rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
adventure that included commercially-required elements — action and near-nudity — with authentic anthropological
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
detail. Rospo Pallenberg
Rospo Pallenberg
Rospo Pallenberg is a screenwriter. He was involved in the writing of the John Boorman films Exorcist II: The Heretic, Excalibur, and The Emerald Forest.-External links:...
's original screenplay was adapted into a book of the same name by award winning author Robert Holdstock
Robert Holdstock
Robert Paul Holdstock was an English novelist and author best known for his works of Celtic, Nordic, Gothic and Pictish fantasy literature, predominantly in the fantasy subgenre of mythic fiction....
.
When his friend David Lean
David Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
died in 1991, Boorman was announced to be taking over direction of Lean's long planned adaptation of Nostromo
Nostromo
Nostromo is a 1904 novel by Polish-born British novelist Joseph Conrad, set in the fictitious South American republic of "Costaguana." It was originally published serially in two volumes of T.P.'s Weekly....
, though the production collapsed. Beyond Rangoon
Beyond Rangoon
Beyond Rangoon is a 1995 drama film directed by John Boorman about Laura Bowman , an American tourist who vacations in Burma in 1988, the year in which the 8888 Uprising takes place...
(US, 1995) and The Tailor of Panama
The Tailor of Panama
The Tailor of Panama is a 2001 American film based on the 1996 spy novel of the same name by John le Carré, which was inspired by Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana...
(US/Ireland, 2000) both explore unique worlds with alien characters stranded and desperate in them.
Boorman won the Best Director Award
Best Director Award (Cannes Film Festival)
The Best Director Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946....
at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival
1998 Cannes Film Festival
The 51st Cannes Film Festival was held on May 13-24, 1998. The Palme d'Or went to the Greek film Mia aioniotita kai mia mera by Theo Angelopoulos.- Jury :*Martin Scorsese *Alain Corneau *Chiara Mastroianni...
for The General
The General (1998 film)
The General is a British-Irish crime film directed by John Boorman about Dublin crime boss Martin Cahill, who pulled off several daring heists in the early 1980s, and attracted the attention of the Gardaí, PIRA, and UVF. The film was shot in 1997 and released in 1998...
, his black-and-white biopic of Martin Cahill
Martin Cahill
Martin "The General" Cahill was a prominent Irish criminal from Dublin.Cahill generated a certain notoriety in the media, which referred to him by the sobriquet "The General". The name was also used by the media in order to discuss Cahill's activities while avoiding legal problems with libel...
. The film is about the somewhat glamorous, yet mysterious, criminal in Dublin who was killed, apparently by the Provisional Irish Republican Army
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
.
In 2004, Boorman was made a Fellow of BAFTA
Released in 2006, The Tiger's Tail
The Tiger's Tail
The Tiger's Tail is a 2006 Irish film directed by John Boorman. It stars Brendan Gleeson and Kim Cattrall. The story focuses on the modern Celtic Tiger Irish economy of the late 20th century.-Plot:...
was a thriller set against the tableau of early 21st century capitalism in Ireland. At the same time, Boorman began work on a long-time pet project of his, a fictional account of the life of Roman Emperor Hadrian (entitled Memoirs of Hadrian
Memoirs of Hadrian
Memoirs of Hadrian is a novel by the French writer Marguerite Yourcenar about the life and death of Roman Emperor Hadrian. The book was first published in France in French in 1951 as Mémoires d'Hadrien, and was an immediate success, meeting with enormous critical acclaim...
), written in the form of a letter from a dying Hadrian to his successor. In the meantime, a re-make/re-interpretation of the classic The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
with Boorman at the helm has been announced in August 2009.
In 2007 and 2009 he has taken part in a series of events and discussions as part of the Arts in Marrakech Festival
Arts in Marrakech Festival
The AiM International Biennale first took place in September 2005 It was set up by Vanessa Branson and Abel Damoussi. It is the first major Trilingual festival in North Africa.. It focuses on cutting-edge contemporary Visual art, Literature and Film...
along with his daughter Katrine Boorman
Katrine Boorman
Katrine Boorman is an English actress noted for her portrayal of the character Igrayne in the Arthurian legend film, Excalibur, directed by her father, John Boorman...
including an event with Kim Cattrall 'Being Directed'.
Personal life
Boorman lives in AnnamoeAnnamoe
Annamoe is small picturesque village in County Wicklow, Ireland about from Dublin located on the Avonmore river. It is on the R755 between Roundwood and Laragh on the road to Glendalough....
, County Wicklow
County Wicklow
County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, close to the famous Glendalough
Glendalough
Glendalough or Glendaloch is a glacial valley in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is renowned for its Early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin, a hermit priest, and partly destroyed in 1398 by English troops....
twin lakes. He has seven children. His son Charley Boorman
Charley Boorman
Charley Boorman is an English TV adventurer, travel writer and actor. He is well known for his association with motorcycles and enthusiasm for biking.-Education:...
has a career as an actor but reached a wider audience when he and actor Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
made a televised motorbike trip across Europe, Central Asia, Siberia, Alaska, Canada, and the Midwest USA during 2004
Long Way Round
Long Way Round is a documentary television series, DVD set and book documenting the journey of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman from London to New York on motorcycles...
. His daughter Katrine (Igrayne in Excalibur) works as an actress in France. John Boorman's daughter Telsche wrote the screenplay for Where the Heart Is
Where the Heart Is (1990 film)
Where the Heart Is is a 1990 romantic comedy film directed by John Boorman, and starring Dabney Coleman and Uma Thurman.-Plot summary:Stewart McBain is a successful self-made demolitions expert who blows up buildings for a living. In the midst of one such project, a group of protesters stops the...
. She died of ovarian cancer in 1997 at the age of 39 . She was married to the journalist Lionel Rotcage, the son of French singer Régine. Boorman has three other children: Lola, Lee and Lily Mae. He was recently divorced.
Filmography
| Film | Year | Oscar nominations | Oscar wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catch Us If You Can Catch Us If You Can (film) Catch Us If You Can was the feature-film debut of director John Boorman... |
1965 | ||
| Point Blank | 1967 | ||
| Hell in the Pacific Hell in the Pacific Hell in the Pacific is a 1968 World War II film starring Lee Marvin and Toshirō Mifune, the only two actors in the entire film. It was directed by John Boorman.... |
1968 | ||
| Leo the Last Leo the Last Leo the Last is a 1970 film directed by John Boorman, based on the play The Prince by George Tabori, starring Marcello Mastroianni and Billie Whitelaw.-Plot:... |
1970 | ||
| Deliverance Deliverance Deliverance is a 1972 American thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman. Principal cast members include Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ronny Cox and Ned Beatty in his film debut. The film is based on a 1970 novel of the same name by American author James Dickey, who has a small role in the... |
1972 | 3 | |
| Zardoz Zardoz Zardoz is a 1974 science fiction/fantasy film written, produced, and directed by John Boorman. It stars Sean Connery, Charlotte Rampling, and Sara Kestelman. Zardoz was Connery's second post-James Bond role... |
1973 | ||
| Exorcist II: The Heretic Exorcist II: The Heretic Exorcist II: The Heretic is a 1977 American horror film and the sequel to The Exorcist , directed by John Boorman from a screenplay by William Goodhart and starring Linda Blair, Richard Burton, Louise Fletcher, Max von Sydow, James Earl Jones, Ned Beatty and Kitty Winn... |
1977 | ||
| Excalibur Excalibur (film) Excalibur is a 1981 dramatic fantasy film directed, produced and co-written by John Boorman that retells the legend of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. Adapted from the 15th century Arthurian romance, Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory, Excalibur features the music of Richard Wagner... |
1981 | 1 | |
| The Emerald Forest | 1985 | ||
| Hope and Glory | 1987 | 5 | |
| Where the Heart Is Where the Heart Is (1990 film) Where the Heart Is is a 1990 romantic comedy film directed by John Boorman, and starring Dabney Coleman and Uma Thurman.-Plot summary:Stewart McBain is a successful self-made demolitions expert who blows up buildings for a living. In the midst of one such project, a group of protesters stops the... |
1990 | ||
| Beyond Rangoon Beyond Rangoon Beyond Rangoon is a 1995 drama film directed by John Boorman about Laura Bowman , an American tourist who vacations in Burma in 1988, the year in which the 8888 Uprising takes place... |
1995 | ||
| The General The General (1998 film) The General is a British-Irish crime film directed by John Boorman about Dublin crime boss Martin Cahill, who pulled off several daring heists in the early 1980s, and attracted the attention of the Gardaí, PIRA, and UVF. The film was shot in 1997 and released in 1998... |
1998 | ||
| The Tailor of Panama The Tailor of Panama The Tailor of Panama is a 2001 American film based on the 1996 spy novel of the same name by John le Carré, which was inspired by Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana... |
2001 | ||
| In My Country In My Country In My Country is a 2004 English-language film directed by John Boorman, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Juliette Binoche. The screenplay, written by Ann Peacock, was based on Antjie Krog's memoir Country of My Skull.... |
2005 | ||
| The Tiger's Tail The Tiger's Tail The Tiger's Tail is a 2006 Irish film directed by John Boorman. It stars Brendan Gleeson and Kim Cattrall. The story focuses on the modern Celtic Tiger Irish economy of the late 20th century.-Plot:... |
2006 |
External links
- That's all, folks, article by Boorman in The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
arguing that the current Hollywood studio system promotes mediocrity and is unsustainable - Zardoz: Out of the Vortex Infos, timeline, special files, pics and much more about 'Zardoz' (1973)
- Boorman's plans for The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
- Boorman's attempted trip to Middle-earth
- More info on Boorman's LOTR, from the theonering.com message board
- John Boorman at the Grand Action A documentary about John Boorman who came in Paris (France), in 2006, to present Point Blank with the French critic Michel Ciment.
- John Boorman Interview of John Boorman for Boulevard du Classic