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John Boorman

John Boorman has gained a reputation as a director who takes risks - always being attracted to the same kind of story is not for him. The range of his productions is breathtaking.

He achieved notable success early in his career with POINT BLANK and DELIVERANCE, both films which captured a raw reality of American life sometimes glimpsed more impressively with an outsider's eye.

At 18, Boorman was writing and broadcasting about films and filmmakers. Four years later, he started training as an assistant film editor in television, working within the BBC to become an acclaimed documentary director.

He made his directorial debut in 1965 with CATCH US IF YOU CAN. In 1966 he went to Hollywood to make POINT BLANK with Lee Marvin, which launched his international career. He followed with another Lee Marvin picture, HELL IN THE PACIFIC, which co-starred Toshiro Mifune.

Returning to England, Boorman directed LEO THE LAST, starring Marcello Mastroianni, for which he won the Director's Award at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival.

He produced and directed DELIVERANCE starring Jon Voight and was nominated for two Academy Awards --Best Director and Best Picture. ZARDOZ, a futuristic fantasy starring Sean Connery was produced, directed and scripted by Boorman in the same magical Irish landscapes he later used in EXCALIBUR, a film about the magician Merlin.

Boorman produced and directed THE EMERALD FOREST, documenting the making of the film in his book Money into Light. He returned to England for his affectionate memoir of a wartime childhood, HOPE AND GLORY. He was nominated for Oscars as writer, director and producer. It also won a Golden Globe for Best Picture. WHERE THE HEART IS and I DREAMT I WOKE UP starring John Hurt followed before Boorman produced and directed BEYOND RANGOON. In 1985 he wrote, produced and directed TWO NUDES BATHING, also starring John Hurt.

Boorman wrote, produced and directed THE GENERAL, the true story of the Irish gangster Martin Cahill. Boorman won best director at the Cannes Film Festival for the film.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2003.

John Boorman Facts

OccupationDirector
BirthdayJanuary 18, 1933 (91)
SignCapricorn
BirthplaceLondon, England, United Kingdom

Selected Filmography

Excalibur
Queen and Country
Deliverance
Hope & Glory
Zardoz
The Tiger's Tail
The Exorcist 2: The Heretic
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