John Boorman - biography

Biography

John Boorman is best-known for the following films:

John Boorman Quotes

“When actors are being defensive and defending their position, that is when you get less than good acting.”

“You can’t get an actor to do something that is beyond his range, so you have to be aware of the range of the actor and, if necessary, alter the part to suit the actor.”

“Ma Chere Cher - sorry, you have to share. [When presenting the shared Best Actress Award]”

“Paul Henreid told me about Michael Curtiz making Casablanca. 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!’”

“He is wonderfully superlative and wickedly funny. Half of what he says, I am sure, is designed to mislead younger filmmakers.”

“Part of him is Swiss. Therefore, he is partly a banker.”

“It’s so easy to manipulate an audience, but it’s nearly always clear that you are being manipulated. I think even people that are not critically attuned are aware of cynical manipulation in film.”

“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.”

“All the great legends are Templates for human behavior. I would define a myth as a story that has survived.”

“I look at the story, I look at the idea and just try to think of it in terms of that whole body of myth and see where the characters fit in and what they ought to be doing-all those archetypes are there to play with.”

“I only storyboard scenes that require special effects, where it is necessary to communicate through pictures.”

“I was in Japan, and my assistant director had worked with Kurosawa. I used quite of number of Kurosawa’s crew.”

“There were two sides to David Lean: on the one side, he was kind of a rather stiff, disciplined Englishman. And then he had this kind of romantic side to him. I think being true to both sides of your nature is important.”

Filmography

The Film Director