Series

John Boorman: Conjurer of Cinema

“John Boorman is an intoxicated moviemaker, with a wonderful kind of zeal,” raved film critic Pauline Kael. Indeed, his impassioned cinematic forays have followed Lee Marvin through a criminal labyrinth, Sean Connery into a dystopian future, four city-dwellers down a harrowing river journey, a merry child through the rubble of the London Blitz, and King Arthur on his quest for the Holy Grail. With 17 feature films over 50 years, Boorman’s distinctive, personal signature (namely the recurring theme of creation through destruction) has transcended every genre in which he has worked. Yet his boundless imagination and ability to immerse himself into different eras, cultures, and worlds make each of his films feel different than the last. As Kael added, “I don’t know of any other director who puts such a burnish on his obsessions … It’s as if he were guiding us down a magic corridor and kept parting the curtains in front of us.” This series is presented in partnership with IU Libraries. In 2016, Lilly Library acquired the papers of the esteemed filmmaker, which are now part of their research collection. Special thanks to Dean Carolyn Walters, Joel Silver, and Craig Simpson.