John Boorman

15 Movies Directed by John Boorman

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The Tiger's Tail  2006  2.8 stars 97 mins Thrillers   Rated: R  until 01-Apr-2011     Filmmaker John Boorman captures the uneasy mood of turn-of-the-millennium Dublin in this darkly comic thriller about a real-estate tycoon (Brendan Gleeson) whose life begins to unravel when a doppelganger steps in and takes over parts of his world. Liam O'Leary's wife (Kim Cattrall) and son (Briain Gleeson) think he's breaking down from a business deal gone sour, but when he confronts his double, O'Leary learns a secret that changes everything.

In My Country  2004  3.3 stars 103 mins Drama   Rated: R Washington Post journalist Langston Whitfield (Samuel L. Jackson) heads to South Africa to cover the post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, at which perpetrators of racial violence are compelled to atone for their actions in front of their victims. But as he begins to doubt that the nation will ever be able to heal, he meets a white Afrikaner poet (Juliette Binoche), who changes his feelings from hopelessness to love.

The Tailor of Panama  2001  2.9 stars 109 mins Drama   Rated: R A disgraced, amoral British spy (Pierce Brosnan) blackmails a Panama-based English tailor (Geoffrey Rush) into stealing secrets from the Panama Canal Commission regarding their plans for the waterway in this gripping adaptation of a best-seller by spymeister John Le Carré. Rush is excellent as the weak-willed, easily manipulated tailor, and Brosnan breaks his usual suave mold as a sadist who'll stop at nothing.

The General  1998  3.4 stars 124 mins Drama   Rated: R John Boorman won Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival for this chronicle of Ireland's notorious Robin Hood, Martin Cahill (Brendan Gleeson), who was killed by the Irish Republican Army in 1994. Cahill grows from a scrappy boy into an unremorseful adult with a penchant for stealing from the rich. His lifetime nemesis, police inspector Ned Kenny (John Voight), trails Cahill relentlessly as his robberies become increasingly audacious.

Lumiere and Company  1995  3.1 stars 88 mins Documentary   Rated: NR To honor the 100th anniversary of motion pictures, 40 international directors create their own mini-movies in this French documentary. The weapon of choice for each is a replica of the camera used by the pioneer Lumiere brothers in 1895. Each short is a single take running just under a minute (the limit of one roll of film at the time). Spike Lee, Zhang Yimou, David Lynch and Wim Wenders are among those taking part in this unique experiment.

Beyond Rangoon  1994  3.5 stars 99 mins Drama   Rated: R Patricia Arquette stars as American widow Laura Bowman, a young doctor who's unwittingly drawn into political turmoil while vacationing in Burma in the late 1980s, in this fictionalized drama based on actual events. Bowman initially left San Francisco with her sister (Frances McDormand) in an attempt to escape painful memories of her husband and son's violent deaths. But her fight to escape to Thailand could prove just as harrowing.

Where the Heart Is  1990  3.2 stars 107 mins Comedy   Rated: R Stewart McBain (Dabney Coleman) is a real estate mogul who demolishes old buildings and erects new ones in their stead. It's business as usual for a new subdivision until a group starts protesting the imminent destruction of a building at the site. McBain soon appears on TV (in a bad light, of course) and is ridiculed by his children. As payback, he drops them off at the condemned building with $750 apiece and tells them they're on their own.

Hope and Glory  1987  3.7 stars 113 mins Drama   Rated: PG-13  until 01-Mar-2011      In this Oscar-nominated film set in World War II-era London, the threat of danger from the skies above thrills 7-year-old Billy (Sebastian Rice-Edwards), whose supportive mother (Sarah Miles) tries to keep the family strong as the bombings increase. Although Billy's sister (Sammi Davis) suffers heartbreak and the family home is wrecked, director John Boorman's dramedy manages to limelight the bemusing aspects of everyday life during wartime.

The Emerald Forest  1985  3.4 stars 114 mins Drama   Rated: R An American engineer, Bill Markham (Powers Boothe), searches for his son, Tommy (William Rodriguez), who's been kidnapped by Indians in an Amazonian rain forest. But when he tracks him down, it's quickly apparent that the boy has become part of another world. This world causes Bill to question his own in director John Boorman's action-adventure, which explores the differences and the tension between primitive and developed societies.

Excalibur  1981  3.6 stars 140 mins Action & Adventure   Rated: R  until 01-Jan-2011     Visionary director John Boorman serves up a lush interpretation of Thomas Malory's classic novel Le Morte d'Arthur, weaving a rich tapestry around the legend of the Round Table's righteous birth and ultimate decline. After humble squire Arthur pulls the sword Excalibur from the stone, his actions beget Guenevere and Lancelot's adultery; the changing balance of power between Merlin and Morgana; and the valiant quest for the Holy Grail.

The Exorcist 2: The Heretic  1977  2.7 stars 118 mins Horror   Rated: R  until 01-Jan-2011      Intent on discovering why Regan (Linda Blair) was possessed by the demon Pazuzu, Father Lamont (Richard Burton) travels to Africa in search of another who was once possessed by the same demon -- and learns that Pazuzu traverses the world via locusts. But when Father Lamont returns to New York, he discovers Pazuzu has reached Regan again through Dr. Gene Tuskin's (Louise Fletcher) hypnosis machine.

Zardoz  1974  2.9 stars 105 mins Sci-Fi & Fantasy   Rated: R  until 31-Aug-2011     In this cult favorite from John Boorman (Beyond Rangoon), 23rd century society is split into two castes -- the overly civilized Eternals and the barely civilized Brutals -- one of which is constantly controlling the other. The Brutals worship a huge stone figure known as Zardoz. When Zed (Sean Connery) begins to question the authenticity of this god, the film is able to offer some pointed commentary on class structure and religion.

Deliverance  1972  3.6 stars 109 mins Classics   Rated: R Four suburban friends take a canoeing trip down a Georgia river, but what starts as a lighthearted adventure becomes a voyage into the heart of darkness when redneck locals descend on the foursome and force them to kill or be killed. Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ronny Cox and Ned Beatty star in this terrifying, enthralling, existential action epic that earned three Academy Award nominations: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Editing.

Hell in the Pacific  1968  3.5 stars 102 mins Classics   Rated: G Marooned on a deserted Pacific island during World War II, American Lee Marvin and Japanese officer Toshirô Mifune are warriors without weapons. With little dialogue to fall back on, director John Boorman conjures a fascinating dynamic between sworn enemies who have more in common than they realize. Included is the original (and vastly superior) ending as a bonus feature.

Point Blank  1967  3.3 stars 92 mins Classics   Rated: NR Lee Marvin delivers a potent performance as a gangster named Walker, whose faithless wife (Sharon Acker) and double-dealing partner in crime (John Vernon) shoot Walker and leave him to die on Alcatraz Island after a major heist. But he turns up two years later hell-bent on payback in this taut, neo-noir thriller from director John Boorman. The fine supporting cast includes Angie Dickinson, Carroll O'Connor, Keenan Wynn and Lloyd Bochner.