John Boorman

John Boorman attended Catholic school (Salesian Order) although his family was not, in fact, Roman Catholic. His first job was for a dry-cleaner. Later, he worked as a critic for a women's journal and for a radio station until he entered the television business, working for the BBC in Bristol. There, he started as assistant but worked later as director on documentaries, such as The Newcomers (1964). His friendship with Lee Marvin allowed him to work in Hollywood (e.g. Tappajan jäljet (1967) and Kahden miehen helvetti (1968)) from where he returned to the UK (e.g. Viimeinen Leo (1970), Zardoz (1974) or Manaaja II: Luopio (1977)). He became famous for Excalibur: sankarin miekka (1981), Smaragdimetsä (1985) and his autobiographic story Hope and Glory (1987) where he tells his own experiences as a child after World War II and which brought him another Academy Award Nomination after Syvä joki (1972).