Please update your browser
Your current browser version is outdated. We recommend updating to the latest version for an improved and secure browsing experience.
John Boorman's Storyboards
John Boorman prepared shot-by-shot storyboards for almost every sequence in his major films, often in multiple versions, as you can see from the sketches and pen-and-ink illustrations for Deliverance (1972), the hand-drawn storyboards for Hell in the Pacific (1968), and the preparatory materials for Excalibur (1981). Each group of storyboards included here is presented alongside the filmed sequences.
All materials courtesy John Boorman.
Deliverance (1972) Inked Storyboards
These beautifully inked storyboards for a critical section of Deliverance (1972) give insight into the way directors like Boorman imagine, plan out, and prepare complex sequences.
Hand-drawn preparatory storyboards for a preceding sequence are below.
Deliverance (1972) Draft Storyboards
As a comparison with the inked storyboards above, these are the initial hand-drawn preparatory storyboards for an earlier part of Deliverance. Boorman is clearly thinking here about how to deepen the impression of rhythmic flow across the scene and how to emphasize the psychological effects of the physical exertion that is such a critical part of the sequence.
The emphasis on point-of-view and vertical ascent ("what a view") deepens the impact of the descent that follows (the sequence above) and suggests the deep influence of Romantic ideas of landscape.
Hell in the Pacific (1968) Storyboards
These storyboards for Hell in the Pacific make clear how Boorman conceived of the conflict in this scene as simultaneously archetypal, elemental, and abstractly psychological (the shifts in shot scale and point-of-view were carefully preplanned).
The Opening of Excalibur (1981)
The opening of Excalibur (1981), cut to part of the last section of Richard Wagner's final Ring cycle opera Götterdämmerung (1876), is probably the boldest sequence of Boorman's career. Preparation and preparation went through multiple stages, first drafting notes (left), then correspondence about an early version of the script (here called "Merlin"), then a page from the relevant section of the script, storyboards for the rising of the sword out of the lake, and detailed shooting plans for the associated shots.
The sequence from the completed film follows.
