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Draw your sword: Director John Boorman and Excalibur at MoMA

Joshua Rothkopf
Written by
Joshua Rothkopf
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Filmmaking is essentially storytelling, so you'd guess that a majority of directors would be great yarn-spinners. Sadly, it's not the case. But England's John Boorman proves the rule: He's a terrific raconteur, happy to share behind-the-scenes stories about the making of his classics, Point Blank, Deliverance, Hope and Glory, anything you'd like to ask him. Boorman is coming to the Museum of Modern Art during the weekend of Nov 14–17 to participate in their annual "To Save and Project" series. Expect fireworks.

Boorman will introduce four movies, all of them worth your time. On Friday 14, he'll speak about 1970's Leo the Last, featuring one of the most underrated performances by smoldering Italian leading man Marcello Mastroianni. On Sunday 16 comes Me and My Dad, a no-holds-barred documentary portrait made by the director's daughter, Katrine. And the same day brings us Boorman's latest, Queen and Country, based (extremely broadly) on his own experiences as an army conscript in the 1950s. That latter film will have a theatrical release in early 2015, courtesy BBC Worldwide North America.

But the jewel of the weekend will be a Saturday 15 screening of 1981's dreamlike Excalibur, Boorman's sexy take on Arthurian legend, costarring Patrick Stewart, Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne and an especially uninhibited Helen Mirren. Banish all thoughts of dull chats around the Round Table; this one's a magical spell of its own. Boorman will tell you as much. Visit MoMA for show times and tickets.

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