Walerian Borowczyk

Walerian Borowczyk

Known for: Directing
Birthday: 1923-10-21
Deathday: 2006-02-03 (82 years old)

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Biography

Walerian Borowczyk (21 October 1923 – 3 February 2006) was an internationally known Polish film director described by film critics as a 'genius who also happened to be a pornographer'. He directed 40 films between 1946 and 1988. Borowczyk settled in Paris in 1959. As a film director, he worked mainly in France. Born in Kwilcz near Poznań, Borowczyk studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, then devoted himself to painting and lithography, including the creation of posters for the cinema, which earned him a national prize in 1953. His early films were surreal animations, some only a few seconds long, including several comic abecedaria. His most acclaimed early films were Był sobie raz (Time Upon a Once) (1957) and Dom (House) (1958, with Jan Lenica).

In 1959, Borowczyk immigrated to France and settled in Paris. He worked with Chris Marker for Les Astronautes. Major works of this period include the stop motion film Renaissance (1964), which uses reverse motion to depict various destroyed objects (a prayer book, a stuffed toy, etc.) re-assembling themselves, only to be destroyed again when the last object (a bomb) is complete. In 1967, he directed his first animated feature film, Théâtre de Monsieur & Madame Kabal: un film dessiné pour les adultes (Mr. and Mrs. Kabal's Theatre).

Borowczyk moved into live-action feature film with Goto, l'île d'amour (Goto, Isle of Love) (1968) and Blanche (1971), both tales of illicit love thwarted by jealous husbands, and both starring his own wife, Ligia Branice. One of his most appreciated films of this period, Dzieje grzechu (A Story of Sin) (1975), which was nominated for Palme d'or, is an adaptation of a Polish literary classic by Stefan Żeromski. Like his 1966 short film Rosalie (a Guy de Maupassant adaptation and a Silver Bear winner), Dzieje grzechu had successfully rendered the themes of seduction and infanticide. Contes immoraux (Immoral Tales) (1973) and his later work, including Interno di un convento (Behind Convent Walls) (1977) (inspired by Promenades dans Rome of Stendhal) and Cérémonie d'amour (Rites of Love) (1988) have been controversial, lauded by some for their unique surrealist vision and derided by others as contentless pornography. Especially, La Bête (The Beast, 1975) (based on the novel Lokis by Prosper Mérimée and originally conceived in 1972 as a film on its own, but then in 1973 as the fifth story in Contes immoraux) was seen by many as a decline in the director's career after Dzieje grzechu, except in France, where it was hailed by prominent critics such as Ado Kyrou. His 1980 film Lulu was based on the eponymous character created by Frank Wedekind.

In 1981, he made Docteur Jekyll et les femmes (Blood of Dr Jekyll), a version of the Jekyll and Hyde story starring Udo Kier and Patrick Magee and depicting Jekyll's transformation as a violent rebellion against Victorian morality. In his 1988 book Nightmare Movies, Kim Newman described the film as "dark, misanthropic and interestingly offensive". He made a brief return to animation with his 1984 short film Scherzo infernal. In 1987, he directed Emmanuelle 5, an installment of the Emmanuelle series, that was also released in a hardcore video-only version. He was unhappy with the project due to a dispute concerning the casting of lead actress Monique Gabrielle. In 1988 and 1990, he directed four episodes for the series Série rose: Les Chefs d’œuvre de la littérature érotique on M6.

Many of Borowczyk's films use historical settings, including Ars Amandi: l'arte di amare (The Art of Love) (1983), set in the time of Ovid (and featuring the poet as a character); Blanche, set during the Middle Ages; and three of the four episodes in Contes immoraux, set respectively in the nineteenth century, the sixteenth century, and the Borgia papacy.

A number of his films (such as the "tale" La Marée (The Tide) in Contes immoraux, the 1976 La Marge (The Streetwalker), the episode Marceline in Les Héroïnes du mal: Margherita, Marceline, Marie (Immoral Women) (1979), and Cérémonie d'amour) were based on stories by André Pieyre de Mandiargues. A less usual product of this cooperation was Une collection particulière of 1973, a representation of Borowczyk's collection of pornographic items, with Mandiargues having written (and read) the narration.

Borowczyk was the author of two books; Anatomia diabła (Anatomy of Devil) (1992) and Moje polskie lata (My Polish Years) (2002).

He died of heart failure in Paris in 2006, aged 82.

Filmography

All 49

Movies 48

Director 43

Self 2

TV Shows 1

Writter 1

Self
Love Express. The Disappearance of Walerian Borowczyk

Love Express. The Disappearance of Walerian Borowczyk (2018)

Movie
The Making of 'The Beast'

The Making of 'The Beast' (2015)

Movie
Self
Obscure Pleasures: A Portrait of Walerian Borowczyk

Obscure Pleasures: A Portrait of Walerian Borowczyk (2013)

Movie
In Memory Of
Gas Guzzling Ghoulie

Gas Guzzling Ghoulie (2009)

Movie
Director / Director of Photography / Editor
The Golden Lotus

The Golden Lotus (1991)

Movie
Director / Director of Photography / Editor
The Expert Halima

The Expert Halima (1991)

Movie
Director
Almanac of Addresses of the Ladies of Paris

Almanac of Addresses of the Ladies of Paris (1990)

Movie
Director / Director of Photography / Editor / Writer
A Justified Treatment

A Justified Treatment (1990)

Movie
Director
Love Rites

Love Rites (1987)

Movie
Director
Emmanuelle 5

Emmanuelle 5 (1987)

Movie
5.57
Director of Photography / Editor / Adaptation / Writer
Série rose

Série rose (1986)

TV Show
Director
Infernal Symphony

Infernal Symphony (1984)

Movie
Director
The Art of Love

The Art of Love (1983)

Movie
Director
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne (1981)

Movie
Director
Lulu

Lulu (1980)

Movie
Director
Private Collections

Private Collections (1979)

Movie
Director
L'armoire

L'armoire (1979)

Movie
Director
Immoral Women

Immoral Women (1979)

Movie
6
Director
Happy Toy

Happy Toy (1979)

Movie
Director
Behind Convent Walls

Behind Convent Walls (1978)

Movie
6
Director
The Greatest Love of All Time

The Greatest Love of All Time (1977)

Movie
Director
The Margin

The Margin (1976)

Movie
Director / Editor / Writer
The Beast

The Beast (1975)

Movie
Director
Letter from Paris

Letter from Paris (1975)

Movie
Director
The Story of Sin

The Story of Sin (1975)

Movie
Director
Venus on the Half-Shell

Venus on the Half-Shell (1975)

Movie
Director / Screenplay / Editor / Production Design
Immoral Tales

Immoral Tales (1973)

Movie
Director
A Private Collection

A Private Collection (1972)

Movie
Director
Blanche

Blanche (1972)

Movie
Director
Une collection particulière (noir et blanc)

Une collection particulière (noir et blanc) (1972)

Movie
Cinematographer
Gunpoint

Gunpoint (1972)

Movie
Director
Goto, Island of Love

Goto, Island of Love (1969)

Movie
Director
The Phonograph

The Phonograph (1969)

Movie
Director
Diptych

Diptych (1967)

Movie
Director
Theatre of Mr. and Mrs. Kabal

Theatre of Mr. and Mrs. Kabal (1967)

Movie
Director
Gavotte

Gavotte (1967)

Movie
Director
Rosalie

Rosalie (1966)

Movie
Director
Joachim's Dictionary

Joachim's Dictionary (1965)

Movie
Director
The Games of Angels

The Games of Angels (1964)

Movie
Director
Renaissance

Renaissance (1963)

Movie
Director
Grandma's Encyclopaedia

Grandma's Encyclopaedia (1963)

Movie
Director
The Magician

The Magician (1959)

Movie
Director
The Astronauts

The Astronauts (1959)

Movie
Director
House

House (1958)

Movie
Director
School

School (1958)

Movie
Director
Love Requited

Love Requited (1958)

Movie
Director
Banner of Youth

Banner of Youth (1957)

Movie
Director
Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time (1957)

Movie
Writer
Street Art

Street Art (1957)

Movie

Ratings

Average 5.29
Based on 25.9 Thousand movie and tv ratings over time
1957
1967
1975
1972
2018

Information

Known for
Directing

Gender
Male

Birthday
1923-10-21

Deathday
2006-02-03 (82 years old)

Place of birth
Kwilcz, Poland

Citizenships
France, Poland

Also known as
Boro


This article uses material from Wikipedia.
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