This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) |
John Borowski | |
---|---|
Born | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Occupation(s) | Director, producer, writer, author |
Website | johnborowski |
John Borowski is an American independent filmmaker and author. The focus of his work has been on late nineteenth and early twentieth century serial killers, initially in a trilogy of documentaries on American criminals, more recently on particular international criminals, on the commerce that has grown up around such crimes, and on other niche artists.
After receiving his B.A. from Columbia College Chicago's film program, Borowski freelanced as an editor and cinematographer. Director Willy Laszlo chose Borowski to edit every headlining film for the Chicago Short Comedy Film and Video Festival from 1999 to 2003. In 2004, Borowski's independently produced first film, H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer, was distributed on DVD in North America by Facets Video. For the voice of the narrator, Borowski chose Tony Jay, the voice of villain Judge Claude Frollo in Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame. Holmes received an unprecedented amount of press, being covered by television (CBS News, Wild Chicago), print (Variety, LA Weekly, Chicago Sun-Times, Ain't It Cool News, Philadelphia Weekly, Chicago Magazine), and radio (Mancow Show, Deadpit Radio). The historical interest in Holmes was reflected in the lectures Borowski delivered to The Chicago Historical Society, Indiana State University, and St. Xavier University. The Strange Case of Dr. H.H. Holmes is an illustrated book published by Borowski containing three primary source books about the Holmes case and Holmes' complete confession. H.H. Holmes has been distributed to over a dozen countries worldwide.
Borowski's films are distributed internationally on DVD, television, and streaming. His "historical horror" trilogy of documentary films focus on late nineteenth and early twentieth century serial killers. Borowski directed a trilogy, based on America serial killers, H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer (2004), Albert Fish: In Sin He Found Salvation (2007), and Carl Panzram: The Spirit of Hatred and Vengeance (2012) and Serial Killer Culture (2014) which examines the reasons why artists and collectors are fascinated by serial killers.
Borowski received the 2003 award for Best Director for H.H. Holmes from the Midwest Independent Film Festival, and the film was voted the Best Horror Documentary at the 2004 Screamfest Horror Film Festival. [1] The film has been featured on PBS.
Carl Panzram featured John DiMaggio as the voice of title criminal and murderer, Carl Panzram. Locations for the film included the maximum security prisons of Leavenworth Penitentiary and Clinton Correction Facility, and made use of Panzram's handwritten autobiographical papers at San Diego State University; Carl Panzram received the director's choice award at the 2012 Chicago Horror Film Festival.
Borowski has produced and directed the short films: Mime Time (2013), Rough Crowd (2014), and The Portrait (2015).
In 2014, Borowski released Serial Killer Culture, a film which examines the reasons why artists and collectors are fascinated by serial killers. Through music, painting, filmmaking, writing, and collecting, thirteen individuals are interviewed about creating art and searching for murderous artifacts. As a follow-up to the film, Serial Killer Culture TV was released in 2017. The TV show explores the similar themes including a Jonestown Survivor and how Ripley's Believe It Or Not! acquired the head of German serial killer Peter Kurten.
In addition, Borowski served as an associate producer on the feature Toro Loco (2010), by Chilean filmmaker Patricio Valladares.
Borowski has written and published the books: The Strange Case of Dr. H.H. Holmes (2005), Albert Fish: In His Own Words (2014), and The Ed Gein File (2016), which contain case files from the true crime cases.
Borowski is currently in post-production on Bloodlines: The Art and Life of Vincent Castiglia, to be released in 2017.
Jesse Pomeroy: The Boston Boy Fiend is a feature documentary film in production, which focuses on the infamous 14 year old boy killer.
Borowski's work was featured in The Documentary Moviemaking Course: The Starter Guide to Documentary Filmmaking by K.J. Lindenmuth, [2] and in a self-published work, Murderabilia and True Crime Collecting, by S.F. Scouller. [3]
The Swedish band Sparzanza used the narration by Tony Jay in the Borowski movie Albert Fish in their song "Mr. Fish".
Borowski was a special guest speaker at the 2012 Indie Horror Fest. [4]
Borowski currently resides in Chicago.
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three murders, others extend it to four or lessen it to two.
The evil clown, also known as the killer clown, is a subversion of the traditional comic clown character, in which the playful trope is instead depicted in a more disturbing nature through the use of horror elements and dark humor. The modern archetype of the evil clown was popularized by the DC Comics supervillain Joker starting in 1940, and again by Pennywise in Stephen King's It. The character can be seen as playing on the sense of unease felt by sufferers of coulrophobia, the fear of clowns.
Cinéma vérité is a style of documentary filmmaking developed by Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch, inspired by Dziga Vertov's theory about Kino-Pravda. It combines improvisation with use of the camera to unveil truth or highlight subjects hidden behind reality. It is sometimes called observational cinema, if understood as pure direct cinema: mainly without a narrator's voice-over. There are subtle, yet important, differences between terms expressing similar concepts. Direct cinema is largely concerned with the recording of events in which the subject and audience become unaware of the camera's presence: operating within what Bill Nichols, an American historian and theoretician of documentary film, calls the "observational mode", a fly on the wall. Many therefore see a paradox in drawing attention away from the presence of the camera and simultaneously interfering in the reality it registers when attempting to discover a cinematic truth.
Harold Schechter is an American true crime writer who specializes in serial killers. He is a Professor Emeritus at Queens College, City University of New York where he taught classes in American literature and myth criticism for forty-two years. Schechter's essays have appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, and the International Herald Tribune. He is the editor of the Library of America volume, True Crime: An American Anthology. His newest book, published in September 2023, is Murderabilia: A History of Crime in 100 Objects.
Herman Webster Mudgett, better known as Dr. Henry Howard Holmes or H. H. Holmes, was an American con artist and serial killer active between 1891 and 1894. By the time of his execution in 1896, Holmes had engaged in a lengthy criminal career that included insurance fraud, forgery, swindling, three to four bigamous illegal marriages, horse theft and murder. His most notorious crimes took place in Chicago around the time of the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893.
Charles "Carl" Panzram was an American serial killer, spree killer, mass murderer, rapist, child molester, arsonist, robber, thief, and burglar. In prison confessions and in his autobiography, Panzram confessed to having murdered twenty-one boys and men, only five of which could be corroborated; he is suspected of having killed more than a hundred boys and men in the United States alone, and several more in Portuguese Angola.
John McNaughton is an American film and television director, originally from Chicago, Illinois, whose works encompass the horror, thriller, drama and comedy film genres. His films include Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), The Borrower (1991), Mad Dog and Glory (1993), Normal Life (1996), Wild Things (1998), Speaking of Sex (2001) and The Harvest (2013).
The bogeyman is a legendary monster.
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America is a 2003 historical non-fiction book by Erik Larson presented in a novelistic style. Set in Chicago during the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, it tells the story of World’s Fair architect Daniel Burnham and of H. H. Holmes, a criminal figure widely considered the first serial killer in the United States.
Killer: A Journal of Murder (1995) is an American drama film written and directed by Tim Metcalfe. It is loosely adapted from a book of the same title, on the life of American serial killer Carl Panzram, who was active in the early 20th century and executed in 1930. It uses some passages drawn from his own writings near the end of his life.
The Gray Man is a 2007 biographical thriller film based on the actual life and events of American serial killer, rapist and cannibal Albert Fish. It premiered at the Montreal World Film Festival on August 31, 2007, and was scheduled for a theatrical release sometime in 2007. It is directed by Scott Flynn and stars Belgian actor Patrick Bauchau as Albert Fish.
Albert Fish: In Sin He Found Salvation is a 2007 biographical documentary film directed by John Borowski. The film relates the life story of American serial killer and cannibal Albert Fish. In addition to interviews, period footage and photographs, the film also recreates many of Fish's crimes in numerous reenactment scenes. The film is also Tony Jay's final work, having died seven months prior to its release.
Killer: A Journal of Murder (1970) is a biography of American serial killer Carl Panzram (1892-1930), co-written by Thomas E. Gaddis and James O. Long.
Carl Panzram: The Spirit of Hatred and Vengeance is a documentary film by John Borowski about the life and death of serial killer Carl Panzram. It is Borowski's third film.
To Catch a Killer is a two-part television film from 1992, directed by Eric Till and starring Brian Dennehy and Michael Riley. It is based on the true story of the pursuit of American serial killer John Wayne Gacy.
H. H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer is a 2004 biographical documentary film directed by John Borowski. The film relates the true life story of American serial killer H. H. Holmes. Produced over a four-year period, the film highlights locations such as Holmes' childhood home in Gilmanton, New Hampshire, and the courtroom in Philadelphia where the "trial of the century" was held.
Dahmer vs. Gacy is a 2010 American comedy horror film directed by Ford Austin and written by Andrew J. Rausch. The film won the Audience Award at the 2010 Bare Bones International Film Festival.
Paul Castiglia is an American comic book writer and editor known for his work for Archie Comics, including his work on Sonic the Hedgehog, Archie's Weird Mysteries and his editing work on the Archie Americana Series. He has also written non-fiction text articles for magazines and books on pop culture, has recorded music under the name Paul Cast, is a documentary film producer, and is the co-writer of two animated series, Thomas & Friends Adventures for Mattel Toys, and Cocoa Talk for Minno.
Kellie Madison is an American writer, producer, director and actress. Her passion for film derives from the stories she wants to tell "that inspire, entertain and move people." Additionally, she is best known for being the executive producer and screenwriter of the Canadian drama thriller, Dear Mr. Gacy. Her production company, Madison Films, is run by Madison herself and associate producer Sherrie Adams with a focus on the development and production of various media projects.
Killer Legends is a 2014 American documentary written and directed by Joshua Zeman for Chiller. Zeman and Rachel Mills, a researcher, investigate the real-life origins of several urban legends.