John Dorr

Biography

John Dorr (1944-1993), born in Massachusetts, first studied at Yale University (1962-1966), where he programmed the Film Society, created the Film Bulletin and completed a thesis on D.W. Griffith's last pictures. After moving to Los Angeles to study at UCLA (1966-1969), he shot his first shorts in 8mm and worked as a film critic for « Take One », « On Film », « Millimeter » or « The Hollywood Reporter », where he proved himself ruthless towards New Hollywood movies, hoping for another type of American cinema. The 1970s were spent writing around a dozen screenplays (from 1971 to 1978 : a gay priest drama, a vampire romance, a two-screen revisionist western, a six-hour Griffith biopic...) which all remained unproduced. In one of his poems, Dorr judged the decade harshly : « The 70s Suck ». After a short stay in Massachusetts (1977-1978), Dorr returned to California. Then, using one his friends' consumer-level B&W video camera, he decided to shoot his first feature, no longer waiting for the traditional production route. « Sudzall Does It All! » (1979) and its rapid follow-up, « The Case of the Missing Consciousness » (1980), were shown in a public screening at LAICA in March 1980.…

Directed

1. Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country (1993) — Director
2. Approaching Omega (1983) — Director
3. Season's Greetings (1992) — Director
4. The Case of the Missing Consciousness (1980) — Director
5. Sudzall Does It All! (1979) — Director
6. Dorothy and Alan at Norma Place (1982) — Director
7. Do It Yourself Video for Poets (1987) — Director
8. The Battle of the Bards (1990) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Blonde Death (1984) — Park Security Man
2. Season's Greetings (1992) — John Dorr
3. The Case of the Missing Consciousness (1980) — Nick Malace
4. Sudzall Does It All! (1979) — Buzzy Composition
5. Dorothy and Alan at Norma Place (1982) — Benchley
6. Do It Yourself Video for Poets (1987) — Himself / John Dorr
7. As the World Burns (1982) — TV repairman