Watch VoirFilms. In a monumental three-day marathon performance beautifully captured by director and cinematographer Andreas Burgess, John Basinger brings the dramatic majesty, tonal range, and power of John Milton's verse to life by reciting all 12 books of the 60,000-word epic poem entirely from memory. This release also features the mini-documentary Thus Spake John exploring Basinger's decade-long memorization process, alongside the short film The Golden Smile and the monody performance Forsake Me Not Thus, Adam.