FILMMAKER DIES AT 86
Miloš Forman directed “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Amadeus.”
Miloš Forman came of age as a filmmaker under the watchful eyes of the Soviets in postwar Czechoslovakia. And though he blossomed in exile in 1970s America, his memory of totalitarianism would forever be his muse.
In every one of his films, from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” “Ragtime” and “Amadeus” to “The People vs. Larry Flynt” and “Man on the Moon,” Forman celebrated real-life outsiders and eccentrics who challenged the establishment with heroic self-expression.
Forman died Friday at age 86 at Danbury Hospital, near his home in Warren, Conn., according to a statement released by his agent. A winner of two Academy Awards for directing “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975) and “Amadeus” (1984), Forman was nominated again in 1997 for “The People vs. Larry Flynt.” His earlier films “The Fireman’s Ball” and “Loves of a Blonde” were nominated for best foreign language film.
Born Feb. 18, 1932, outside Prague, Forman was the youngest of three brothers. His father, a Jewish army reservist from World War I and university teacher, was arrested for disseminating banned books to his students. His Protestant mother was arrested after shopping at a grocery where anti-Nazi propaganda was found. Both died in concentration camps, making Forman an orphan at age 10.
After World War II, as Czechoslovakia fell under Soviet control, Forman drifted from the homes of relatives to boarding school and then to the Prague Film Academy.
There, he helped establish the Czech New Wave, a group of filmmakers chronicling the grim realities of life behind the Iron Curtain. They favored documentary techniques, using long takes, improvised scenes and amateur actors.
“When we started to make our films they were really Czech films about Czech society and Czech little people — and who cares about Czech little people?” Forman told The Times in 2004. “So it was satisfying to have people in other countries respond.”
He earned international acclaim on the festival circuit with his feature debut in 1964 of “Black Peter.” Oscar nominations followed for his 1965 film “Loves of a Blonde” and 1967’s “The Firemen’s Ball.”
After that success, Forman was allowed by the Czech government to make a film in the U.S. But while he was in Paris negotiating the project, Soviet tanks rolled onto the streets of Prague, halting a dissident uprising. Rather than return home, Forman went to New York to live in exile.
He made his American debut in 1970 with “Taking Off,” a dark comedy about a teenage girl who runs away to be a hippie. But the film was a flop, Forman thought, partly because he couldn’t write in fluent English.
After years spent searching for inspiration, he was hired to direct the adaptation of Ken Kesey’s 1960 novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”
It was a tricky shoot in an Oregon psychiatric hospital with real patients as extras. Some of the cast actually slept on the ward. Much of the dialogue was improvised. The cinematographer was fired more than halfway through filming, and lead actor Jack Nicholson stopped speaking to Forman.
But when it was released, the movie was universally acclaimed, becoming the second in history to earn an Oscar in every major category.
Though Forman had no experience in musicals and was pro-Vietnam War, he was eager to adapt the Broadway musical “Hair.” The hippie movement’s idealized notion of freedom fascinated him. His 1978 film adaptation earned critical acclaim and nominations for a César award and two Golden Globes.
Around that time, Forman settled into American life, becoming a naturalized citizen and buying an old dairy farm outside Danbury.
For his adaptation of E.L. Doctorow’s novel “Ragtime” in 1981, Forman brought James Cagney out of retirement. The film, which tells the story of a black piano player seeking justice against a white fireman who humiliates him, was nominated for eight Oscars and a Grammy.
Next, Forman returned to Czechoslovakia for the first time in more than a decade to shoot “Amadeus,” which was under the control of Czech State Security.
The film was one of his best, earning eight Oscars in 1984, including best director.
Forman’s last film as a director was “A Walk Worthwhile,” a 2009 musical comedy released only in the Czech Republic.
In 2013, he received a Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award.
Forman is survived by his wife, Martina Forman; and children Petr Forman, Mate j Forman, Andrew Forman and James Forman.