Milos Forman

First published in 1975, this book examines the career of one of the leading post-war Czech filmmakers Miloš Forman through his own testimony. After recollecting his childhood and early artistic ventures, Forman gives accounts of the making of his major films, interspersed with contemporaneous reviews by the author, and in the final chapter he sums up his ‘lessons along the way’. A section entitled ‘Stories behind the Stories’ fills in details on the events and people mentioned in Forman’s narrative. The author’s commentary provides valuable insights not only into the aesthetics of filmmaking but also the social and political environment in contemporary Czechoslovakia.

First published in 1975, this book examines the career of one of the leading post-war Czech filmmakers Miloš Forman through his own testimony. After recollecting his childhood and early artistic ventures, Forman gives accounts of the making of his major films, interspersed with contemporaneous reviews by the author, and in the final chapter he sums up his ‘lessons along the way’. A section entitled ‘Stories behind the Stories’ fills in details on the events and people mentioned in Forman’s narrative. The author’s commentary provides valuable insights not only into the aesthetics of filmmaking but also the social and political environment in contemporary Czechoslovakia.

This is the most comprehensive study to date of the work of Milos Forman, best known for his Academy Award winning direction of One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and Amadeus (1984). The work begins with a brief biography that emphasizes the relationship for Forman's life to his philosophic and artistic development. The major portion of the work consists of a critical filmography with annotations based on the author's direct study, and an annotated bibliography with an introductory essay.

The acclaimed film director Milos Forman was orphaned in a small Czechoslovakian town during WW2: he was 8 years old when his father was taken by the Gestapo & 10 when his mother was taken away as well. Much of his subsequent life was spent living out of a suitcase & nurturing his dream of making films. When he came to New York, his international reputation was secured with Taking Off, Hair, Ragtime, Valmont, & especially Amadeus, & One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, both of which won Oscars for Best Director & Best Picture of the Year. This frank memoir brings the traumatic experience of Eastern Europe in this century to life & takes the reader inside the very process of artistic creation. Ill.

During the first part of the twentieth century, Hollywood experienced an influx of European filmmakers seeking new lives in America. With them came unique perspectives and styles from their home countries that forever affected American film production. Well-known talents like Charlie Chaplin, Billy Wilder, and Alfred Hitchcock all made America their filmmaking base, as did other less known but equally influential filmmakers. This is the complete guide to directors, screenwriters, artistic directors, cinematographers, and composers of European birth who made at least one film in the United States. The book is arranged by country, and each chapter begins with that country's cinema history. Each filmmaker from that country is then given a separate entry, including biographical and professional highlights, and synopses and analyses of their better-known films. Photographs from films that featured European talent are included. An index of names and titles allows for easy reference, and a complete bibliography is also included.

Comprised of fact sheets on 50 films, illustrating 4 themes - nationalism, women, immigration and human rights -, it encourages teachers to exploit cinema as a source of 20th-century history and provides a pedagogical basis to do so. (from CoE website)