Ivan Passer

Directing·Jul 10, 1933·Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]

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Ivan Passer (10 July 1933 – 9 January 2020) was a Czech film director and screenwriter, best known for his involvement in the Czechoslovak New Wave and for directing American films such as Born to Win (1971), Cutter's Way (1981) and Stalin (1992). Passer was born in Prague, the son of Marianna (Mandelick) and Alois Passer. Passer attended King George boarding school in Poděbrady with future filmmakers Miloš Forman, Jerzy Skolimowski and Paul Fierlinger and statesman Václav Havel. He then studied at FAMU in Prague, but did not finish the course. He began his career as an assistant director on Ladislav Helge's Velká samota. Later he collaborated with his friend Forman on all of Forman's Czech films, including Loves of a Blonde (1965) and The Firemen's Ball (1967), both of which Passer co-wrote and which were nominated for Academy Awards. He introduced Forman to cinematographer Miroslav Ondříček whom he knew from Velká samota. He then directed his first feature, Intimate Lighting, which was released in 1965 and is considered by some to be Passer's masterpiece. In 1969, after the Warsaw Pact invasion, Passer and Forman left Czechoslovakia together. Both proceeded to the United States, with Forman becoming an Academy Award-winning filmmaker. Passer went on to make several prominent American films such as Born to Win (1971), a junkie drama starring George Segal and Karen Black, and Cutter's Way (1981), a dramatic thriller starring Jeff Bridges and John Heard. Though best known for his idiosyncratic, often gritty dramas, he also directed comedies such as Silver Bears (1978) starring Michael Caine and Creator (1985) starring Peter O'Toole. Later in his career, he directed numerous films for television, most notably the award-winning biopic Stalin (1992) starring Robert Duvall for HBO. He was also a film professor at the University of Southern California. Passer died on January 9, 2020 from pulmonary complications in Reno, Nevada. He was 86 years old. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ivan Passer, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Film	Credit
CzechMate: In Search of Jiří Menzel2018 · Self	Self
Close Encounters with Vilmos Zsigmond2016 · Self	Self
TThe Presence of Arnošt Lustig2012 · Self	Self
MMiloš Forman2010 · Self	Self
Nomad: The Warrior2005 · Director	Director
Picnic2000 · Director	Director
The Wishing Tree1999 · Director	Director
Kidnapped1995 · Director	Director
WWhile Justice Sleeps1994 · Director	Director
Stalin1992 · Director	Director
Fourth Story1991 · Director	Director
Haunted Summer1988 · Director	Director
Creator1985 · Director	Director
The Nightingale1983 · Director	Director
Cutter's Way1981 · Director	Director
Silver Bears1977 · Director	Director
TVTV Looks at the Oscars1976 · Self	Self
Crime and Passion1976 · Director	Director
Law and Disorder1974 · Screenplay, Director	Screenplay, Director
Born to Win1971 · Writer, Director	Writer, Director
The Firemen's Ball1967 · Screenplay	Screenplay
AAn Occasion to Speak1966 · Self	Self
Loves of a Blonde1965 · Screenplay	Screenplay
A Boring Afternoon1965 · Director, Screenplay	Director, Screenplay
Intimate Lighting1965 · Screenplay, Director	Screenplay, Director
Audition1964 · Screenplay	Screenplay