The Museum of Modern Art presents a complete retrospective of the films of Milos Forman, one of contemporary cinema's most acclaimed directors.
Milos Forman: A Retrospective, a 17-film exhibition spanning the director's career from 1963 to the present, is presented at The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters, February 14–28, 2008, and includes major critical and commercial successes such as Amadeus (1984) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), as well as early film and TV work made in his native Czechoslovakia.
The director will be present February 14 and 15 to introduce Lásky jedné plavovlásky (Loves of a Blonde, 1965), Taking Off (1971), and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The exhibition is organized by Jytte Jensen, Curator, Department of Film, The Museum of Modern Art, with the collaboration of The Czech Center, New York, The National Film Archive, Prague, and Irena Kovarova, independent Curator and tour manager.
Forman (Czech, b. 1932), studied screenwriting at the Prague Film Faculty of the Academy of Dramatic Arts (FAMU), before directing Konkurs (Audition, 1963) and his first full-length feature Black Peter (1964), both of which cemented collaborative relationships with cowriter Ivan Passer and cinematographer Miroslav Ondříček, with whom he would continue to work extensively. Official reaction to his subsequent social and political satires Loves of a Blonde and Hori, ma panenko (The Firemen's Ball, 1967), both of which received international acclaim, prompted him to leave his homeland at the time of the Soviet invasion and settle in the United States, where he became a citizen in the 1970s. The two films are exhibited in newly struck 35mm prints, courtesy of Janus Films.
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest is one of only three films to have won all five major Oscars (Best Film, Director, Screenplay, Actor, and Actress), and it brought the talents of Jack Nicholson to a wide audience. Amadeus, winner of eight Academy Awards, saw Forman collect his second Best Director Oscar, and is notable for the memorable performance he elicited from Tom Hulce in the title role. Forman's other films include Taking Off, which will be screened in a rare 35mm print recently acquired by the Museum, Hair (1979), Ragtime (1981), Valmont (1989), The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), Man on the Moon (1999), and Goya's Ghosts (2006).
"The international commercial and critical success of so many of Forman's films is a testament to his unique blend of passionate personal interpretation and an ability to create emblematic works that catch the spirit of the times," says Ms. Jensen. "His powerful aesthetic is deeply rooted in a specific sociopolitical reality and captures the zeitgeist with a healthy dose of black humor."
Forman's work is permeated with an anti-authoritarian spirit and is characterized by sharp, lucid representations of humanity. From the very inception of his career he developed a stylish look in collaboration with cinematographer Ondříček, marked by attention to details of set design and a keen awareness of the nuances of performance in all its aspects. He cast his films with a lively mixture of non-actors, character actors, and unknowns, drawing out career-best performances from many of them.
Forman's work identifies and encapsulates iconic trends and events. This is evident both in the early Czech features, which jumpstarted the fabled Czech New Wave of the mid-1960s, and in his renegade Hollywood films, beginning in the 1970s with One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. In the enclosed worlds of the director's period films, each with a decidedly modern feel (Amadeus; Ragtime; Valmont; and Goya's Ghosts), Forman has succeeded in portraying defining historical figures in his ever-evolving exploration of the conflict between individual expression and institutional/societal repression. -- www.moma.org
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