Ivan Passer (10 July 1933 – 9 January 2020) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, best known for his involvement in the

Czechoslovak New Wave The Czechoslovak New Wave (also Czech New Wave) is a term used for the Czechoslovak filmmakers who started making movies in the 1960s. The directors commonly included are Miloš Forman, Věra Chytilová, Ivan Passer, Pavel Juráček, Jiří Menze ...

and for directing American films such as '' Born to Win'' (1971), ''

Cutter's Way ''Cutter's Way'' (also known as ''Cutter and Bone'') is a 1981 American neo noir thriller directed by Ivan Passer. The film stars Jeff Bridges, John Heard, and Lisa Eichhorn. The screenplay was adapted from the 1976 novel '' Cutter and Bone'' by ...

'' (1981) and ''

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

'' (1992).

Life and career

Passer was born in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, the son of Marianna (Mandelick) and Alois Passer. Passer attended King George boarding school in

Poděbrady Poděbrady (; german: Podiebrad) is a spa town in Nymburk District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 14,000 inhabitants. It lies on the river Elbe. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an u ...

with future filmmakers

Miloš Forman Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (; ; 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech and American film director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the United States in 1968. Forman ...

Jerzy Skolimowski Jerzy Skolimowski (, born 5 May 1938) is a Polish film director, screenwriter, dramatist and actor. A graduate of the prestigious National Film School in Łódź, Skolimowski has directed more than twenty films since his 1960 début ''Oko wykol' ...

and

Paul Fierlinger Paul Fierlinger (born March 15, 1936 as Pavel Fierlinger) is a creator of animated films and shorts, especially animated documentaries. He is also a part-time lecturer at University of Pennsylvania School of Design. Early life Paul Fierlinger w ...

and playwright

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then as ...

. He then studied at FAMU in Prague, but did not finish the program. He began his career as an assistant director on

Ladislav Helge Ladislav Helge (21 August 1927 – 31 January 2016) was a Czech film director and screenwriter. He directed 7 films between 1957 and 1967, including '' Škola otců'' (1957). He also wrote screenplays for 5 films. He started as an assistan ...

's ''Velká samota''. Later he collaborated with his friend Forman on all of Forman's Czech films, including ''

Loves of a Blonde ''Loves of a Blonde'' ( cs, Lásky jedné plavovlásky), also known as ''A Blonde in Love'', is a 1965 Czechoslovak comedy-drama film directed by Miloš Forman that follows a young woman, Andula, who has a routine job in a shoe factory in provin ...

'' (1965) and ''

The Firemen's Ball ''The Firemen's Ball'' (or ''The Fireman's Ball''; cs, Hoří, má panenko - "Fire, my lady") is a 1967 comedy film directed by Miloš Forman. It is set at the annual ball of a small town's volunteer fire department, and the plot portrays a se ...

'' (1967), both of which Passer co-wrote and which were nominated for

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. He introduced Forman to cinematographer Miroslav Ondříček whom he knew from ''Velká samota''. He then directed his first feature, ''

Intimate Lighting ''Intimate Lighting'' ( cs, Intimní osvětlení) is a Czech drama film directed by Ivan Passer. It was released in 1965. It is widely considered as a major film of the Czechoslovak New Wave and to be Passer's most significant film. Plot A cello ...

'', 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 , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

together. Both proceeded to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, 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 George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as ''Ship o ...

and

Karen Black Karen Blanche Black (née Ziegler; July 1, 1939 – August 8, 2013) was an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence for her work in various studio and independent films in the 1970s, frequently portrayi ...

, and ''

'' (1981), a dramatic thriller starring

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent a ...

and John Heard. Though best known for his idiosyncratic, often gritty dramas, he also directed comedies such as ''

Silver Bears ''Silver Bears'' is a 1978 British comedy crime thriller film based on a novel by Paul Erdman, directed by Ivan Passer and starring Michael Caine, Cybill Shepherd, Louis Jourdan and Joss Ackland. Caine portrays mob accountant "Doc" Fletcher w ...

'' (1978) starring

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...

and '' Creator'' (1985) starring

Peter O'Toole Peter Seamus O'Toole (; 2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013) was a British stage and film actor. He attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and began working in the theatre, gaining recognition as a Shakespearean actor at the Bristol Old Vic ...

. Later in his career, he directed numerous films for television, most notably the award-winning biopic ''

'' (1992) starring

Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...

for

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

. He was also a film professor at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. Passer died on January 9, 2020 from pulmonary complications in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

. He was 86 years old.

Filmography

*''Audition'' (1963) (co-writer only, with

, Jaroslav Papoušek and Václav Šašek) *''

'' (1965) (also co-writer, with Jaroslav Papoušek and Václav Šašek) *''

'' (1965) (co-writer only, with Miloš Forman, Jaroslav Papoušek and Václav Šašek) *''

'' (1967) (co-writer only, with Miloš Forman, Jaroslav Papoušek and Václav Šašek) *'' Born to Win'' (1971) (also co-writer, with

David Scott Milton David Scott Milton (September 15, 1934 – January 13, 2020) was an American author, playwright, screenwriter, and actor. His plays are known for their theatricality, wild humor, and poetic realism, while his novels and films are darker and more ...

) *'' Law and Disorder'' (1974) (also co-writer, with Kenneth Harris Fishman and

William Richert William Richert (1942 – July 19, 2022) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. He is known for writing and directing the feature films '' Winter Kills'', ''The American Success Company'', and '' A Night in the Life o ...

) *''

Crime and Passion ''Crime and Passion'', also known as ''Ace Up My Sleeve'', is a 1975 comedy drama film.Ebert, Roger (May 4, 1976)''Crime and Passion''. RogerEbert.com. Plot André Ferren learns from his girlfriend and co-worker Susan Winters that the biggest clie ...

'' (1976) (also co-writer, with William Richert) *''

'' (1977) *''

'' (1981) *''

Faerie Tale Theatre Faerie Tale Theatre (also known as Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre) is an American live-action fairytale fantasy drama anthology television series of 27 episodes, that originally aired on Showtime from September 11, 1982 until November 14, 19 ...

'' (1983) (director of episode "The Nightingale") *'' Creator'' (1985) *''

Haunted Summer ''Haunted Summer'' is a 1988 drama film directed by Ivan Passer. Plot summary In 1816, authors Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, and Mary Shelley (née Godwin) get together for some philosophical discussions, but the situation soon deteriorates into ...

'' (1988) *''

Fourth Story Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

'' (1990) *''

'' (1992) *'' While Justice Sleeps'' (1994) *''

Kidnapped Kidnapped may refer to: * subject to the crime of kidnapping Literature * ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson * ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Ca ...

'' (1995) *'' The Wishing Tree'' (1999) *''

Picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

'' (2000) *'' Velvet Hangover'' (2000) *'' Nomad: The Warrior'' (2006)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Passer, Ivan 1933 births 2020 deaths Czechoslovak defectors Czechoslovak film directors Film directors from Prague Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States Respiratory disease deaths in Nevada Deaths from lung disease