Miloš Forman, (født 18. februar 1932, Čáslav, Tjekkoslovakiet [nu i Den Tjekkiske Republik] —død 13. april 2018, Danbury, Connecticut, USA), tjekkisk-født New Wave-filmskaber, der først og fremmest var kendt for de markante amerikanske film, der han foretog efter sin indvandring til De Forenede Stater.
Quiz
Klar, sæt, handling!
Hvem spillede Merry Brandybuck i Lord of the Rings-filmene?
Forman voksede op i en lille by nær Prag. Efter at hans forældre, aktivistlærer Rudolf Forman og en protestantisk husmor, døde i nazistiske koncentrationslejre, blev han opdrættet af to onkler og familievenner; i 1960'erne lærte han, at hans biologiske far ikke var Rudolf Forman, men en jødisk arkitekt. I midten af 1950'erne studerede Forman ved Filmfakultetet for Kunstakademiet i Prag. Efter endt uddannelse skrev han to manuskript, hvoraf den første, Nechte til na mně (1955; Leave It to Me), blev filmet af den bemærkede tjekkiske instruktør Martin Frič. Forman var assisterende instruktør på den anden af disse manuskript, en romantik med titlen Štěňata (1958; Cubs).
I slutningen af 1950'erne og begyndelsen af 60'erne optrådte Forman som enten forfatter eller assisterende instruktør på andre film. De første store produktioner, som han instruerede, Černý Petr (1964; Black Peter) og Lásky jedné plavovlásky (1965; Loves of a Blonde), havde stor succes både indenlandske og internationale - sidstnævnte fik en Oscar-nominering for bedste fremmedsprogede film - og Forman blev hyldet som et stort talent for den tjekkiske nye bølge. Hans tidlige film var præget af deres undersøgelse af arbejderklasselivet og deres entusiasme for en socialistisk livsstil. Disse elementer er også tydelige i Hoří, má panenko (1967; Brandmandskuglen), der udforskede sociale og moralske spørgsmål med blid satire. Da brandmændskuglen blev forbudt i Tjekkoslovakiet efter den sovjetiske invasion i 1968, immigrerede Forman til De Forenede Stater; han blev en amerikanskborger i 1975.
Forman’s first American film was Taking Off (1971), a story about runaway teenagers and their parents. Although not a box-office success, it won the jury grand prize at the Cannes film festival. The movie was also notable for being the last of Forman’s works to incorporate his early themes. Most of his American films are also bereft of the earlier social concerns that defined his Czech films, although he clearly demonstrated his mastery of the craft of direction and showed a remarkable ability to work with actors.
One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) was an independent production that had been turned down by every major studio, but it catapulted Forman to the forefront of Hollywood directors. A potent adaptation of Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel, it starred Jack Nicholson as Randle P. McMurphy, an irrepressible free spirit who cons his way from a prison work farm into a mental hospital. Against his better judgment, he enters into a war of wills with the sadistic head nurse (played by Louise Fletcher). The film became the first since It Happened One Night (1934) to win all five major Academy Awards: best picture, actor (Nicholson), actress (Fletcher), director, and screenplay (Bo Goldman and Lawrence Hauben).
Hair (1979) was Forman’s much-anticipated version of the Broadway musical, but it was a disappointment at the box office, despite receiving generally positive reviews. The director then made Ragtime (1981), a handsomely mounted, expensive adaptation of E.L. Doctorow’s best-selling novel about early 20th-century America. The historical drama starred James Cagney in his first credited big-screen appearance in some 20 years; it was the actor’s last feature film. Ragtime, however, also failed to find an audience, although it received eight Oscar nominations.
Forman rebounded from those mild disappointments with the acclaimed Amadeus (1984), Peter Shaffer’s reworking of his stage success. F. Murray Abraham gave an Oscar-winning performance as the jealous Antonio Salieri, and Tom Hulce earned praise as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The lavish production won eight Oscars, including for best picture and Forman’s second for best director. After that triumph he took a five-year break from directing, reappearing with Valmont (1989), an adaptation of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’s classic novel Dangerous Liaisons. However, Forman’s version—which starred Colin Firth, Annette Bening, and Meg Tilly—was generally compared unfavourably to Stephen Frears’s adaptation, which had been released the previous year.
In 1996 Forman returned to form with The People vs. Larry Flynt, a biopic of the pornographic magazine publisher whose legal battles provoked debates about freedom of speech. The dramedy featured strong performances, notably by Woody Harrelson in an Oscar-nominated turn as the controversial Flynt, Courtney Love as Flynt’s wife, and Edward Norton as his frustrated attorney. Forman earned an Academy Award nomination for his directing. He also garnered praise for Man on the Moon (1999), in which Jim Carrey channeled the genius of the late comic Andy Kaufman. The fine supporting cast included Danny DeVito, Love, and Paul Giamatti. Less successful was Goya’s Ghosts (2006), a costume drama starring Natalie Portman as a model for the artist Francisco de Goya (Stellan Skarsgård) and Javier Bardem as a church official who rapes her after she is unjustly imprisoned during the Spanish Inquisition. In 2009 Forman codirected the musical Dobre placená procházka (A Walk Worthwhile).
In addition to his directorial efforts, Forman occasionally acted in films, including Heartburn (1986), Keeping the Faith (2000), and Les Bien-Aimés (2011; Beloved). He also cowrote (with Jan Novák) the memoir Turnaround (1994).
