DIRECTOR MILOS FORMAN CELEBRATED with a COMPLETE RETROSPECTIVE at Moma
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DIRECTOR MILOS FORMAN CELEBRATED WITH A COMPLETE RETROSPECTIVE AT MoMA Films Cover Director’s Oeuvre, Including Early Work from the Czechoslovakian New Wave, Plus Such Classics as Amadeus, Hair, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest MILOS FORMAN: A RETROSPECTIVE February 14–28, 2008 The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters NEW YORK, January 11, 2008—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. NOTE: Loves of a Blonde will also have a weeklong run in a new 35mm print at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s BAMcinématek, February 15–21, coinciding with the MoMA retrospective. Janus Films, MGM, Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Samuel Goldwyn Films, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Czech Television, are gratefully acknowledged for their loan of prints to this series. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * PRESS SCREENINGS * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Please join us for the following screenings in the Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters: Tuesday, January 29 10:00 a.m. Taking Off. 1971. USA. Screenplay by Forman, Jean-Claude Carrière, John Guare, Jon Klein. With Lynn Carlin, Buck Henry. 93 min. (TITUS 1) Wednesday, January 30 10:00 a.m. Hoří, má panenko (The Firemen’s Ball). 1967. Czechoslovakia/Italy. Screenplay by Forman, Jaroslav Papoušek, Ivan Passer. With Jan Vostrčil, Josef Šebánek. In Czech; English subtitles. 71 min. (TITUS 2) No. 3 Press Contact: Paul Power, (212) 708-9847, or [email protected] For downloadable images, please register for your unique user name and password at www.moma.org/press BAM Press Contact: Molly Gross, (718) 636-4129 ext. 3, or [email protected] Further information on BAMcinématek, BAM Rose Cinemas’ repertory film program, is at www.bam.org Public Information: The Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019 Hours: Wednesday through Monday: 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Friday: 10:30 a.m.-8:00 p.m. Closed Tuesday Museum Adm: $20 adults; $16 seniors, 65 years and over with I.D.; $12 full-time students with current I.D. Free, members and children 16 and under. (Includes admittance to Museum galleries and film programs) Target Free Friday Nights 4:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Film Adm: $10 adults; $8 seniors, 65 years and over with I.D.; $6 full-time students with current I.D. (For admittance to film programs only) Subway: E or V train to Fifth Avenue/53rd Street Bus: On Fifth Avenue, take the M1, M2, M3, M4, or M5 to 53rd Street. On Sixth Avenue, take the M5, M6, or M7 to 53rd Street. Or take the M57 and M50 crosstown buses on 57th and 50th Streets. The public may call (212) 708-9400 for detailed Museum information. Visit us at www.moma.org MILOS FORMAN: A RETROSPECTIVE SCREENING SCHEDULE Thursday, February 14 7:00 Lásky jedné plavovlásky (Loves of a Blonde). 1965. Czechoslovakia. Screenplay by Forman, Jaroslav Papoušek, Václav Šašek. With Jan Vostrčil, Josef Šebánek. With Hana Brejchová, Vladimír Pucholt. Forman’s breakthrough film, a commentary on the perils of totalitarianism, follows the everyday life and sexual fumbles of a naive teenage girl in a dreary town. A cornerstone of the Czech New Wave, the film grapples with the realities of injustice and disillusionment, yet its international popularity was due in part to the optimism and tenderness of its outlook. In Czech; English subtitles. 88 min. (Introduced by Forman and friends) Friday, February 15 6:00 Taking Off. 1971. USA. Screenplay by Forman, Jean-Claude Carrière, John Guare, Jon Klein. With Lynn Carlin, Buck Henry. In this dark, affectionate, and rarely seen satire, a husband and wife embark on a wild- goose chase after their runaway daughter and wind up experimenting with the wild habits of youth counterculture. In his first film after migrating to the U.S. in the wake of the Soviet crackdown, Forman offers a fresh, idiosyncratic perspective on his adopted country. Ike and Tina Turner contribute an electrifying performance. 93 min. (Introduced by Forman and friends) 8:00 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. 1975. USA. Screenplay by Bo Goldman, Lawrence Hauben, based on the novel by Ken Kesey. With Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher. One of Forman’s most acclaimed films, this adaptation of Kesey’s widely read antiestablishment novel stars Nicholson as a convict in a psychiatric hospital who leads his fellow inmates in defying the icy Nurse Ratched, one of the greatest villains in film history. This rallying cry against authority and conformity struck a nerve with viewers and became the second movie ever to win all five major Academy Awards. 133 min. (Introduced by Forman and friends) Saturday, February 16 2:00 Hoří, má panenko (The Firemen’s Ball). 1967. Czechoslovakia/Italy. Screenplay by Forman, Jaroslav Papoušek, Ivan Passer. With Jan Vostrčil, Josef Šebánek. The last film Forman made in his homeland is perhaps the finest example of the Czech New Wave’s trademark combination of warm humanism and stinging social commentary. A party organized by a small-town fire department builds into comic mayhem and thinly veiled political allegory in this satire, which was banned by the Czech government. This deceptively simple masterpiece is a sharp, lucid representation of human weakness and moral decay. In Czech; English subtitles. 71 min. 3:30 Valmont. 1989. USA. Screenplay by Forman, Jean-Claude Carrière, based on the novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. With Colin Firth, Annette Bening. The last of three period pieces Forman made in the 1980s, this tale of sexual manipulation among French aristocrats shows the director at the height of his visual craftsmanship, and features Bening and Firth in their first high-profile roles. Forman’s loose interpretation is one of the most opulently designed and emotionally resonant of the book’s many screen versions. 137 min. 6:00 Dobře placená procházka (A Well-Paid Walk/A Walk Worthwhile). 1966. Czechoslovakia. Forman directed this musical comedy, a black-and-white visual feast, for Czechoslovakian TV in cooperation with its authors, writer Jiří Suchý and composer Jiří Šlitr.