About

Known credits:
41
Birthday:
1933-07-10
Place of birth:
Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]
Website:
N/A

Ivan Passer

Overview

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.

Known for

Acting
2018 CzechMate: In Search of Jiří Menzel Actor Self 59
Average
2016 Close Encounters with Vilmos Zsigmond Actor Self 59
Average
2010 Miloš Forman Actor Self N/A
N/A
1976 TVTV Looks at the Oscars Actor Self N/A
N/A
1966 An Occasion to Speak Actor Self N/A
N/A
The Presence of Arnošt Lustig Actor Self N/A
N/A

Directing
2005 Nomad: The Warrior Directing Director 58
Average
2000 Picnic Directing Director 58
Average
1999 The Wishing Tree Directing Director 59
Average
1995 Kidnapped Directing Director 59
Average
1994 While Justice Sleeps Directing Director 59
Average
1992 Stalin Directing Director 58
Average
1991 Fourth Story Directing Director 59
Average
1988 Haunted Summer Directing Director 58
Average
1985 Creator Directing Director 59
Average
1983 The Nightingale Directing Director 58
Average
1981 Cutter's Way Directing Director 60
Fair
1977 Silver Bears Directing Director 59
Average
1976 Crime and Passion Directing Director 58
Average
1974 Law and Disorder Directing Director 58
Average
1971 Born to Win Directing Director 58
Average
1966 Intimate Lighting Directing Director 59
Average
1965 Loves of a Blonde Directing First Assistant Director 61
Fair
1965 A Boring Afternoon Directing Director 59
Average
1964 Black Peter Directing First Assistant Director 59
Average
1964 Audition Directing First Assistant Director 59
Average
1963 When the Cat Comes Directing First Assistant Director 60
Fair
1961 The Pilgrimage to the Holy Virgin Directing Assistant Director 59
Average
1960 Skid Directing Assistant Director 58
Average
1960 Great Solitude Directing Assistant Director 59
Average

Writing
1976 Crime and Passion Writing Adaptation 58
Average
1974 Law and Disorder Writing Screenplay 58
Average
1971 Born to Win Writing Writer 58
Average
1967 The Firemen's Ball Writing Screenplay 62
Fair
1966 Intimate Lighting Writing Screenplay 59
Average
1966 Intimate Lighting Writing Story 59
Average
1965 Loves of a Blonde Writing Story 61
Fair
1965 Loves of a Blonde Writing Screenplay 61
Fair
1965 A Boring Afternoon Writing Screenplay 59
Average
1964 Audition Writing Story 59
Average
1964 Audition Writing Screenplay 59
Average