Milos Forman Biography Quotes 22 Report mistakes

Early Life and Education
Milos Forman was born on February 18, 1932, in Caslav, Czechoslovakia. His childhood was marked by the upheavals of World War II; both of the parents who raised him were arrested by the Nazi regime and perished in concentration camps. As a young man he was taken in by relatives and teachers who encouraged his curiosity and discipline. Decades later he learned that his biological father had been a Jewish architect named Otto Kohn, a revelation that complicated and deepened his understanding of identity, survival, and belonging. After the war he attended the elite film school FAMU in Prague, where his talent for shaping naturalistic performances and satirical observation quickly became evident.

Czech New Wave and Early Career
Forman emerged as a central figure in the Czech New Wave, working closely with collaborators who would remain important to him for years: writer-director Ivan Passer, screenwriter Jaroslav Papousek, and cinematographer Miroslav Ondricek. With Black Peter (1964), Loves of a Blonde (1965), and The Firemen's Ball (1967), he pioneered a blend of improvisational acting, documentary textures, and humanist comedy that exposed the absurdities of petty bureaucracy and social convention. The Firemen's Ball ran afoul of the authorities and was banned, making Forman an emblem of a generation that used humor to reveal the moral stakes of everyday life. His circle also included actors and nonprofessionals whose authenticity he prized, and technicians at Barrandov Studios who supported his experiments in tone and structure.

Exile and American Breakthrough
The Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 caught Forman abroad and made return fraught. He chose to emigrate to the United States, a decision that reshaped his career and personal life. In New York he began again, directing Taking Off (1971), with Ondricek behind the camera and American producers who believed in his cross-cultural sensibility. The film's critical reception opened doors, and soon he was working with producer Saul Zaentz and actor-producer Michael Douglas on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). With Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher delivering indelible performances from a screenplay by Bo Goldman and Lawrence Hauben, the film became a landmark, winning the five major Academy Awards, including Best Director for Forman.

Masterworks and Collaborators
Forman's American period was defined by bold choices and enduring partnerships. Hair (1979) translated countercultural energy into a cinematic form rich with movement and irony. Ragtime (1981) offered a panoramic view of American class and race, again with Ondricek's lucid photography. Amadeus (1984), produced by Zaentz and written by Peter Shaffer from his own play, brought him a second Academy Award for Best Director. The film's centerpiece performances by F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce, and the musical leadership of artists who curated Mozart's score for the screen, created a vivid portrait of genius and envy. With Valmont (1989) he revisited a classic of intrigue; though overshadowed at release, it showcased Forman's refined direction of ensembles, including Colin Firth and Annette Bening.

In the 1990s he turned to American mavericks. The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), developed with writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski and featuring Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, and Edward Norton, examined free speech and moral panic. Man on the Moon (1999), again written by Alexander and Karaszewski, explored the life of Andy Kaufman, with Jim Carrey and Danny DeVito charting the boundaries between performance and reality. Goya's Ghosts (2006), co-written with Jean-Claude Carriere and starring Javier Bardem, Natalie Portman, and Stellan Skarsgard, looked at art, power, and conscience in a time of religious and political upheaval.

Themes and Style
From Czech comedies to American epics, Forman returned to a core set of questions: How do individuals resist conformist pressures? What happens when institutions claim moral authority? He favored keen observation, patiently built sequences, and a directing method that encouraged spontaneity within rigorous structure. His reliance on Miroslav Ondricek's supple cinematography across decades helped maintain visual continuity as he shifted languages, genres, and scales. Whether depicting small-town dances or court rituals, psychiatric wards or royal salons, he treated everyday gestures as the ground on which power and dignity are contested.

Teaching and Public Life
While building an international career, Forman taught at Columbia University's film program, where he mentored younger filmmakers and shared the practical lessons of directing, casting, and editing. He served on juries at major festivals, including Cannes, and received honors from film academies and cultural institutions in Europe and the United States. His public remarks, shaped by life under dictatorship and experience in a free press culture, often emphasized the civic value of satire, dissent, and artistic risk.

Personal Life
Forman's personal relationships intersected with his work. In Czechoslovakia he partnered with actress Vera Kresadlova, with whom he had twin sons, Petr and Matej. Later, in the United States, he married Martina Zborilova, and they also had twins, Andrew and James. He settled in Connecticut and became a U.S. citizen in 1977, maintaining ties to the Czech cultural community while working internationally. Collaborators such as Saul Zaentz, Michael Douglas, Jim Carrey, Woody Harrelson, and longtime cinematographer Miroslav Ondricek formed an extended creative family that supported his exacting standards and adventurous choices.

Legacy and Influence
Forman's films bridged continents and systems, carrying the Czech New Wave's skepticism and tenderness into American cinema. He demonstrated that stories about outsiders can find broad audiences without sacrificing nuance. As a two-time Academy Award winner for Best Director, he influenced directors who admired his way with actors and his fearless interest in controversial subjects. His memoirs and interviews trace a life shaped by loss and reinvention, by a commitment to humor as a moral instrument and to craftsmanship as a form of respect for audiences and collaborators alike.

Later Years and Death
In his later years Forman continued to develop projects, advise younger artists, and appear at retrospectives of his work in Prague, New York, and beyond. He died on April 13, 2018, in the United States. He was survived by his wife Martina and his children, and remembered by colleagues across the world. The artists closest to him, from Ivan Passer and Jaroslav Papousek in his Czech beginnings to Saul Zaentz, Michael Douglas, Jack Nicholson, F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, Edward Norton, Jim Carrey, and Miroslav Ondricek in his American career, testify to a director who built trust through clarity, humor, and courage. His films continue to speak to audiences about freedom, identity, and the fragile comedy of being human.

Our collection contains 22 quotes who is written by Milos, under the main topics: Justice - Friendship - Funny - Freedom - Hope.

Other people realated to Milos: Twyla Tharp (Dancer), Peter Shaffer (Playwright), James Rado (Actor), Treat Williams (Actor), Colin Firth (Actor), Neville Marriner (Musician), James Cagney (Actor), Brad Dourif (Actor), Meg Tilly (Actress), Randy Newman (Comedian)