Milos Forman Movies
Czechoslovakian director Milos Forman lost his Jewish father and Protestant mother to Hitler's concentration camps. Raised by family members, Forman studied at the Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in Prague, serving his professional apprenticeship as a writer of the pioneering Laterna Magika mixed-media presentations of the 1950s. Already an award-winning filmmaker thanks to a brace of short subjects, Forman directed his first feature, Black Peter, in 1963.Loves of a Blonde (1965) and Firemen's Ball (1967), two sweet-tempered films with a distinctively Czech sense of humor, brought Forman to the attention of American critics. With the increasing artistic freedom prevalent in his country, Forman intended to spend the rest of his career in Prague, but when Russian troops marched into Czechoslovakia in 1968, the director shifted his base of operations to France. From there, he went to Hollywood for his first English-language film, Taking Off (1971), a modest comedy about changing family values of the 1970s that featured such stars-to-be as Georgia Engel and Carly Simon. The film proved to be a success, winning a number of awards, including a Special Jury Prize at Cannes.
Following this triumph, Forman directed the decathlon sequences of the multi-national Olympic documentary Visions of Eight (1973), then moved on to what many consider his masterpiece, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). A celebration of the individual spirit staged in the depressing confines of a mental institution, Cuckoo's Nest became the first American film since It Happened One Night (1934) to win Oscars in all five major categories, including Best Director for Forman. Following that was Hair (1979), the overdue film version of the 1967 Broadway rock musical; it could have been anachronistic in lesser hands, but, under Forman's guidance, became a delectable time capsule of what the '60s seemed to represent to those who lived through it. Forman then directed Ragtime, a generally well-received 1981 adaptation of E.L. Doctorow's novel that provided a compelling look at the various cultural and social forces at work in early 20th century America.
Three years later, Forman returned to Prague for the first time since his 1968 exile, filming location shots for Amadeus, a liberal retelling of the life of Mozart (as seen through the eyes of Antonio Salieri). Amadeus won another Oscar for Forman, not to mention Best Picture. Following the film's great success, Forman served as director of Columbia University's film division; he also acted in other directors' films and directed Valmont (1989), the least-famous variation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses. In 1996, Forman returned to directing with his acclaimed biography of Hustler magazine founder Larry Flynt in The People vs. Larry Flynt, scoring both a Best Director Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe win in the same category. Three years later, he tackled the life of another controversial American figure in Man on the Moon, his biopic of legendary comic Andy Kaufman, starred Jim Carrey as the mercurial Kaufman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2007
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While Los Angeles has been the capital of major studio filmmaking in America since the early ears of the 20th Century, in the northern part of California, San Francisco has become home to a different breed of filmmaker -- artists who treasure their independence and carefully guard their creative vision, even while working in the highest echelons of the commercial movie business. Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas are just two of the best-known directors to emerge from the San Francisco film community, and Fog City Mavericks is a documentary which pays homage to a number of important filmmakers from the City by the Bay. In addition to Coppola and Lucas, Fog City Mavericks profiles directors Clint Eastwood, Carroll Ballard, Philip Kaufman and Chris Columbus, pioneering independent auteur John Korty, experimental filmmaker Bruce Conner, producer Saul Zaentz, editor and sound designer Walter Murch, cinematographer and director Caleb Deschanel, digital animation moguls Brad Bird, Pete Docter, John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton, and actor Robin Williams, and many more. While examining these individuals, the film also embraces the whole of the San Francisco film scene, and explains why these artists remain so loyal to their hometown. Fittingly, Fog City Mavericks received its world premiere at the 2007 San Francisco International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Czech New Wave leader Ivan Passer picks up the torch originally ignited by Russian director Sergei Bodrov to bring Central Asia's first-ever event film to the light of the silver screen. Penned by Russian screenwriter Rustam Ibragimbekov, Nomad tells the tale of 18th-century Kazak military strategist Ablai Khan -- a forward-thinking visionary whose efforts to unify his country eventually helped to define Kazakhstan's borders. Warned by a mystical Kazak warrior named Oraz (Jason Scott Lee) that a child who will unite the warring local tribes and free his people is about to be born, invading Jungar leader Galdan Ceren (Doskhan Zholzhaxynov) -- whose soldiers are currently occupying Kazakhstan -- instructs his assassins to target Mansur (Kuno Becker), the son of a local sultan. After being saved from a grim fate by none other than Oraz, Mansur is raised to become a fearless warrior whose vision of a unified Kazak state drives him to fulfill the ancient prophecy. Tirelessly training alongside his best friend Erali (Jay Hernandez), Mansur leaps into action when love interest Gaukhar (Ayanat Yesmagambetova) is abducted by malevolent Jungar swordsman Sharish (Mark Decascos). Originally set to be helmed exclusively by Passer, Nomad was finished by director Bodrov after a production hiatus threw the fate of the film into question and the European production partner Wild Bunch stepped in to help assure that the film was eventually completed. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kuno Becker, Jay Hernandez, (more)
The lives of a great artist, a corrupted holy man, and a beautiful woman cross paths at a crucial moment in history in this epic-scale historical drama from director Milos Forman. Near the end of the 18th century, Francisco Goya (Stellan Skarsgård) is a gifted but controversial artist whose provocative and often satirical work has earned the enmity of the Spanish government as well as the Catholic Church, who hold tremendous power as the Inquisition rages. Surprisingly, Brother Lorenzo (Javier Bardem), a monk involved in the Inquisition, has hired Goya to paint a portrait of himself, and to prove to the Inquisitor General (Michel Lonsdale) he's not in cahoots with the renegade artist, Lorenzo targets Inés (Natalie Portman), one of Goya's favorite models, as a possible heretic. Under torture from Lorenzo, Inés signs a false confession, and her wealthy and powerful father, Tomás Bilbatúa (José Luis Gómez), offers Lorenzo a taste of his own medicine by brow-beating him into signing a document confessing that his mother was an ape. Lorenzo flees Spain as his reputation lies in tatters, and Goya earns greater infamy as he paints a wildly unflattering portrait of Queen María Luisa (Blanca Portillo) under commission from her husband, King Carlos IV (Randy Quaid), but Inés remains in prison thanks to her coerced confession. Fifteen years later, Lorenzo has become a follower of the Enlightenment, and returns to Spain as Napoleon's forces storm the nation and the Inquisition finally collapses; Lorenzo attempts to liberate Inés from prison, but a shocking discovery awaits him. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Javier Bardem, Natalie Portman, (more)
Mark Wexler is a successful photojournalist who has also distinguished himself as a documentary filmmaker, but in many ways he has spent much of his life in the shadow of his more famous father, Haskell Wexler. One of Hollywood's greatest cinematographers, Haskell is also known as a director (he made the acclaimed feature Medium Cool as well as a handful of documentaries) and as a tireless political activist. But while Haskell is widely respected as a major talent, he's also known for being fiercely opinionated and difficult to work with, and Mark makes no secret of the fact that he's had a prickly relationship with his dad. Mark Wexler takes a detailed look at the life and work of Haskell Wexler in Tell Them Who You Are, which examines Haskell's career in the movie business, his relationship with his family (including his three marriages and his frequent lack of respect for Mark), and how he's viewed by his friends and peers. Interview subjects include Jane Fonda, Paul Newman, George Lucas, Michael Douglas, Milos Forman, Ron Howard, Dennis Hopper, and many more. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Haskell Wexler, Mark S. Wexler, (more)
- 2003
American film historian and author Richard Schickel directs the documentary Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin. Schickel offers an exploration into Chaplin's life, from his childhood in London until his death in 1977. The film also contains insight on his multifaceted film career and much-publicized private life. Includes archive footage, film clips, and narration by Sydney Pollack. Interwoven with the vintage bits are contemporary interviews with Hollywood personas such as Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, and Johnny Depp. Chaplin's children Michael and Geraldine also provide contributions. Charlie was shown at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2003. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sydney Pollack, Charles Chaplin, (more)
In the late '60s, American culture experienced a period of change as the youth movement challenged conventional attitudes about politics, sex, drugs, and gender issues, while the advancement of the Vietnam War found many citizens questioning the actions and wisdom of their government for the first time. As American attitudes continued to evolve, so did the American film industry; as costly big-budget blockbusters nearly brought the major studios to the brink of collapse, smaller and more personal films such as Bonnie and Clyde, Easy Rider, and Five Easy Pieces demonstrated there was a ready audience for bold and challenging entertainment. As the '60s faded into the 1970s, American cinema moved into an exciting period of creativity and stylistic innovation, which led to such landmark films as The Godfather, MASH, The Last Picture Show, Shampoo, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Chinatown, and Taxi Driver, and new freedom for directors and screenwriters. Ironically, however, it was another pair of big-budget blockbusters directed by students of the new wave of filmmaking -- Jaws and Star Wars -- which brought the studios back to power and put an end to Hollywood's flirtation with offbeat creativity. A Decade Under the Influence is a documentary which explores the rise and fall of new American filmmaking in the 1970s, and features interviews with many of the key directors, screenwriters, and actors whose work typified the movement, including Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Paul Schrader, Roger Corman, Dennis Hopper, Jon Voight, and Julie Christie. A Decade Under the Influence received its world premier at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, and an expanded version of the film was later shown on the premium cable outlet The Independent Film Channel; the documentary was the final work of co-director Ted Demme, who died shortly before the film was completed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, (more)
Actor Edward Norton debuts as a director with this comedy-drama about love, friendship, and faith. Priest Brian Finn (Norton) and rabbi Jacob Schram (Ben Stiller) have known each other since childhood. When Anna Reilly (Jenna Elfman), whom they both knew as children, returns to New York, both men find themselves infatuated with her, sparking both rivalry and personal dilemmas: Brian has taken a vow of celibacy, and Jacob is allowed to marry only within his faith. Award-winning director Milos Forman appears in the supporting cast, alongside Anne Bancroft, Ron Rifkin, and Eli Wallach; the screenplay marks the debut of writer Stuart Blumberg, whom Norton met when they were both undergraduates at Yale. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Norton, Ben Stiller, (more)
Comedian Andy Kaufman gave performances that were bizarre and difficult to categorize, in which he might do or say almost anything: show cartoons, impersonate Elvis Presley, play conga drums while singing children's songs, read aloud from The Great Gatsby, or take the audience out for milk and cookies. Written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski and directed by Milos Forman (the team behind The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)), this biopic takes an in-depth look at Kaufman's life and art, with Jim Carrey as Kaufman, who could (and would) be any number of different people onstage: the quiet and childlike man, the little foreign guy, the overbearing showbiz "professional," the violently obnoxious wrestler, or the world's worst lounge singer. As Kaufman rose from comedy clubs to guest appearances on Saturday Night Live and a spot on the TV sitcom Taxi, his performances became more complex and dangerous -- so much so that when word got out in 1984 that he was suffering from lung cancer, many fans and associates thought it was just another bizarre stunt; the disease took his life later that year. Man on the Moon features Danny De Vito as Kaufman's manager George Shapiro, Courtney Love as his girlfriend Lynne Margulies, Paul Giamatti as his friend Bob Zmuda, and David Letterman, Judd Hirsch, Marilu Henner, Carol Kane, and Christopher Lloyd as themselves. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Carrey, Danny DeVito, (more)
"If the First Amendment will protect a scumbag like me, then it'll protect all of you -- 'cause I'm the worst," declares Hustler Magazine publisher Larry Flynt (as played by Woody Harrelson) in the midst of one of his many court cases. Milos Forman's film follows Flynt from his childhood in Kentucky, where he made extra money for his dirt-poor family by selling the moonshine his father brewed, into adulthood as he manages a strip club in Cincinnati. While the club does middling business, the experience changes Flynt's life in two ways: he meets Althea (Courtney Love), an exotic dancer who becomes the love of his life, and he gets the bright idea of starting a magazine to promote the club. Marketed as a crasser, less pretentious alternative to Playboy or Penthouse, Hustler becomes a huge success after Flynt runs a photo series of Jacqueline Onassis sunbathing nude. However, while plenty of people are buying Hustler, there are also plenty of people who don't care for it, including Charles Keating (James Cromwell), leader of a watchdog group called Citizens For Decent Literature. Keating spearheads the first of many legal attacks on the magazine, one of which reaches the Supreme Court as Alan Isaacman (Edward Norton), Flynt's lawyer, debates the finer legal points of bad taste with the justices of the highest court in the land. Meanwhile, Flynt makes a fortune, loses the use of his legs after an attack by a sniper, embraces and than abandons Christianity, and eventually loses Althea, who succumbs to AIDS after a long addiction to drugs. Woody Harrelson's brother Brett Harrelson is well cast as Larry Flynt's brother Jimmy; Larry Flynt appears briefly as a judge who hands down a judgment against Larry Flynt. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, (more)
Henry Jaglom is a filmmaker who was a pioneer of the independent film movement long before it had a name. Jaglom began his Hollywood career in the mid-Sixties as an actor, but in 1971 he wrote and directed his first feature film, A Safe Place, which starred his friends Orson Welles and Jack Nicholson; it was an offbeat, personal work which received mixed reviews, setting a standard that many of Jaglom's future works would follow. After A Safe Place bombed at the box office, Jaglom began making films on tiny budgets which he often released himself, allowing his actors plenty of room to improvise and often dealing with women's issues in an intense and emotionally compelling manner. Jaglom has a significant cult of admirers, and a number of notable actors work with him at a fraction of their usual salaries, but his eccentricity and knack for self-promotion has rubbed a few people in the movie business the wrong way, and while some critics regard him as a singular talent, others consider him an overbearing con artist. Both Jaglom's supporters and detractors get a chance to air their opinions in Who Is Henry Jaglom?, a documentary about the filmmaker which offers a look at his movies, his life before and behind the camera, and the actors and craftspeople who've worked with him and have their own stories to tell. Jaglom himself is also extensively interviewed, and contributes a wealth of footage from his archives. Who Is Henry Jaglom? includes interviews with Candice Bergen, Karen Black, Dennis Hopper, Andrea Marcovici, Sally Kellerman, Martha Plimpton and many more. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1991
As the Iron Curtain countries eased their way out from under Soviet control, they began forming non-communist governments under the leadership of well-known dissidents. Perhaps the best known of these is the Czech writer and playwright Vaclav Havel, whose works were well known and widespread, and who spent a considerable amount of time in prison for his anti-communist activities and protests. In 1989, he became the only postwar non-communist president of Czechoslovakia, and after that country split into two in 1993, he became the president of the newly formed Czech Republic. This documentary explores the high regard Havel is held in his homeland and in the West and includes interviews with celebrities such as playwright Arthur Miller, diplomat Henry Kissinger, and former U.S. president George Bush, along with man-on-the-street interviews with the citizens who elected him. In addition, President Havel himself speaks with great humor about how being President resembles being a prisoner. Much of the footage in this documentary follows the president as he goes about his official duties. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Milos Forman
- 1990
The modest, highly praised, award-winning cinematic production designer Pierre Guffroy is the subject of this reportedly somewhat uneven documentary. Among the notable directors he worked for were Luis Buñuel, François Truffaut, Milos Forman, Jean Cocteau and Roman Polanski; not only that, but he was the designer for many of their most famous films. Some of these gentlemen, as well as actors Nastassja Kinski and Harrison Ford, discuss the man and his work. The designer indicates that though he is looking for very precise effects, he always takes the difficulties of shooting into account, and does not demand impossible shots from the cinematographers. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nastassja Kinski, Harrison Ford, (more)
The third adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos' classic novel Les Liasons Dangereuses, Milos Forman's Valmont was released one year after Stephen Frears' more famous version of the de Laclos original, Dangerous Liaisons. The plot remains the same: two debauched, depraved 18th century French aristocrats, the Vicomte de Valmont (Colin Firth) and the Marquise de Merteuil (Annette Bening), conspire to destroy several innocent lives, just for the fun of it. But whereas Stephen Frears concentrated on the machinations of the marquise, Forman, per his film's title, devotes most of his screen space to Valmont (played in the Frears version by John Malkovich). In fact, Forman's film concludes with Valmont's conscience-stricken renunciation of his past sins, and his duel to the death, rather than de Meurteil's well-deserved comeuppance. Forman has chosen to set the story back some 50 years, de-emphasizing the opulence that was vital to Frears' vision; he has also utilized a younger cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colin Firth, Annette Bening, (more)
Filmmaker Henry Jaglom plays the leading male role in his characteristically gabby New Year's Day. Jaglom is a writer who insists upon asking disturbing and intrusive questions to the revellers at a New Year's Eve party. His inclusion in the story is explained by having him sublet a California apartment where the previous attendants show no signs of leaving. The crazy-quilt Dramatis Personae include lesbian PR-agent Gwen Welles, erstwhile actress/activist Maggie Jakobson, and lustful fashion-photographer Melanie Winter. Periodically interrupting the steady stream of spontaneous-sounding conversation between these three is Jakobson's randy boyfriend David Duchovny and famed Czech director Milos Forman as a janitor (!). As always, Henry Jaglom is a matter of taste, but you'll very likely want to see New Year's Day for a glimpse at a pre X-Files David Duchovny. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maggie Jakobson, Gwen Welles, (more)
- 1988
This 1988 documentary describes the tumultuous process involved in bringing One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest to the screen. After having his script confiscated by Czech authorities in the early '60s, Milos Foreman would have to wait nearly ten years before Kirk and Michael Douglas could secure funding for the counterculture classic. Documentarian Charles Kiselyak revisits many of the people and places involved in the film, including the Oregon State Mental Hospital, which has since fallen into squalid disrepair. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
Though she always played coy about the fact in interviews, Nora Ephron's novel Heartburn is a thinly disguised "a clef" rehash of her marriage to Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein. Meryl Streep plays Rachel, an influential food critic who marries charismatic columnist Mark (Jack Nicholson) after a whirlwind courtship. Warned that Mark is constitutionally incapable of settling down with any one woman, Rachel gives up her own job to make certain that her marriage works. When Rachel announces that she's pregnant, Mark virtually jumps out of his skin with delight. But as the news sinks in, Mark chafes at the impending responsibilities of fatherhood, and the philandering begins-- as if it had ever really stopped! Our favorite scene: Rachel and her friends being robbed at her therapy group. That's Meryl Streep's real-life daughter playing Rachel's offspring. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson, (more)
For this film adaptation of Peter Shaffer's Broadway hit, director Milos Forman returned to the city of Prague that he'd left behind during the Czech political crises of 1968, bringing along his usual cinematographer and fellow Czech expatriate, Miroslav Ondricek. Amadeus is an expansion of a Viennese "urban legend" concerning the death of 18th-century musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. From the vantage point of an insane asylum, aging royal composer Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) recalls the events of three decades earlier, when the young Mozart (Tom Hulce) first gained favor in the court of Austrian emperor Joseph II (Jeffrey Jones). Salieri was incensed that God would bless so vulgar and obnoxious a young snipe as Mozart with divine genius. Why was Salieri--so disciplined, so devoted to his art, and so willing to toady to his superiors--not touched by God? Unable to match Mozart's talent, Salieri uses his influence in court to sabotage the young upstart's career. Disguising himself as a mysterious benefactor, Salieri commissions the backbreaking "Requiem," which eventually costs Mozart his health, wealth, and life. Among the film's many pearls of dialogue, the best line goes to the Emperor, who rejects a Mozart composition on the grounds that it has "too many notes." Amadeus won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor for F. Murray Abraham. In 2002, the film received a theatrical re-release as "Amadeus: The Director's Cut," a version that includes 20 minutes of additional footage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, (more)
- 1982
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At the beginning of this documentary on early cinematographer Edwin S. Porter (1869-1941), director Charles Musser gives some background on the "nickelodeons" or theaters that charged a nickel as an entrance fee, and their early (presumably cheaper) predecessors. The men who set up the programs at the nickelodeons -- including Porter at times -- arranged film clips and still slides to create about a half-hour's worth of entertainment -- they were the first film editors. By 1907, eager U.S. movie-goers were investing one million nickels per day for these shows. Edwin S. Porter was active between 1886-1915 and he is still well-known for his 1903 Great Train Robbery, the world's first narrative film, all of 12 minutes long. (It should be noted that Porter's filmography after he lost his position as head of production in Thomas Edison's studio in 1908 is not included in this documentary.) Porter worked first with multi-shot sequences as early as 1901 ("The Execution of Czolgosz" on the assassination of President McKinley, using documentary footage and a staged dramatization), running through one (small) spool of film for one sequence, and another for an additional sequence, usually from another angle or of another scene. Instead of an editor at a nickelodeon putting together two film sequences, Porter was doing the sequencing as the cinematographer. Taking this idea one step further, he pioneered "overlapping continuity," as in his landmark 1902 Life of an American Fireman. In this example of the technique, he put cameras inside and outside a burning building, and in his completed film, he first showed a rescue sequence from the inside, followed by the same sequence from the outside. In the 1930s when that film was recut with methods developed by Porter's most well-known immediate successor, David Wark Griffith, the "Fireman" film was shown with alternating interior-exterior views, from the start of the rescue to the end. Director Charles Musser comments on this later style, saying that in Porter's early years, audiences were not yet visually sophisticated enough to understand the technique of multiple, simultaneous perspectives. (At the same time, other critics maintain that Porter himself intercut the scenes.) Another pioneer in a visual medium, Pablo Picasso came of age artistically during the development of these cinematic techniques, and it is curious that his own style of showing multiple, simultaneous viewpoints of a figure in one image parallels the cinematic visions emerging first with Edwin Porter and then with D.W. Griffith. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jay Leyda
- 1981
Born in 1899, James Cagney managed to become one of America's greatest and most imitated actors. Some of his best-known films are also ones in which his sister Jeanne played a role: Yankee Doodle Dandy, The Time of Your Life, A Lion Is in the Streets, and Man of a Thousand Faces. He received an Oscar for his performance in Yankee Doodle Dandy, a film based on the life of George M. Cohan, who hand-picked Cagney for the role. Cagney's last film appearance was in Ragtime. Throughout his life, Cagney was deeply affected by his father's early death, helping his mother support the family from the time he was in his early teens. Despite this light shed on Cagney's personal life, this video concentrates more on detailing his notable screen performances.
~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide
~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide
E. L. Doctorow's novel Ragtime was a sprawling fictional account of American manners and mores in the years between 1900 and 1913. Among the mosaic of colorful factual and fictional characters in the novel were escape artist Harry Houdini and radical Emma Goldman. Both characters are all but eliminated in the film version, which only concentrates on three of Doctorow's many plot threads: The story of an immigrant artist (Mandy Patinkin) who becomes a movie director; the saga of "Gibson Girl" Evelyn Nesbit Shaw (Elizabeth McGovern), for whose sake playboy Harry K. Thaw (Robert Joy); kills architect Stanford White (Norman Mailer) and a lone black man's (Howard Rollins Jr.) quest for justice when his car is destroyed by a racist fire chief (Kenneth McMillan). This last subplot consumes most of the film's running time, to the overall detriment of the pacing. There are also several scenes involving an unnamed upper-middle-class family (headed by James Olson and Mary Steenburgen) who are evidently meant to be the audience's eyes and ears, but are frankly not terribly interesting. Back in 1981, Ragtime was given plenty of press coverage as the "comeback" picture for James Cagney, after twenty years in retirement. The problem is that Cagney's character (a police commissioner) isn't in the book, and his inclusion not only throws the story off balance, but necessitates the removal of several potentially interesting characters and events. Another detriment is the gratuitous (and illogical) nudity in the Evelyn Nesbit scenes, which earned the film its "R" rating. An ornate misfire, Ragtime is of interest today only for its remarkable cast of veterans and stars-to-be, including Pat O'Brien and Eloise O'Brien, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Allen, Moses Gunn, Jeff Daniels and Fran Drescher. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Cagney, Brad Dourif, (more)
Milos Forman's adaptation of the tribal rock musical Hair stars John Savage as Claude, a quiet young man from the Midwest who becomes friendly with a group of New York hippies on his way to begin basic training in the military. The repressed Claude is quite taken with Berger (Treat Williams) and the group of freedom seekers who reside in Central Park. The group encourages Claude to go after a debutante named Sheila (Beverly D'Angelo). Legendary choreographer Twyla Tharp masterminded the dances, which attempt to flow from the natural settings of the film. The film includes most of the more famous songs from the original play, including "Donna," "Aquarius," "Easy to Be Hard," "Let the Sunshine In," "Good Morning Starshine," "Frank Mills," and the title number. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Savage, Treat Williams, (more)
- 1975
- R
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With an insane asylum standing in for everyday society, Milos Forman's 1975 film adaptation of Ken Kesey's novel is a comically sharp indictment of the Establishment urge to conform. Playing crazy to avoid prison work detail, manic free spirit Randle P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) is sent to the state mental hospital for evaluation. There he encounters a motley crew of mostly voluntary inmates, including cowed mama's boy Billy (Brad Dourif) and silent Native American Chief Bromden (Will Sampson), presided over by the icy Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher). Ratched and McMurphy recognize that each is the other's worst enemy: an authority figure who equates sanity with correct behavior, and a misfit who is charismatic enough to dismantle the system simply by living as he pleases. McMurphy proceeds to instigate group insurrections large and small, ranging from a restorative basketball game to an unfettered afternoon boat trip and a tragic after-hours party with hookers and booze. Nurse Ratched, however, has the machinery of power on her side to ensure that McMurphy will not defeat her. Still, McMurphy's message to live free or die is ultimately not lost on one inmate, revealing that escape is still possible even from the most oppressive conditions. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, (more)
- 1973
This documentary of the 1972 Summer Olympics, held in Munich, is remarkable for bringing eight of the world's most notable film directors to work on it. They are: Milos Forman, Yuri Ozerov, Mai Zetterling, Arthur Penn, Michael Pfleghar, Kon Ichikawa, Claude Lelouch and John Schlesinger. Each director concentrated on events that were of interest to him and filmed in his own style. For instance, Foreman focused on the comic aspect of the games; Lelouch kept his sights on the losers rather than the winners; and Mai Zetterling examined obsession in the form of weightlifting. The movie does not attempt to comprehensively document the '72 Olympics and does not aim for a unified vision. Instead, it showcases the talents of these directors under the inspiration of this most dramatic of gatherings. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
