Ivan Passer

Ivan Passer

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.

  • Title: Ivan Passer
  • Popularity: 0.324
  • Known For: Directing
  • Birthday: 1933-07-10
  • Place of Birth: Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As: I. Passer
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Ivan Passer Movies

  • 1976
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    TVTV Looks at the Oscars

    TVTV Looks at the Oscars

    6 1976 HD

    Made in 1976, TVTV's close-up look at Hollywood's annual awards ritual mixes irreverent documentary with deadpan comedy. TVTV's cameras go behind the scenes to follow major Hollywood figures (including Steven Spielberg, Michael Douglas, Lee Grant, Jack Nicholson, and many others), capturing them in candid moments—inside their limousines, dressing for the ceremony, backstage at the awards.

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  • 2016
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    Close Encounters with Vilmos Zsigmond

    Close Encounters with Vilmos Zsigmond

    6.9 2016 HD

    A very special encounter between legendary American cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond and young French director Pierre Filmon. A personal journey with the brightest shadowmaker and his friends.

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  • 2012
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    The Presence of Arnošt Lustig

    The Presence of Arnošt Lustig

    1 2012 HD

    "A man is immortal as long as he lives in the memory of others,” said well-known Czech writer Arnošt Lustig with a wry smile. In December 2006 when her father turned 80, filmmaker Eva Lustigová began to see just how closely his words applied to himself personally. Her method involved recording their meetings and personal interviews together, until Lustig’s death in February 2011. Employing his notorious sense of humor, the film presents the world-renowned author as he recalls a carefree childhood cut short by the Nazi occupation, the horror of life in a concentration camp, the beginnings of his writing career, living in Israel and the USA, and his lifelong friendship with Ota Pavel. Geneva-based Eva Lustigová’s documentary is not a traditional portrait compilation of a famous writer that chronologically investigates his life, but rather a loosely assembled, lively movie about a person with an eternal love for life as it is.

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  • 1966
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    An Occasion to Speak

    An Occasion to Speak

    1 1966 HD

    Documentary about the film academy in Prague and the Czech Film in 1965.

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  • 2010
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    Miloš Forman

    Miloš Forman

    1 2010 HD

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  • 2018
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    CzechMate: In Search of Jiří Menzel

    CzechMate: In Search of Jiří Menzel

    6.5 2018 HD

    An epic exploration of the Czechoslovak New Wave cinema of the 1960s and 70s, structured around a series of conversations with one of its most acclaimed exponents - Closely Observed Trains director Jiří Menzel.

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  • 1961
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    The Pilgrimage to the Holy Virgin

    The Pilgrimage to the Holy Virgin

    7 1961 HD

    Farmers get away from their arguments by embarking on a religious pilgrimage, enjoy a picnic en route, and on their return decide to form a cooperative.

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  • 1971
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    Born to Win

    Born to Win

    5.237 1971 HD

    A smart-mouthed junkie and a former hairdresser spends his days looking for just "one more fix".

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  • 1971
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    Born to Win

    Born to Win

    5.237 1971 HD

    A smart-mouthed junkie and a former hairdresser spends his days looking for just "one more fix".

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  • 1981
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    Cutter's Way

    Cutter's Way

    6.469 1981 HD

    Alex Cutter is a boozy, belligerent and deeply cynical Vietnam veteran whose encounter with a landmine during the war has left him minus an eye, a leg and an arm. When his drifter playboy friend Richard Bone is falsely accused of murder, Cutter sets out for revenge in his own inimitable style.

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  • 1963
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    When the Cat Comes

    When the Cat Comes

    6.9 1963 HD

    While old Oliva tells a group of children about his life as a sailor and how he met Diana and her cat with sunglasses, a strange circus arrives in town.

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  • 1964
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    Audition

    Audition

    6.4 1964 HD

    Two closely related episodes. Youths make problems for two local orchestras about to compete nationally, and in a talent competition a young girl gets stage fright, while another lies to her boss to compete.

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  • 1964
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    Audition

    Audition

    6.4 1964 HD

    Two closely related episodes. Youths make problems for two local orchestras about to compete nationally, and in a talent competition a young girl gets stage fright, while another lies to her boss to compete.

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  • 1964
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    Audition

    Audition

    6.4 1964 HD

    Two closely related episodes. Youths make problems for two local orchestras about to compete nationally, and in a talent competition a young girl gets stage fright, while another lies to her boss to compete.

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  • 1985
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    Creator

    Creator

    6 1985 HD

    With the help of student assistant Boris and stolen university equipment, Dr. Harry Wolper plans to clone his dead wife. But then he meets Meli, an egg donor for his experiment, and they fall in love. Faced with choosing between his deceased wife and Meli, Dr. Wolper sees his situation in a new light when Boris' own new love, Barbara, falls into a coma. Meanwhile, another professor tries shutting down the cloning project.

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  • 1988
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    Haunted Summer

    Haunted Summer

    5 1988 HD

    Authors Lord Byron, Mary Shelley (née Godwin) and Percy Shelley get together for some philosophical discussions, but the situation soon deteriorates into mind games, drugs, and sex. It is a fictionalization of the summer that Lord Byron and the Shelleys, together with Lord Byron's ex-lover Claire Clairmont and his Doctor John Polidori, spent in the isolated Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva. It is there they devise a contest to adduce the best horror story to kill the dullness of summer. It is also there that one of the world's most famous books was given life—Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

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  • 1977
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    Silver Bears

    Silver Bears

    5.9 1977 HD

    Financial wizard "Doc" Fletcher is sent by crime boss Joe Fiore to buy a bank in Switzerland in order to more easily launder their profits. When he arrives, Fletcher finds that the bank, acquired by his associate Prince di Siracusa, consists of some shabby offices above a restaurant. To make up for this, the Prince suggests that Fletcher invests in a silver mine owned by Shireen and Agha Firdausi. This solves one problem, but the mine also attracts the attention of some of the most powerful people in the silver business. Fletcher must pull out all his wheeler-dealing skills in order to keep hold of everything he's worked for, in the process romancing a banker's discontented wife.

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  • 1965
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    Intimate Lighting

    Intimate Lighting

    6.6 1965 HD

    A musician and his girlfriend visit an old musician friend of his and his family.

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  • 1965
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    Intimate Lighting

    Intimate Lighting

    6.6 1965 HD

    A musician and his girlfriend visit an old musician friend of his and his family.

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  • 1965
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    Loves of a Blonde

    Loves of a Blonde

    6.962 1965 HD

    Andula, an innocent Czech girl from a factory town, is desperately in search of love. She believes she's found it when she beds Milda, a charming young musician visiting from Prague. Milda, however, is only looking for a casual encounter, and leaves town assuming he'll never see Andula again. But when Andula doesn't hear from him, she packs up and heads to Prague, to the surprise of Milda and his parents.

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  • 1965
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    Loves of a Blonde

    Loves of a Blonde

    6.962 1965 HD

    Andula, an innocent Czech girl from a factory town, is desperately in search of love. She believes she's found it when she beds Milda, a charming young musician visiting from Prague. Milda, however, is only looking for a casual encounter, and leaves town assuming he'll never see Andula again. But when Andula doesn't hear from him, she packs up and heads to Prague, to the surprise of Milda and his parents.

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  • 1965
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    Loves of a Blonde

    Loves of a Blonde

    6.962 1965 HD

    Andula, an innocent Czech girl from a factory town, is desperately in search of love. She believes she's found it when she beds Milda, a charming young musician visiting from Prague. Milda, however, is only looking for a casual encounter, and leaves town assuming he'll never see Andula again. But when Andula doesn't hear from him, she packs up and heads to Prague, to the surprise of Milda and his parents.

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  • 2005
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    Nomad: The Warrior

    Nomad: The Warrior

    5.1 2005 HD

    The Nomad is a historical epic set in 18th-century Kazakhstan. The film is a fictionalised account of the youth and coming-of-age of Ablai Khan, as he grows and fights to defend the fortress at Hazrat-e Turkestan from Dzungar invaders.

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  • 1992
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    Stalin

    Stalin

    5.103 1992 HD

    The life and career of the brutal Soviet dictator, Josef Stalin. Through the eyes and memories of Anna Aliluyeva, Stalin’s granddaughter, the film traces the rise of the Bolshevik tyrant from Lenin’s return from exile to his brutal struggle with Trotsky, the creation of his feared secret police and the merciless inner workings of his regime. As Anna recounts her grandfather’s life, viewers gain an intimate, personal perspective on the paranoia and purges that left even his closest circles living in constant fear.

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  • 1965
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    A Boring Afternoon

    A Boring Afternoon

    6.7 1965 HD

    Several parties—a prostitute, aging football players, working girls, two men playing pool, and a hedonistic young man—each coalesce in a tavern.

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  • 1965
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    Intimate Lighting

    Intimate Lighting

    6.6 1965 HD

    A musician and his girlfriend visit an old musician friend of his and his family.

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  • 1995
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    Kidnapped

    Kidnapped

    6.2 1995 HD

    When Scottish young gentleman David Balfour's father dies, he leaves school to collect his inheritance from uncle Ebenezer, who in turn sells the boy as a future slave to a pirate ship. When staunch Stuart dynasty supporter Alan Breck Stewart accidentally boards the ship, he takes David along on his escape back to Edinburgh. They part and meet again repeatedly, mutually helpful against the Redcoats and respectful, although David is loyal to the English crown, but learns about its cruel oppression. Both ultimately face their adversaries.

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  • 1999
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    The Wishing Tree

    The Wishing Tree

    7.4 1999 HD

    When her storyteller mother (Mary Alice) dies, attorney Clara Collier (Alfre Woodard) returns to her Georgia hometown and is soon captivated by a local legend of the "Magic Man" (Blair Underwood). While looking for the source of the tale, Clara uncovers suprising family secrets. Czech filmmaker Ivan Passer directs this family drama that delves into the storytelling tradition of the Deep South. Blair Underwood and Helen Shaver co-star.

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  • 1976
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    Crime and Passion

    Crime and Passion

    6 1976 HD

    Financier persuades his mistress to marry a rich industrialist for his money, then discovers that he and the new wife are to be murdered by her new husband.

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  • 1967
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    The Firemen's Ball

    The Firemen's Ball

    7 1967 HD

    The firemen of a provincial Czechoslovakian town throw a ball in honor of the old chief's retirement. There will be music and dancing, a beauty pageant and a raffle. The whole town will be in attendance. However, the proceedings are dogged by difficulty at every step. Workplace injuries, stolen prizes, a shortage of pretty girls... and fire.

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  • 1976
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    Crime and Passion

    Crime and Passion

    6 1976 HD

    Financier persuades his mistress to marry a rich industrialist for his money, then discovers that he and the new wife are to be murdered by her new husband.

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  • 1974
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    Law and Disorder

    Law and Disorder

    4.5 1974 HD

    In crime ridden New York of the seventies two cops have had enough and decide to take justice into their own hands. Things turn exciting and humorous as no hoodlum goes safe.

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  • 1974
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    Law and Disorder

    Law and Disorder

    4.5 1974 HD

    In crime ridden New York of the seventies two cops have had enough and decide to take justice into their own hands. Things turn exciting and humorous as no hoodlum goes safe.

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  • 2000
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    Picnic

    Picnic

    3.7 2000 HD

    The son of the richest man in town wants to marry the town's beauty queen, but she meets a more interesting stranger who just got off the train.

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  • 1991
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    Fourth Story

    Fourth Story

    5 1991 HD

    Valerie's husband Darryl leaves for work as usual, but never returns. She hires private eye Shepard to find him. Soon he discovers that David had a second identity and obviously doesn't want to be found. But since Shepard is strongly attracted to the pretty Valerie, he investigates further and gets involved more than professionally.

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  • 1960
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    Great Solitude

    Great Solitude

    7 1960 HD

    In southern Moravia, in the native village of Velka Samota, a ministry official returns from Prague to lift the declining JZD he helped establish.

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  • 1960
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    Skid

    Skid

    3.8 1960 HD

    Spy film about a man with a face lift who gets recruited by western organisations.

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  • 1983
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    The Nightingale

    The Nightingale

    3.7 1983 HD

    A kitchen maid and a nightingale help save an emperor with the power of song and friendship.

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  • 1994
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    While Justice Sleeps

    While Justice Sleeps

    5 1994 HD

    After the death of her husband, Jody and her daughter Samantha return to her home town. Sometimes she leaves Samantha with her old friend Winn. Only after an accident a doctor discovers that she has been abused - apparently by Winn! Jody reports immediately to the police and tries everything to avoid complications. But when it turns out that Winn still might win the case by some procedural tricks, she commits an act of desperation.

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  • 1965
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    A Boring Afternoon

    A Boring Afternoon

    6.7 1965 HD

    Several parties—a prostitute, aging football players, working girls, two men playing pool, and a hedonistic young man—each coalesce in a tavern.

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  • 1964
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    Black Peter

    Black Peter

    6.621 1964 HD

    A few days in the life of a Czechoslovak teenager when he starts work.

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  • 2009
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    Golden Sixties

    Golden Sixties

    1 2009 HD

    Television series Golden Sixties examines new insights into Czech and Slovak cinema of the 1960s and the role of the Czechoslovak New Wave. Each episode focuses on a different filmmaker.

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  • 1970
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    Golden Sixties

    Golden Sixties

    8.1 1970 HD

    A live-action children's television anthology series retelling popular fairy tales.

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