Ivan Passer
In the credits, Ivan Passer appears as a director responsible for choices the audience only ever sees the result of. It started in 1965, at the age of 32. The tally is 18 titles between the two screens. The most visible credit is 'Cutter's Way'.
Ivan Passer
12 Directed
1 Series
In the credits, Ivan Passer appears as a director responsible for choices the audience only ever sees the result of. It started in 1965, at the age of 32. The tally is 18 titles between the two screens. The most visible credit is 'Cutter's Way'.
TV Shows
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Close Encounters with Vilmos Zsigmond
Full Filmography
Nomad: The Warrior
Director
2005
Film
Haunted Summer
Director
1988
Film
Creator
Director
1985
Film
Faerie Tale Theatre
Director · 1 episode
1982–
TV
Cutter's Way
Director
1981
Film
Silver Bears
Director
1977
Film
Crime and Passion
Director
1976
Film
Law and Disorder
Director
1974
Film
Born to Win
Director
1971
Film
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ivan Passer still alive?
Ivan Passer passed away on January 9, 2020 at age 86.
What are the most famous roles of Ivan Passer?
Ivan Passer is best known for directing The Firemen's Ball, Loves of a Blonde, Cutter's Way.
How many movies has Ivan Passer directed?
Over a 56-year career (since 1964), Ivan Passer has directed or written 12 films and worked on 1 TV shows.
What was Ivan Passer's first movie?
The career of Ivan Passer began with Audition (1964).
What is Ivan Passer's most recent movie or series?
Ivan Passer's most recent release is Nomad: The Warrior, which premiered on July 17, 2005.
What TV shows has Ivan Passer created or directed?
On television, Ivan Passer has appeared in Faerie Tale Theatre.
Ivan Passer
1933-07-10 · Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]
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.Ivan Passer, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.