Book Chapter

The Loves of a System: Miloš Forman and Barrandov

Sorfa, David

2023

Overview

Miloš Forman began his career as a filmmaker at the Barrandov Studios in Prague in the 1960s and filmed Amadeus with Barrandov in the early 1980s. The contrast between the high-budget historical spectacle of Amadeus and the gently ironic realism of his 1960s films could not be more pronounced. During the 1960s, aside from its relationship with the young filmmakers of the New Wave, Barrandov supported an extraordinary range of films, from popular movies to historical epics. The situation at Barrandov after 1968 quickly changed and Forman decided not to return to Czechoslovakia. The films Forman made during the 1970s in the United States brought him a level of international fame and popularity that stands unrivaled in the history of Czech cinema but were a radical departure from the films he made in the 1960s. This change culminates with Amadeus and his return to Barrandov.Keywords: Miloš Forman; Barrandov Studios; existential revolution; realism; production historyMiloš Forman began his career as a filmmaker at the Barrandov Studios in Prague with his first scripted film, Štěňata (Puppies, 1957), directed by Ivo Novák. Forman went on to direct his four most famous New Wave films at Barrandov: Konkurs (Audition, 1963), Černy Petr (Black Peter, 1963), Lásky jedné plavovlásky (Loves of a Blonde, 1965), and Hoři, má panenko (The Fireman's Ball, 1967), before emigrating to the USA. Forman returned to Prague and to Barrandov to film Amadeus in the early 1980s, and the contrast between the high-budget historical spectacle of Amadeus and the gently ironic realism of his 1960s films could not be more pronounced. Here I will consider each of Forman's Barrandov films in turn to tease out developments in his filmmaking style. Since the films of the 1960s were mainly shot outside of the studios themselves, relying on small crews and largely amateur casts, my emphasis will be on the style and meaning of the films themselves rather than on production detail and history, but incorporating this when necessary.During the 1960s, aside from its relationship with the young filmmakers of the New Wave, Barrandov supported an extraordinary range of films from popular comedies like the pastiche Western Limonádový Joe aneb Koňská opera (Lemonade Joe, or The Horse Opera, 1964, dir. Oldřich Lipský) to historical epics such as Marketa Lazarová (1967, dir. František Vláčil).