Czech-born Oscar winning director Miloš Forman dies at 86

Oscar-winning director Miloš Forman, known for films such as One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and Amadeus has died at the age of 86, the Czech News Agency reported on Saturday. The Czech-born, US-based director died on Friday in the United States after a short illness, his wife Martina told the agency.

Forman was a leading personality of the Czech New Film Wave of the 1960s. He first attracted international attention in the mid-1960s with his films Black Peter and The Loves of a Blonde , an Oscar nominee for best foreign-language film, and The Firemen’s Ball, which was immediately banned by the communist regime in Czechoslovakia.

Two of his US films, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and Amadeus, have gained him an Academy Award for Best Director and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, adapted from Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel, became the first film since 1934 to win all five major Academy Awards. He earned his third and last Oscar nomination in 1996 for The People vs. Larry Flynt, a drama about the founder of Hustler magazine.

The Czech-born filmmaker is also known for two features about controversial Americans, The People vs. Larry Flynt and Man on the Moon.

Author: Ruth Fraňková