Turnaround: A Memoir [Hardcover]

Milos Forman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 8, 1994

A biography of the life and work of the director of Hair, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ragtime, and Amadeus discusses his childhood in Czechoslovakia, his dream to make films, and his work. 20,000 first printing. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Forman writes that being a movie director requires "innate arrogance," but the power and charm of his autobiography, written with Prague novelist Novak, lies in the absence of arrogance. He tells his astonishing life story with self-deprecation and a sense of the ridiculous. At the same time, the mind behind One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest and Ragtime is passionately preoccupied with the fate of his fellow Czechs and their torn country. Born in 1932, Forman grew up in a totalitarian state where all art, especially cinema, was perceived as a propaganda vehicle or a threat. He lost both his parents in the Second World War. From then on, Milos was on his own, building his artistic life with his trademark use of little-known actors and allowing the film to make its own mark. From camping out in a bureaucrat's office in Prague to receiving the Oscar for Amadeus , Forman's is a wonderful political and artistic odyssey. He never loses sight of the contributions made by others to his career, creating loving portraits of Twyla Tharp, James Cagney, Jack Nicholson and Peter Shaffer, among others. The memoir is a treat for movie buffs, cultural historians and lovers of the American dream. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Not many movie people can say they went to school with Vaclav Havel and had Milan Kundera as a teacher. But film director Forman can, and his experiences growing up in postwar Czechoslovakia constitute the liveliest part of this memoir, written with the help of Prague novelist Novak. Like most foreign-born directors who later make it big in the States, Forman's early movies-- Loves of a Blonde, Audition , and The Firemen's Ball-- are his most compelling. While the films he made here after he defected in 1968 are stellar (they include Oscar champs One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus ), his recounting of these shoots never achieves the excitement generated by his descriptions of dodging the Communist censors. Film buffs will enjoy the gossip around the bigger-name movies, and more serious students will glean some directorial insights but none to equal the more comprehensive and theoretical efforts by Bergman and Truffaut. For larger film collections.
- Judy Quinn, formerly with "Library Journal"
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 295 pages
• Publisher: Villard; 1st edition (February 8, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067940063X
• ISBN-13: 978-0679400639
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,624,408 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Memoirs of a masterful filmmaker, June 15, 2002

By 

John S. Harris "The Voice of Reason" (Memphis, TN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Turnaround: A Memoir (Hardcover)

If you are a fan of the films of Milos Forman then you owe it to yourself to read his memoirs. This book offers fascinating insight into his childhood tragedies and subsequent journeys into Eastern European and Western filmmaking.

I won my copy of this book at a silent auction midway through the filming of Forman's "The People Vs. Larry Flynt", and Mister Forman was kind enough to personalize and autograph it for me. What a great guy!

Not everyone's life would make for an interesting set of memoirs. Probably not yours, and certainly not mine. But Forman's does. Grab it, read it, enjoy it.