Ivan Passer, a leading figure of the Czech new wave who directed films including “Cutter’s Way,” died Thursday in Reno, Nevada, an associate of the family confirmed.
He was 86.Passer was a close friend and collaborator of the late Czech filmmaker Milos Forman.
Passer met Forman at a boarding school for delinquents or children who had lost their parents during the war (other students included Vaclav Havel and Jerzy Skolimowski).
They reunited at film school in Prague, where he began collaborating on Forman’s films including “Loves of a Blonde,” “The Firemen’s Ball” and “Born to Win.” Passer’s first feature was the 1965 film “Intimate Lighting.”Passer and Forman escaped Prague in 1969 as Russian tanks were advancing, when they pretended to be visiting Austria for the weekend.
Though they lacked exit visas, a border guard who was a fan of Forman’s let them cross to safety, Passer told Variety
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