Dušan Makavejev
Encyclopedia
Dušan Makavejev (born 13 October 1932 in Belgrade
, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
) is a Serbia
n film
director
and screenwriter, famous for his groundbreaking films of Yugoslav cinema in the late 1960s and early 1970s. His most successful movie was the 1971 political satire WR: Mysteries of the Organism, which he directed and wrote.
, and Innocence Unprotected
(1968) won Dušan Makavejev international acclaim. The latter won him the Silver Bear Extraordinary Prize of the Jury
at the 18th Berlin International Film Festival
. In 1970, he was a member of the jury at the 20th Berlin International Film Festival
.
His next movie W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism
(1971, starring Milena Dravić
, Jagoda Kaloper
, and Ivica Vidović
) was banned in Yugoslavia due to sexual-political content and resulted in Makavejev's exile from the country, which ended in 1988. Sweet Movie
, with its explicit depictions of sex and urination also relegated the film to Art house audiences and has been banned in several places. There was a span of seven years before he released his next film, Montenegro
. It was a successful (and more conventional) black comedy. The Coca-Cola Kid, set in Australia, is perhaps his most accessible picture, featuring performances by Eric Roberts
and Greta Scacchi
.
He also appeared as one of the narrators in the film Zabranjeni bez zabrane (Banned without being banned) which shows a profound insight into the history of Yugoslav cinema through censorship, and which asks how famous anti-communist movies from Yugoslavia succeeded in being made, as well as considering their consequences. The film contains original interviews with the most important dissident filmmakers from the communist era.
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
) is a Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and screenwriter, famous for his groundbreaking films of Yugoslav cinema in the late 1960s and early 1970s. His most successful movie was the 1971 political satire WR: Mysteries of the Organism, which he directed and wrote.
Career
His first three feature films Man Is Not a Bird (1965), Love Affair, or the Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator (1967) starring actress and icon of the "black wave" period in film Eva RasEva Ras
Eva Ras is a Serbian actress, writer, and painter.-Biography:She is of Hungarian-Jewish origin. Ras was born on January 1, 1941 in Subotica, where she lived and went to school until she was eighteen, when she started to study acting and dramaturgy in Belgrade where she now lives...
, and Innocence Unprotected
Innocence Unprotected
Innocence Unprotected is a compilation film by Yugoslavian director Dušan Makavejev. Makavejev's film is based on a 1941 film Nevinost bez zaštite in Serbia by Dragoljub Aleksić that was never released...
(1968) won Dušan Makavejev international acclaim. The latter won him the Silver Bear Extraordinary Prize of the Jury
Jury Grand Prix
The Jury Grand Prix is a Silver Bear award given by the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival to one of the feature films in competition...
at the 18th Berlin International Film Festival
18th Berlin International Film Festival
The 18th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from June 21 to July 2, 1968.-Jury:* Luis García Berlanga * Peter Schamoni* Alex Viany* Georges de Beauregard* Alexander Walker* Domenico Meccoli* Carl-Eric Nordberg...
. In 1970, he was a member of the jury at the 20th Berlin International Film Festival
20th Berlin International Film Festival
The 20th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from June 26 to July 7, 1970. However, the competition was cancelled and no prizes were awarded, over controversy surrounding Michael Verhoeven's film o.k.-Jury:* George Stevens...
.
His next movie W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism
W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism
W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism is a 1971 film by Yugoslav director Dušan Makavejev that explores the relationship between communist politics and sexuality, as well as exploring the life and work of Wilhelm Reich.-Narrative and documentary elements:The film intercuts documentary footage with,...
(1971, starring Milena Dravić
Milena Dravic
Milena Dravić is a Serbian actress.Born in Belgrade, Dravić was involved with the performing arts from the age of four: first with dance and later classical ballet...
, Jagoda Kaloper
Jagoda Kaloper
Jagoda Kaloper is a Croatian painter and actress famous for groundbreaking roles in classic films in the former Yugoslav cinema.-Biography:...
, and Ivica Vidović
Ivica Vidovic
Ivica Vidović was a Croatian and Yugoslav actor who appeared in many classic films in the cinematic output of the former Yugoslavia....
) was banned in Yugoslavia due to sexual-political content and resulted in Makavejev's exile from the country, which ended in 1988. Sweet Movie
Sweet Movie
Sweet Movie is a film by the Yugoslavian director Dušan Makavejev. The film follows two women: a Canadian beauty queen, who represents a modern commodity culture, and a captain aboard a ship laden with candy and sugar, who is a failed communist revolutionary. Director of photography is Pierre Lhomme...
, with its explicit depictions of sex and urination also relegated the film to Art house audiences and has been banned in several places. There was a span of seven years before he released his next film, Montenegro
Montenegro (film)
Montenegro also known as Montenegro - Or Pigs and Pearls is a Swedish black comedy film by Yugoslav director Dušan Makavejev.-Plot:Marianne Faithfull sings "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" over the opening credit sequence....
. It was a successful (and more conventional) black comedy. The Coca-Cola Kid, set in Australia, is perhaps his most accessible picture, featuring performances by Eric Roberts
Eric Roberts
Eric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
and Greta Scacchi
Greta Scacchi
Greta Scacchi is an Italian-Australian actor.-Early life:Scacchi was born Greta Gracco in Milan, Italy, on 18 February 1960, the daughter of Luca Scacchi Gracco, an Italian art dealer and painter, and Pamela Carsaniga, an English dancer and antiques dealer...
.
He also appeared as one of the narrators in the film Zabranjeni bez zabrane (Banned without being banned) which shows a profound insight into the history of Yugoslav cinema through censorship, and which asks how famous anti-communist movies from Yugoslavia succeeded in being made, as well as considering their consequences. The film contains original interviews with the most important dissident filmmakers from the communist era.
Filmography
Makevejev directed the following movies:- Man is Not a Bird (1965), writer
- Love Affair, or the Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator (1967), writer
- Innocence UnprotectedInnocence UnprotectedInnocence Unprotected is a compilation film by Yugoslavian director Dušan Makavejev. Makavejev's film is based on a 1941 film Nevinost bez zaštite in Serbia by Dragoljub Aleksić that was never released...
(1968), writer - W.R.: Mysteries of the OrganismW.R.: Mysteries of the OrganismW.R.: Mysteries of the Organism is a 1971 film by Yugoslav director Dušan Makavejev that explores the relationship between communist politics and sexuality, as well as exploring the life and work of Wilhelm Reich.-Narrative and documentary elements:The film intercuts documentary footage with,...
(1971), writer - Sweet MovieSweet MovieSweet Movie is a film by the Yugoslavian director Dušan Makavejev. The film follows two women: a Canadian beauty queen, who represents a modern commodity culture, and a captain aboard a ship laden with candy and sugar, who is a failed communist revolutionary. Director of photography is Pierre Lhomme...
(1974), writer - MontenegroMontenegro (film)Montenegro also known as Montenegro - Or Pigs and Pearls is a Swedish black comedy film by Yugoslav director Dušan Makavejev.-Plot:Marianne Faithfull sings "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" over the opening credit sequence....
(1981), writer - The Coca-Cola KidThe Coca-Cola KidThe Coca Cola Kid is a romantic comedy Australian film, released in 1985. It was directed by Dušan Makavejev and starred Eric Roberts and Greta Scacchi. The film is based on short stories in The Americans, Baby, and The Electrical Experience by Frank Moorhouse, who wrote the screenplay...
(1985) - ManifestoManifesto (film)Manifesto is a 1988 American comedy drama film directed by Dusan Makavejev and starring Camilla Søeberg, Alfred Molina and Simon Callow. It is based on the novel Pour une nuit d'amour by Émile Zola...
(1988), writer - Gorilla Bathes at Noon (1993), writer
- Hole in the Soul (1994)
- Danish Girls Show Everything (1996) "Dream" segment
External links
- Dušan Makavejev biography
- Interview - a HungarianHungarian languageHungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
interview. - English-language interview (2000)
- Goran Markovic Горан Марковиќ "Dušan Makavejev or a Free Man" (in Serbian)
- Critical Review
- A photograph of Dusan Makavejev: http://www.filmreference.com/images/sjff_02_img0759.jpg
- Man Is Not a Bird (TCM Movie Morlocks)
- Literature on Dusan Makavejev