Zoran Radmilović

Zoran Radmilović

Born: May 11, 1933
Died: July 21, 1985
in Zaječar, Serbia
Zoran Radmilović was a Serbian actor, beloved for some of the most memorable roles in the history of former Yugoslav cinema.

He studied law, architecture and philology at the University of Belgrade, only to discover acting as his true calling. After graduating at Drama Arts Academy he joined Beogradsko dramsko pozorište (Belgrade Drama Theatre). In 1968 he joined Atelje 212 Theatre, where he became famous for his role of Kralj Ibi (King Ubu), during which he showed great improvisational ability.

He preferred theatre to film and television, but he nevertheless managed to give memorable performances. International audiences know him best for his role in 1971 cult film WR: Mysteries of the Organism. Audiences in former Yugoslavia know him best for his roles of Bili Piton in 1982 cult comedy The Marathon Family and Radovan Treći in Dušan Kovačević's play with the same name Radovan Treći (Radovan III).

One of his last roles was in 1985 film When Father Was Away on Business, in which he appeared together with Slobodan Aligrudić. He died shortly after the film won Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and Aligrudić died shortly after him, leading many film critics of former Yugoslavia to state that "heaven had received a huge boost".

Movies for Zoran Radmilović...

One Hell of an Actor
Title: One Hell of an Actor
Character: Himself (archive footage)
Released: November 1, 2021
Type: Movie
Friends and colleagues talk about the life and work of Zoran Radmilovic (1933-1985), one of the best Serbian actors of all time.
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Hotshot
Title: Hotshot
Character: Čika Dača
Released: July 25, 1986
Type: Movie
A story of a young man from the suburb, who gets his experience on the street and in bars. His girlfriend belongs to the same environment. When he goes to army, she tries to get away, giving the only thing she has - her good looks. She poses nude for some magazine. Seeing that photo, the young man escapes from the army, demanding an explanation. His return to a place where he once belonged, causes questioning of himself, discussions with so-called friends, and finally with the girl...
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Title: Stories from the Factory
Character: Dr. Pjevalica
Released: September 22, 1985
Type: TV
Works and private lives of 800 female employees in the textile factory named "Star".
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Holding the Air
Title: Holding the Air
Character: Svetlanin stric
Released: June 7, 1985
Type: Movie
The story of a war-orphan, who remembers first post-war days, his stay in Home for war-orphans, his teachers, friends, and mostly his "only brother".
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When Father Was Away on Business
Title: When Father Was Away on Business
Character: Brko Pilot
Released: January 15, 1985
Type: Movie
Tito's break-up with Stalin in 1948 marked the beginning of not only confusing, but also very dangerous years for many hard-core Yugoslav communists. A careless remark about the newspaper cartoon is enough for Mesha to join many arrested unfortunates. His family is now forced to cope with the situation and wait for his release from prison.
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The Damned Yard
Title: The Damned Yard
Character: Latifaga 'Karađoz', upravnik Avlije
Released: December 17, 1984
Type: Movie
Bosnian Franciscan monk is put into an infamous prison in Istanbul. There he witnesses the sad destiny of a young Ottoman scholar.
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Sugar Water
Title: Sugar Water
Character: Dr Dragović
Released: December 18, 1983
Type: Movie
Unsatisfied with her looks and lack of sexual experience, a girl nicknamed Tomboy decides to subject herself under nose surgery. Her best friend begins to observe her from different point of view.
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Radovan the Third
Title: Radovan the Third
Character: Radovan III
Released: March 25, 1983
Type: Movie
A war between two families, who live in the same building.
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The Last Oasis
Title: The Last Oasis
Character: Narrator
Released: January 1, 1983
Type: Movie
A documentary which takes artistic approach in presenting the untouched environment between the rivers of Danube and Drava in Yugoslavia. This strange world, in which the laws of nature incredibly resemble to those of humans, regenerates itself and lives on despite destruction.
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Title: Skins
Character: Advokat dr. Zacic
Released: November 14, 1982
Type: TV
Very popular TV series describing life in the Bosnian small town called Stavnik at the time of World War I until the end of World War II. The main character is Adem Cabric, disbanded soldier who gets a job in Stavnik as a worker in the tanner store of old master Arif Zejnilovic. Adem has proven himself a skillful trader, eventually getting married master Zejnilovic's deaf-mute heiress daughter Safija. Original title: KOŽE
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The Marathon Family
Title: The Marathon Family
Character: Bili Piton
Released: March 4, 1982
Type: Movie
The Topalović family has been in the burial business for generations. When the 150-year-old Pantelija dies, five generations of his heirs start to fight for the inheritance.
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Title: Stories from the Workshop
Character: Života Govedarević
Released: January 6, 1982
Type: TV
Dealing with his customers with an open heart a car mechanic named Života goes through many adventures. Some are funny, some are sad, some reveal the beauty and other human misery. (Six episodes in total)
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Sixth Gear
Title: Sixth Gear
Character: Života Govedarević
Released: July 3, 1981
Type: Movie
Dealing with his customers with open heart, a car mechanic named Života goes through many adventures. Some are funny, some are sad, some reveal beauty and other human misery. In the end he gets tangled up himself, and not without bitterness he tries to change his ways, to become like his rival across the street which has adapted to modern times: strictly business. But, people who come to him need him just the way he is.
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Broad Are the Leaves
Title: Broad Are the Leaves
Character: Milan
Released: April 2, 1981
Type: Movie
The action takes place in 1943 and today, and a Partisan school in Srem is in the center of action. A young journalist gets appointed to shoot a film report about the participants in the Liberation War from this area. In Srem village she meets common, simple people. She discovers that a free territory and a Partisan school was there. She also finds out that everybody acted as one. Deply going through all of those events, young reporter grows mature, identifying herself with the revolution participants.
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Handymen, Handymen
Title: Handymen, Handymen
Character: Sava
Released: October 27, 1980
Type: Movie
The staff of elementary school prepare the retirement party for their cleaning woman. The complicated relations within the school will emerge to the surface on the same night.
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Happy Family
Title: Happy Family
Character: Ujak
Released: February 27, 1980
Type: Movie
Lively, modern comedy around the escapades and relationships of a well-to-do family.
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What a Day!
Title: What a Day!
Character: Strogi komšija
Released: November 26, 1979
Type: Movie
Zoran leads a quiet family life with his wife, a primary school teacher Ana, their son, and Ana’s brother. Zoran works as a clerk and has a great desire to attend a symposium in Dubrovnik, but the manager will not sign the travel order.
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Radio Whirlwind Calls Andjelija
Title: Radio Whirlwind Calls Andjelija
Character: Inženjer
Released: January 1, 1979
Type: Movie
The phenomenon of tourism arrives to a remote village. A married couple sells their property to open a motel, which would be a starting point for their daughter Andjelija's singing career. The local radio-amateur (and Andjelija's boyfriend) helps them to achieve these goals, but Andjelija is more interested in her love life than her career.
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Burning
Title: Burning
Character: Fra Grga
Released: January 1, 1979
Type: Movie
Small village farmers grow tobacco which they are forced to sell to the government for next-to-nothing prices. This repeats with Italians during the WW2, and with the communists after the war. Boiling point is getting high.
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Looking Into the Night
Title: Looking Into the Night
Character: Ivan (segment "Koma")
Released: March 9, 1978
Type: Movie
The common motif of two stories is love and death. In the first story, a drama of love and adultery takes place with a tragic ending. In the second story, the environment of hospital asylum and the constant presence of death makes two diabetics carefully watching over an unknown man in coma.
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Ward Six
Title: Ward Six
Character: Ivan Dmitrič Gromov
Released: January 1, 1978
Type: Movie
A doctor from provincial town in Tsardom of Russia meets his former student in Ward 6, where the story takes place. Impressed by his rebellious spirit and clever remarks, he tends to spend more time with him while also indulging in meditation, only to be ridiculed by his fellow colleagues. Based on a Chekhov's work of the same title.
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The Grump
Title: The Grump
Released: July 9, 1976
Type: Movie
The man who was fighting fire is being forcibly sent to seaside hotel to recover, where he spends time with other guests who came there for group holiday. He rejects their company claiming that they live by established norms, but they reject him as well 'cause they think he's no different at all.
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Stardust
Title: Stardust
Character: Marko
Released: June 11, 1976
Type: Movie
A comedy about divorce, Balkan style. Marko and Jelena are separating from their spouses so that they can get married. When they do, they realize that they made a mistake, so they meet secretly with their former companions.
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More Than a Game
Title: More Than a Game
Character: Miša Šljivić
Released: March 20, 1976
Type: Movie
Popular TV series has been reedited into a theatrical film with additional material that has not been seen on TV before. The film is a homage to the legends of the Yugoslav theater, some of whom are no longer alive. The story takes place in the town for ten years from 1931 to 1941 and shows the conflict of progressive and humane ideas with fascism. A film made from the TV series of the same name (nine episodes) realized in 1976 and shown in 1977.
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Death Fury
Title: Death Fury
Character: Načelnik opštine
Released: January 1, 1975
Type: Movie
A woman who killed her husband by accident comes out of prison after sixteen years to meet with her two children at municipality office. Before children's arrival, she recalls her supposedly happy marriage that turned into a nightmare when her husband's brother came back from Germany and begun to influence her husband in a bad way.
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The Wooden Coffin of Thomas Wolfe
Title: The Wooden Coffin of Thomas Wolfe
Character: Jakov
Released: October 26, 1974
Type: Movie
Two characters spend days in over-questioning themselves and arguing about the first and last matters of ephemeral human existence.
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Title: More Than a Game
Character: Mihajlo 'Miša' Šljivić
Released: April 17, 1974
Type: TV
The story follows a ten-year period before WW2 in a fictional town of Gradina, Serbia and its residents, which went through the turbulent events like the Great Depression and the rise of fascism. But the most important segment of the story revolves around rivalry between two city's football clubs - Radnicki and Gradjanski.
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Ward Six
Title: Ward Six
Character: Ivan Dmitrič Gromov
Released: January 1, 1973
Type: Movie
A study of the mental breakdown of a doctor in a remote rural village. He believes himself intellectually superior to everyone except for a political prisoner in a mental ward. This is a metaphor on life under repressive governments, conformity versus individual expression.
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King Ubu
Title: King Ubu
Character: Otac Ibi
Released: January 1, 1973
Type: Movie
Primitive, cowardly, greedy and fame seeking father Ubu, persuaded by his wife, mother Ubu, kills the honorable king Wenceslas and his family. This makes Ubu king of Poland. In the beginning he is popular and showers his subjects with gold coins. But, later on he brings on himself peoples rage when he decides to kill all the noblemen and officials and introduces unreasonable taxes. Russian czar Aleksey starts a military campaign against the bloody despot Ibi. After a defeat, Ubu and his wife escape to France.
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WR: Mysteries of the Organism
Title: WR: Mysteries of the Organism
Character: Radmilović
Released: May 10, 1971
Type: Movie
What does the energy harnessed through orgasm have to do with the state of communist Yugoslavia circa 1971? Only counterculture filmmaker extraordinaire Dušan Makavejev has the answers (or the questions). His surreal documentary-fiction collision WR: Mysteries of the Organism begins as an investigation into the life and work of controversial psychologist and philosopher Wilhelm Reich and then explodes into a free-form narrative of a beautiful young Slavic girl’s sexual liberation.
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Uncle Vanya
Title: Uncle Vanya
Character: Ivan 'Vanja' Vojnički, Marijin sin
Released: June 10, 1970
Type: Movie
A retired professor returns to his estate with his beautiful young wife Yelena. The estate originally belonged to his now-deceased first wife; her mother and brother still live there and manage the farm. For many years the brother (Uncle Vanya) has sent the farm's proceeds to the professor, while receiving only a small salary himself. The professor's daughter Sonya, who is about the same age as his new wife, also lives on the estate. The professor is pompous, vain, and irritable, and calls Dr. Astrov to treat his gout, then sends him away without seeing him. Astrov is an experienced physician who performs his job conscientiously, but has lost all idealism and spends much of his time drinking. Yelena's presence introduces a bit of sexual tension into the household: Astrov and Uncle Vanya fall in love with her and she spurns them both.
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The Great Day
Title: The Great Day
Character: Boško
Released: July 24, 1969
Type: Movie
Tragi-comedy about a man who, overnight, becomes rich by winning a lottery.
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Frame for the Picture of My Beloved One
Title: Frame for the Picture of My Beloved One
Character: Nikola
Released: January 1, 1968
Type: Movie
Five boys befriend a young loner who becomes their teacher of the adult world.
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Clay Pigeon
Title: Clay Pigeon
Character: Predrag
Released: July 17, 1966
Type: Movie
The martyrdom of two workers who fall into the hands of the Gestapo during the occupation of Sarajevo.
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The Bitter Part of River
Title: The Bitter Part of River
Character: Doktor
Released: July 15, 1965
Type: Movie
While trying to push away a little boy who keeps coming near his cottage at the river, a whimsical mayor meets boy's mother. These people find hard to make contacts because of their own troublemarks from the past, even though they know that the common effort is needed for the future and survival.
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March on the River Drina
Title: March on the River Drina
Character: Petrović, kockar
Released: July 17, 1964
Type: Movie
A Serbian artillery battery of the Combined Division makes a forced march to the Cer Mountain in western Serbia to meet Austro-Hungarian troops, who have invaded the country by crossing over the Drina River. A chronicle of the Battle of Cer; a landmark battle of World War I and the first Allied victory over the Central Powers.
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The Real State of Affairs
Title: The Real State of Affairs
Character: Milan, novinar
Released: January 1, 1964
Type: Movie
A young married man goes into the army and when he comes back finds out that his wife has gone off with another man.
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Strange Girl
Title: Strange Girl
Character: Peđa
Released: February 17, 1962
Type: Movie
Minja, a 19-year-old girl leaves her provincial town after her affair with the professor of drawing in order to avoid the scandal. In the big city, she meets Nenad and changes under the influence of love.
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Title: Svetozar Markovic
Character: Ilija Garašanin
Released: December 31, 1969
Type: TV
A biopic of an influential Serbian political activist, literary critic and philosopher. Svetozar Markovic developed an activist anthropological philosophy with a definite program of social change, which set foundations for socialist ideals in his homeland.