#1023: HERZ, Juraj: The Cremator (1969)

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HERZ, Juraj (Czechoslavakia)
The Cremator [1969]
Spine #1023
Blu-ray


Czechslovak New Wave iconoclast Juraj Herz's terrifying, darkly comic vision of the horrors of totalitarian ideologies stars a supremely chilling Rudolf Hrušínský as the pathologically morbid Karel Kopfrkingl, a crematorium manager in 1930s Prague who believes fervently that death offers the only true relief from human suffering. When he is recruited by the Nazis, Kopfrkingl's increasingly deranged worldview drives him to formulate his own shocking final solution. Blending the blackest of gallows humor with disorienting expressionistic flourishes — queasy point-of-view cuts — the controversial, long-banned masterpiece The Cremator is one of cinema's most trenchant and disturbing portraits of the banality of evil.

100 minutes
Black & White
Monaural
in Czech
1:66:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2020
Director/Writers


Based on the novel by Ladislav Fuks.
Screenplay by Fuks and Juraj Herz.
Herz was 35 when he directed The Cremator.

The Film

A

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

 The Booklet

Twelve-page wraparound featuring an essay by film scholar Jonathan Owen.

Commentary

None.

High-definition digital transfer

Of The Junk Shop, director Herz’s 1965 debut short film.

Short documentary

From 2011 featuring Herz visiting filming locations and recalling the production of The Cremator.

Interview

With film programmer Irena Kovarova about the style of the film.

Documentary

From 2017 about composer Zdenêk Liška featuring Herz, filmmakers Jan Švankmajer and the Quay Brothers, and others.

Interview

With actor Hrušínsky from 1993.

Trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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