Criterion restores a cornerstone of the Czech New Wave with Juraj Herz’s classic The Cremator, a chilly dark comedy set in 1930s Prague which features a morbid, fanatical crematorium manager who embraces the rise of Nazism. Featuring an eerie performance from Rudolf Hrusinsky, its paralleling of totalitarian ideology aligns with the rising nationalistic fervor spanning the globe today.
Shot and edited with striking, idiosyncratic frames by editor Jaromir Janacek and cinematographer Stanislav Milota, it’s an exercise in elegant morbidity, a Kafkaesque classic on the cyclical formations of dangerous regimes.
Based on a novel by Ladislav Fuks, crematorium manager Karel Kopfrkingl (Hrusinsky) finds himself swept up by the radicalization beginning to sweep Europe.…...
Shot and edited with striking, idiosyncratic frames by editor Jaromir Janacek and cinematographer Stanislav Milota, it’s an exercise in elegant morbidity, a Kafkaesque classic on the cyclical formations of dangerous regimes.
Based on a novel by Ladislav Fuks, crematorium manager Karel Kopfrkingl (Hrusinsky) finds himself swept up by the radicalization beginning to sweep Europe.…...
- 5/12/2020
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Horror films aren’t only about vampires and goblins — Czech director Juraj Herz’s mind-chilling study of a Fascist opportunist communicates truths about aberrant psychology and Fascists, that audiences would never read in print. A bourgeois burner of cadavers leverages his Reich-useful trade into his own little warped empire of evil. Karl Kopfringl’s modus operandi hardly needs to change, to conform to Nazi standards — the elitist hypocrite already has both his family and employees passively accepting his sick ideas about cremation as the solution to all human ills. Cinematically brilliant, this late picture from the Czech New Wave is one of the best movies ever about conformists, collaborators, and assorted other ghouls.
The Cremator
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1023
1969 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen / 100 min. / Spalovač mrtvol / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date April 21, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Rudolf Hrusínský, Vlasta Chramostová, Jana Stehnová, Miloš Vognič, Zora Božinavá.
Cinematography: Stanislav Milota
Film Editor:...
The Cremator
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 1023
1969 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen / 100 min. / Spalovač mrtvol / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date April 21, 2020 / 39.95
Starring: Rudolf Hrusínský, Vlasta Chramostová, Jana Stehnová, Miloš Vognič, Zora Božinavá.
Cinematography: Stanislav Milota
Film Editor:...
- 4/28/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
For the most part, films take many years to create, marinate, produce, and release upon the world, in varying steps. Filmed in 1968 and released in 1970, The Cremator was Czechoslovakia's submission to the 1970 Academy Awards (Foreign Film) before winning Best Film, Best Actor, and Best Cinematography at Sitges in 1972. This film was adaptated from the novel of the same title by Ladislav Fuks. A bit more background, which may help one understand this film: The Cremator was helmed by Czech New Wave director Juraj Herz, who was a Holocaust survivor. The film itself centers on the... antihero and titular cremator, Kopfrkingl (Rudolf Hrusinsky,...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 4/17/2020
- Screen Anarchy
Year: 1969
Directors: Juraj Herz
Writers: Juraj Herz & Ladislav Fuks
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: quietearth
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
The Cremator is not for your average horror fan. It's for cinephiles and those who love weird films as it doesn't fit into the horror category directly, it takes a much longer and more existential route. First appearances belie the very nature of the film, that our very creepy main character Kopfrkingl has something going on right from the beginning, and he may, but not in the way that is obliquely suggested. For the long ride taken with Kopfrkingl and the countless devious deviations, this film works out like a cross between Hitchcock and the kind of Twilight Zone they wouldn't let Rod Serling air. It's a little hard to follow and confusing at points, but if you pay attention and are patient, you will be rewarded.
I say the film is confusing for many reasons,...
Directors: Juraj Herz
Writers: Juraj Herz & Ladislav Fuks
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: quietearth
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
The Cremator is not for your average horror fan. It's for cinephiles and those who love weird films as it doesn't fit into the horror category directly, it takes a much longer and more existential route. First appearances belie the very nature of the film, that our very creepy main character Kopfrkingl has something going on right from the beginning, and he may, but not in the way that is obliquely suggested. For the long ride taken with Kopfrkingl and the countless devious deviations, this film works out like a cross between Hitchcock and the kind of Twilight Zone they wouldn't let Rod Serling air. It's a little hard to follow and confusing at points, but if you pay attention and are patient, you will be rewarded.
I say the film is confusing for many reasons,...
- 3/31/2009
- QuietEarth.us
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