10. Juraj Herz: The Cremator (Spalovač mrtvol, 1968)



Screenplay: Ladislav Fuks and Juraj Herz, based on a book of the same name. Director of
photography: Stanislav Milota. Music: Zdeněk Liška Set designer: Zbyněk Hloch. Cast: Rudolf
Hrušínský (Kopfrkingl), Vlasta Charmostová (Lakmé), Jana Stehnová (Zina), Miloš Vognič (Mili), Ilja
Prachař (Reinke), Vladimír Menšík, Jiří Menzel. 95 min.


The masterpiece of Gothic director Juraj Herz is a black horror comedy, inspired by a novel of
Ladislav Fuks. The great Czech actor Rudolf Hrušínsky shines as Kopfrkingl, a crematorium operator
who becomes unhinged by ambition, the corrupting influence of National Socialist ideology, and a
delusional vision of a better future through more efficient crematoria.

„I heard about a book with an interesting title, Spalovač mrtvol, written by Ladislav Fuks. So I
read it and I was actually disappointed. But I arranged a meeting with Fuks anyway, and we worked
on the script for about two years. During shooting, it became clear that this was a unique chance
which wouldn't come again. It was in 1968, and I had absolute liberty in my work. I could film
whatever I wanted to. In Spalovač mrtvol, I was fascinated by the humor. I went to various
projections of the film in many different countries, from the Netherlands to Naples, and I was keen
to see how the reactions of the audience were completely different in every country. In Prague,
people were depressed; in Slovakia, they laughed; in the Netherlands, it was a comedy from the
beginning to the end; in Italy, the spectators went from the cinema right to the bar because
cremation is just impossible, awful and unacceptable in their country. When I was working on
Spalovač I knew that it was the right way, it is my feel for humor, my feel for something that
could be called a horror humor, even if I don't take Spalovač as a pure horror film: I think it is
more a psychological thriller or psychological horror.“

Juraj Herz, interview (Ivana Košuličová: “Drowning the bad times”, Kinoeye, Vol 2, Issue 1, 7
January 2002:  http://www.kinoeye.org/02/01/kosulicova01.php).


Assigned reading:


Hames, Peter. The Czechoslovak New Wave. “Juraj Herz.”