The Cremator
(1969)
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The Cremator
(1969)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Rudolf Hrusínský | ... |
Kopfrkingl
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Vlasta Chramostová | ... |
Lakmé /
Dagmar
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Jana Stehnová | ... |
Zina
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Milos Vognic | ... |
Mili
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Zora Bozinová | ... |
Reinkeová
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Ilja Prachar | ... |
Walter Reinke
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Eduard Kohout | ... |
Bettleheim
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Jirí Menzel | ... |
Dvorák
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Míla Myslíková | ... |
Hloupá zena
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Vladimír Mensík | ... |
Manzel hloupé zeny
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Jirí Lír | ... |
Strauss
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Václav Stekl | ... |
Hudebník /
rozhodcí boxu /
majitel panoptika
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Helena Anýzová | ... |
Bledá dívka
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Jindrich Narenta | ... |
Nacista ve smokingu
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Marie Rosulková | ... |
Zena dozadující se rakvicky
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Kopfrkingl enjoys his job at a crematorium in Czechoslovakia in the late 1930s. He likes reading the Tibetan book of the dead, and espouses the view that cremation relieves earthly suffering. At a reception, he meets Reineke, with whom he fought for Austria in the first World War. Reineke convinces Kopfrkingl to emphasize his supposedly German heritage, including sending his timid son to the German school. Reineke then suggests that Kopfrkingl's half-Jewish wife is holding back his advancement in his job. Written by Will Gilbert
This film is hypnotic. The soothing voice of the lead character, coming out of his cherubic always sweetly smiling face, almost lulls the viewer into a serene calm--if not for the fact that we know in our guts that this is the calm a cobra induces in its prey before the kill. This is, after all, Czechoslovakia on the eve of being taken over by Hitler, and the main character runs a crematorium. We know what is coming next. And yet, we cannot take our eyes from the screen; we are filled with foreboding.
Like the best of Fellini, the director, Juraj Herz, frames virtually every scene perfectly; a collection of stills taken from this black-and-white masterpiece could fill a photographic art gallery with a distinguished collection indeed.
How could the holocaust ever have happened in the middle of the most "civilized" culture in the world, the cradle of elegant music? How could rational "civilized" human beings have abetted this monstrosity? This film provides a fable that can help us answer these most important questions. But do not think this movie is some boring treatise on the banal roots of evil. It is a very entertaining horror film that will keep you spellbound.