Spalovac mrtvol (1969)

Set in World War II, a demented cremator believes cremation relieves earthly suffering and sets out to save the world.

Director:

Juraj Herz

Writers:

Ladislav Fuks (novel), Ladislav Fuks (screenplay)

Stars:

Rudolf Hrusínský, Vlasta Chramostová, Jana Stehnová

3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rudolf Hrusínský	...	Kopfrkingl
Vlasta Chramostová	...	Lakmé / Dagmar
Jana Stehnová	...	Zina
Milos Vognic	...	Mili
Zora Bozinová	...	Reinkeová
Ilja Prachar	...	Walter Reinke
Eduard Kohout	...	Bettleheim
Jirí Menzel	...	Dvorák
Míla Myslíková	...	Hloupá zena
Vladimír Mensík	...	Manzel hloupé zeny
Jirí Lír	...	Strauss
Václav Stekl	...	Hudebník / rozhodcí boxu / majitel panoptika
Helena Anýzová	...	Bledá dívka
Jindrich Narenta	...	Nacista ve smokingu
Marie Rosulková	...	Zena dozadující se rakvicky

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

1930s | cult film | anti semitism | surrealism | black comedy | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Details

Country:

Czechoslovakia

Language:

Czech

Release Date:

14 March 1969 (Czechoslovakia)

Also Known As:

The Cremator

Filming Locations:

Pardubice, Czech Republic

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmové studio Barrandov,Sebor

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Czechoslovakia's official submission to 42nd Academy Award's Foreign Language in 1970.

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Goofs

Interiors, fashion and hairstyle are in some cases obviously from the sixties...

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Quotes

[first lines]
Kopfrkingl: My sweet. This is the blessed spot where we met 17 years ago. Only the leopard is new. Kind nature long ago relieved the other of his shackles. You see, dear, I keep talking of nature's benevolence, of merciful fate, of the kindness of God. We judge and criticize others, rebuke them. But what about ourselves? I always have the feeling that I do so little for you.

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Connections

Referenced in Death of a Shadow (2012)

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Soundtracks

New World Symphony Op. 95 - Largo
Composed by Antonín Dvorák

User Reviews

Czech New Wave Grotesque

In contrast to most other reviewers the film worked not very well for me. Probably because I watched it only for educational reasons not because I have a liking for this kind of films. So anybody interested in this kind of film should take my reactions as one of the uninitiated.

I think "The Cremator (1968)" is a very black comedy with some weak horror elements (there are no shock elements but some genre situations generating a very slight nightmare feeling). The humour is of a kind about which I cannot laugh. Others obviously can. It is a grotesque more than anything else.

Acting is a lot more unconvincing for me than in "Man of Straw (1951)" or "Vital (2004)" {films I felt reminded of}; the film obviously plays in the late sixties (inferred from female make-up and the whole feeling) though it is meant to play in the 1930s. Also in this respect "Man of Straw" is far more convincing. I liked some of the visualisations and some script ideas of "The Cremator" (for instance the protagonist's love for the Tibetan Book of Dead and Tibetan Lamaism).

In comparison with the rather good "Vital (2004)" by Shin'ya Tsukamoto the Czech film feels much weaker to me (in atmosphere, characterisation, direction) and less well constructed. It's for certain not a bad film, but also nothing I would recommend with conviction. Thus it gets 6/10 from me.