The Cremator (1969)
March 14, 1969Release Date
The Cremator (1969)
March 14, 1969Release Date
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Currently The Cremator is available for streaming online, rent, buy or watch for free on: Criterion Channel, Apple TV
Streaming in:🇺🇸 United States
Cast & Crew.
Rudolf Hrušínský
Karel Kopfrkingl
Vlasta Chramostová
Lakmé / Dagmar
Jana Stehnová
Zina
Miloš Vognič
Mili
Ilja Prachař
Walter Reinke
Zora Božinová
Reinkeová
Eduard Kohout
Bettleheim
Jiří Lír
Strauss
Dimitri Rafalsky
Fenek
Jan Vlček
Vrána
Václav Halama
Pelikán
Jiří Hálek
Rámar Holý
Václav Kotva
Josífek Zajíc
Míla Myslíková
Silly Woman
Vladimír Menšík
Silly Woman's Husband
Jiří Menzel
Dvorak
Václav Štekl
Musician / Box Referee / Panopticon Owner
Nataša Gollová
Madam in the Massage Parlor
Jindřich Narenta
Nazi in Smoking Suit
Helena Anýžová
Pale Girl
Jana Šulcová
Blushing Girl
Jan Řeřicha
The Bachelor of the Unruly Girl
Oldřich Vízner
Kája
Carmen Mayerová
Lisková
Libuše Pešková
Podzimková
Růžena Vlčková
Anezka
Marie Rosůlková
Woman Demanding a Casket
Věra Vlčková
Prostitute
Rudolf Iltis
Stein
František Kubíček
Beran
Erich Fichtner
Crematory Manager
Jiřina Bílá
Pracharova (uncredited)
Jan Kraus
Vojtík Prachar
Josef Kemr
Fenek (voice)
Jiří Němeček
Nazi in Smoking Suit
Vladimír Čech
Crematory Manager (voice)
Juraj Herz
Director / Screenplay
Květa Lehovcová
First Assistant Director
Vladimír Blažek
First Assistant Director
Věra Vláčilová
Script
Věra Kalábová
Dramaturgy
Josef Kraus
Assistant Production Design
František Straka
Property Master
Bedřich Čermák
Props
Karel Kytka
Props
Marie Knotková
Costumer
František Čížek
Makeup & Hair
Václav Volk
Makeup & Hair
Zdena Prchlíková
Makeup & Hair
Ladislava Klusáčková
Assistant Editor
Karel Jakl
Sound Recordist
Antonín Dimitrov
Title Designer
Jaromír Lukáš
Unit Production Manager
Anna Proboštová
Assistant Production Manager
Jitka Přibylová
Clapper Loader
Pavel Brodil
Gaffer
Karel Ješátko
Still Photographer
Zdeněk Liška
Original Music Composer
František Belfín
Conductor
Vladimír Bor
Creative Producer
Jiří Šebor
Executive Producer
Ladislav Fuks
Novel / Screenplay
Stanislav Milota
Director of Photography
Jaromír Janáček
Editor
Zbyněk Hloch
Production Design
Ladislav Hanuš
Production Manager
František Černý
Sound
Bohumil Rath
Camera Operator
Olga Dimitrovová
Costume Design
Miloslava Šmídová
Costumer
H. Troníčková
A. Řezníčková
I. Kučerová
M. Šotolová
J. Škrabanová
Miloslav Šindler
Z. Povolná
S. Študentová
L. Geussová
H. Schlechtrová
Zdeněk Šmidrkal
František Poláček
V. Kebrt
M. Bohatová
M. Smolová
H. Sládková
C. Zeyerová
V. Handlová
M. Janoušková
Vl. Grygar
Helena Kotoučová
Radomír Hubáček
Unit Production Manager
František Häusler
J. Zeman
M. Mach
J. Lebeda
I. Svobodová
M. Jílková
Yvona Odehnalová
Eva Ulincová
J. Krupička
Václav Vodák
Jaroslav Toms
M. Baumrukerová
Alena Balejová
B. Mandausová
Josef Střecha
Alfred Růžička
H. Absolonová
S. Brabcová
E. Brázdová
E. Šumberová
Media.
Details.
Release DateMarch 14, 1969
Original NameSpalovač mrtvol
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 41m
Genres
Last updated:
This Movie Is About.
Wiki.
The Cremator (Czech: Spalovač mrtvol) is a 1969 Czechoslovak dark comedy horror film directed by Juraj Herz, based on a novel by Ladislav Fuks. The screenplay was written by Herz and Fuks. The film was selected as the Czechoslovakian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 42nd Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee. In 1972, it won the Festival de Cine de Sitges Best Film award, where it also received awards for its star Rudolf Hrušínský and cinematographer Stanislav Milota.
Set in 1930s Prague, Karel Kopfrkingl slowly devolves from an odd but relatively well-meaning cremator of the dead into a murderer of his family and mass murderer who proposes to run the ovens at extermination camps due to the influence of the Nazi party and Tibetan Buddhism, as he believes his murders are "liberating" the souls of the deceased into a better life. The film consists mostly of monologues from Kopfrkingl that follow his descent into madness. Influenced by German Expressionist film, it is often cited as an example of the Czechoslovak New Wave. The film was withdrawn from circulation in 1973 and not seen again until 1990, after the collapse of the communist system in Czechoslovakia in 1989.
With a 90.2% score on the Czech and Slovak Movie Database as well as praise from film critics, The Cremator is often considered to be one of the best films ever made in Czechoslovakia. It has also gathered a prominent cult following.