The Cremator



Juraj Herz's film The Cremator has been described in many ways - as surrealist-inspired horror, as expressionist fantasy, as a dark and disturbing tale of terror.

This brilliantly chilling film, a mix of Dr Strangelove and Repulsion, is set in Prague during the Nazi occupation. It tells the story of Karl Kopfrkingl (Rudolf Hrusínský), a professional cremator, for whom the political climate allows free rein to his increasingly deranged impulses for the 'salvation of the world'.

Special Features

• Newly filmed introduction by the Quay Brothers
• New digital transfer with restored image and sound.
• Anamorphic 16:9 enhanced for widescreen televisions.
• New and improved English subtitle translation.
• Optimal quality dual-layer disc.
• Booklet featuring a new essay on the film and Juraj Herz by writer/producer Daniel Bird.

An interesting study of madness with overtones of both a racial and political nature mixed throughout set in the late 1930s. In many ways this is a still pertinent film (as are most of the Eastern European films of this period).

Watch for some masterful editing and an acting appearance from the director Jiri Menzel. A comic film despite its serious tone. This has been described by some as a black comedy. See it for yourself and make your own mind up. This is a clever, well photographed film.

The main actor played one of the three men in Menzel's 1967 film CAPRICIOUS SUMMER. [Please, please please Second Run: you must release this film as well.]

Hrusinsky is an axiom of the Czech New Wave, and this is his demented showcase. One of the weirder and wilder films of the sixties, with stunning cinematography and constantly inventive scene transitions. I'm thrilled this is coming out (actually I'm thrilled by all of the titles just announced), if only to see that creepy title sequence again - if it's not a freebie from Herz's mate Svankmajer, it's a fine pastiche.

More details on The Cremator:

The Cremator
(SpalovaÄ

Awesome! That makes perfect sense that the Quay Bros are fans of this movie.

Amazon now lists the special feature runtime as 12 minutes. They also have the cover art.

We have updated about The Cremator at our website:

http://www.secondrundvd.com/release_tc.php

Review from DVD Beaver:

http://www.reviews.dvdbeaver.com/film/D ... review.htm

I'm glad Gary liked it, but I'd like to note that his selection of captures doesn't give a good sense of the striking visual style of the film, with its creepy wide-angle distortions and disorienting transitions.

I can't wait to get my hands on this!

Don't forget the manic psychological editing sequences. The use and frequency of these sequences reminds me of SZINBAD [a 1971 Hungarian classic by Zoltan Husarick].

DVD Times review now up...

http://dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=61245

And, if you're in doubt over whether or not to buy this disc, the screen grabs in this review give a much better sense of its hallucinatory look.

Although I'm thrilled to have this film on DVD, I find the image only average, at times disappointing. First, there is an odd thin black line that runs across two-thirds of the bottom part of the screen. This is visible in DVDBeaver's screen caps, so I'm assuming this isn't my disc. But overll the image is incredibly soft, at times positively blurry. It looks like a VHS tape, quite frankly, though some of the close-ups show a little more clarity.

Great film and I'm very glad to own this disc. Just that I'm very much disappointed with the picture quality. It has terrible issues with sharpness as seen from this comparison (link taken from a poster from the DVDTimes review). I wonder why the huge difference when the source might be the same on these two discs.

http://dvdfreak.bloudil.cz/freak.php?p= ... rtvol&dz=0

My point exactly. Those comparisons are pretty revealing.
In fact, looking at these makes me think something went horribly wrong ith Second Run's transfer. I'll be ditching this one for the Czech release (anyone know where to buy it online?).

Folks,

we are talking to our production people about this. To be honest we knew the picture was a little soft in places but not bad enough to warrant a disclaimer. As far as we know nothing went 'horribly wrong' with the transfer - we went through our normal procedures - if it had we wouldn't have released the disc.

I'll report back with more news when I have it.

Interestingly a review at the Horror Channel comments very positively about the picture:

http://www.horrorchannel.com/index.php? ... ent&id=919

The picture looks fine on my set, but the captures do point to a loss of detail from the Czech version. It would have been nice to get those interviews from the same disc translated (would this have been possible?) It hasn't been brought up in this thread, but one of the reviewers of the Czech disc said on the dvdtimes page, previously linked, that the Czech disc's subs weren't all that great (which could be a deciding flaw... I'd rather have a barely noticable loss of image than mediocre subtitles, if I have to pick between evils).

The picture looks good on my (nothing special) equipment, though the occasional shot does look softer than those around it, but I assume this isn't a fault of the transfer.

I only looked at the first few minutes and a couple of scenes from halfway through, mind you.

Seeing the opening again was a blast. If any film stakes its claim to uniqueness in record time, it's this one. After the disquieting, virtuoso montage of the prologue and the disquieting-verging-on-distressing animation of the credits sequence, you feel completely disoriented: in Herz's hands, anything could happen (and pretty much does).

The Quay Brothers intro was enthusiastic rather than particularly enlightening (though seeing them together always seems like some elaborate special effect). I was surprised to discover that they only recently discovered the film, given their devotion to Svankmajer and evident familiarity with the Czech New Wave. It sort of reinforces the fragility of film history: canons are, first and foremost, composed of accessible films.

It also reinforces the value of what Second Run is doing, here and in the rest of their catalogue. I've made more major discoveries amongst their first year of releases than in Criterion's last three (fine though those releases have been).

anybody know how to reach dvdfreak? No email address on the site. Is he/she a member of this board? Hello? Hello?

I have to agree with Zedz (perhaps on a different note) in regard to Criterion vs. Second Run. As far as less known Euro cinema from 1960-75 is concerned Criterion have less to offer than Second Run. My sights are set on the UK these days rather than the US as a mecca for my particular cinematic taste. (Unlike the UK the situation in the US could be different since Facets may hold the rights to most of these films.)

The above also applies to Second Run's other films: documentaries and post-70s world cinema.

No idea. Couldn't find an address anywhere.

Anyway, about The Cremator transfer. Yes it looks quite okay and of course is watchable. I almost could've taken the softness as a part of the original cinematography but when I saw that comparison I felt very disappointed as it shows how it -should- look.

A sizeable review from the latest Sight & Sound is now up at the Second Run website:

http://www.secondrundvd.com/release_more_tc_3.php#2

Click the image to read the review.

Bikey, anything to report from your research into the picture's lack of sharpness?

P.S. Can anyone tell me where to get the Czech DVD.

Personally, I'm happy with the Second Run transfer; it makes a nice change from the awful bootleg I bought a couple of years ago. But they sell the Czech DVD, along with some other Juraj Herz films, on www.dvdr.cz, one of the few Czech Web shops that doesn't charge you loads for postage. Type in 'SpalovaÄ

What a great film. Nothing like what I was expecting, but still studded with the jet-black humor I've come to associate with Czech films of this period.

The image looked pretty good to me. A couple of soft spots, and maybe not quite up to the standard of Second Run's other releases, but certainly watchable. And the Quay Brothers' cheerleading was fun to watch.