Synopsis
Trailers
Reviews (69)
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J
While everyone else was making movies in 1969, Czechoslovakia was making movies in 2069. Thank god they separated, together they were clearly too powerful and had to be stopped.
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J
On the epidemic of evil, the omnipotence of death and the repression of conscience. People rationalize anything under the spell of influence and promises of power—the brutish strength of delusion, practicing paradoxical philosophies that warp their perceptions of morality, leaving them as hollow husks of humans bound only to conformity—but they will never be able to rid themselves of the dark specter that haunts and walks behind them for all eternity. Hits different when it’s all around you.
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N
This is a real horror film, absurdly haunting with a stunning technical beauty, this film is one of the finest examples of Czechoslovak cinema, set at the height of one of the darkest eras in European history, showing the devastating impact of Nazism and the corrosion of the individual in the face of totalitarian systems. The film was released in 1969, shortly after the Prague Spring and the subsequent invasion of Czechoslovakia by Soviet forces. This context is crucial to understanding the depth of Herz’s political critique, which, under the guise of a narrative about Nazism, was in fact commenting on totalitarianism in all its forms. Czechoslovakia had experienced a brief political and cultural opening under the reformist government of…
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J
A concentration camp survivor reworks the horrifying wide-angle, POV subjectivity of something like Peeping Tom to fit the snarling, darkly comic, absurdly disturbing headspace of a compulsive, obsessive cremator who views his craft as an art, gradually morphs into a tool for/the arm of the genocidal Nazi machine, and may or may not think he’s the next Buddha due to his occupation of “liberating” souls from their bodies. An unbearable, close-proximity depiction of how evil can delude itself into thinking it’s actually a work of purity and spiritualism with very few psychological and ideological tweaks. Full discussion on ep 219 of my podcast SLEAZOIDS.
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SSally Jane Black 8 月 25, 2026
The more I think about it, the more I think this is a very twisted horror-comedy masterpiece of the darkest kind. Shot like a hazy dream, it follows Rudolf Hrusinsky as the titular crematorium worker as he gives what is essentially a movie long monologue about his own twisted spirituality, actions, and slowly building madness/mania. Despite the fact that he dominates the film utterly, there’s still somehow space for a surprisingly large cast of supporting characters who are much more fleshed out than seems possible. Notable are Mr. Strauss and his awkward wife, Mr. Dvorak the nervous smoker, the family of the title character, and Mr. Reinke, the Devil-as-Nazi-recruiter who matter-of-factly lures Mr. Kopfrkingl (the mad protagonist) into megalomania and…
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R
The definitive answer to the question, “What if you took David Lynch, Carnival of Souls and Angst and put them in the dreamlike, strange universe of Alain Resnais’ Last Year at Marienbad?” And it would be a psychological horror film about a well-meaning man who descends into complete madness when a Nazi convinced him he has German blood. This is one of those films that cannot be adequately described in words. It’s a magnificent and stunning piece of visual storytelling blended with a brilliant script made up of mostly monologues that may appear merely odd, but when combined with the rather experimental camerawork and sound mixing, the nightmarish cinematography that intensifies the psychological aspect of the movie and attacks all…
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J
If you’re a handsy repressed smug conformist with no original thoughts yet love to hear yourself talk, you’re probably a secret fascist just waiting to be given permission by an authority figure to murder. That’s just facts. You romanticize and aggrandize yourself, but like all romantics you’re just a blockhead tool waiting… longing… to be told you’re important. Director Juraj Herz was a survivor of Ravensbrück concentration camp as a child and you can see how that personal experience gave him bold proprietary permission to mock and explore this horrifying subject to such great effect. The tying of transcendental buddhism to our protagonist’s increasingly manipulated and ideologically thirsty mind is sweet perfection. Magical thinking is most often the out for…
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B
“I’ll save them all. The whole world” Holocaust survivor Juraj Herz’s fiercely creepy The Cremator is a disorienting character study closely following a Czech cremator’s seduction into Nazism; carefully linking his initially unassuming behaviours to his eventual delirium and imposing nature as he’s gripped by delusion and despotism. Stanislav Milota’s incredible cinematography and Jaromír Janácek’s dizzying editing are so forceful in getting inside the mind of Kopfrkingl, creatively cutting between scenes in reverse shots to make dialogue flow seamlessly and create a stream of consciousness that matches his rambling; as well as getting uncomfortably close to its actors or using POV shots to keep him feeling sharply authoritative throughout his dark spiral. Emphasised particularly thanks to Rudolf Hrusínsky’s phenomenal performance, the film is genuinely chilling in how natural it’s development seems to feel; capturing this horrifying transformation in such a precisely intricate, believable way that makes it so eminently disturbing.
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P
I can’t believe I have dragged my heels in watching this film after all the drum banging of how excellent it is and spoiler IT IS!!! This is simply a uniquely stylized film that takes place in Czechoslovakia 1939 following a cremator named Karel(Roman) Kopfrkingl who is amazingly played by Rudolf Hrušínský as we follow him around this Czech town constantly espousing his thoughts and believes that reminds me in a way like Patrick Bateman but with lower intelligence but equally sinister. I can’t get over on how many levels this material works as a very dark comedy and in learning what Juraj Herz the director went through during this time for him to make such a detachment from the…
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E
The Cremator is a two-layered experience of immense depth, let alone one of the counted films in history that can be called “ahead of its time”. With a staggering cinematography, the most memorable male character in the Czech New Wave, a neo-noir ambience, an hypnotic directing, a terrifying score, and probably a leading performance that deserves to be held as one of the best in cinema history, The Cremator is an unapologetic downward spiral to delusional madness of a man that strongly believes in the purifying power of cremation and the metaphysical advantages provided by premature death in order to stop human suffering. The presence of this intellectual personage is so imposing, that the rest of the characters around him…
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BBranson Reese 8 月 25, 2026
If I hadn’t known this movie was banned in Czechoslovakia and kept hidden away for twenty years I would’ve guessed it was. Almost have to wonder what it looked like before it went in. It feels warped by its time alone in a vault.
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J
Probably the best movie I’ve ever seen made by someone other than Rainer Werner Fassbinder about how little effort it takes to push the average man from their socialized notions of patriarchal authority and even mild economic stability into the realm of outright fascism. And where Fassbinder approaches this subject via studio-era melodrama, Herz does it via Eastern European psychological thriller, so that the film seems to eat itself as an already unbalanced man fully slides off his axis.
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M
un čehu valoda — lai gan apgrūtināja izcilā kameras darba un mizanscēnu uztveršanu jebšu paildzināja filmas skatīšanos (vairākas ainas skatījos divreiz, lai uztvertu gan tekstu, gan vizuālo) — filmai piešķīra taāādu papildus slāni/noskaņu/enerģiju. absolūti brīnišķīgi
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A
an editing feat. seamless, blood-curdling storytelling, the banality of evil, the corruption of spirituality, transcendence of the mortal flesh. a complete surprise at the nickel, I hardly blinked.
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A
هوا الفيلم دا مستخبي ليه ؟ دا فعليا قد يكون من اعظم الأفلام اللي شوفتها في حياتي ! تحفة فنية و تقنية من كل الجوانب فيلم سابق عصره في كل شئ ، من الفكره للحوار للتصوير للموسيقى للتمثيل ، كل حاجه مدهشه لو قولتلك ان الفيلم دا اتعمل السنه اللي فاتت هتصدق عادي جدا بعد ماتشوفه ، تحفه
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J
Most kooky eets czech flick
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A
I feel suffocated..😵💫😵💫😵💫 I just can’t believe how someones life can change so drastically…😳🫨
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J
Quizá la película más aterradora que he visto en lo que va de año. La debacle moral de Europa en su descenso sin frenos al nazismo como motor de un terror abstracto y, sí, engolado. El poder de su puesta en forma, apabullante en el montaje (esos encabalgamientos de localizaciones en el momtaje son prodigiosos), consigue mantener al espectador en un estado de incomodidad limítrofe con el pánico, pero esa fuerza acaba perdiendo algo de terreno frente a la sensación (más intensa hacia el final) de que la película, está, de algún modo, encantada de haberse conocido.
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R
The movie had an evil aura around it which I can’t shake it off easily. I love the transitions between scenes and the sound design. After the movie I kept asking myself how did someone so easily transition into becoming so evil. That thought terrifies me.
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W
a smart, deeply disturbed comedy. the main character (Karel) undoubtedly carries a surreal, lively romance within him throughout the entire film despite his depravity and fragmented psyche. The Cremator has an inexplicable presence i have not experienced from many other films, and the perverse intertwining of Buddhism within it is interesting and i think really makes the film something more. obvious difficult subject matter, but one of the best films i’ve watched so far this year. i will probably rewatch it in the future.
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K
The Cremator fully dramatises Ernest Becker’s warning that the ‘hero systems’ we build to deny death are exactly what makes us capable of monstrous violence, since a man convinced he is ‘freeing’ souls from suffering has no need for a conscience. Gonna have to double-bill this with ‘Baby’s Day Out’ just to balance out the extremely harrowing vibes. Watched @ The Nickel.
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M
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K
I LOVE this funny ugly scary film
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L
Watched at The Nickel cinema, Ldn. Absolutely amazing experience. As for the film, I had verryyyy different expectations before getting into this film from what it actually turned out being like. Although it is technically considered a film under the horror genre, it wasn’t scary at all. More surreal and there’s no problem with that. The topics it covers are quite serious and done in a fairly effective way. The way Kopfrkingl, an already twisted and questionable man, slowly descends…
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T
The filming that made the whole movie seem like a stream of consciousness was so cool. I’ve never seen anything like it.
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S
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I
Espiritualidad superficialmente positiva que progresivamente será utilizada para hacer mal objetivo, es decir una metafisica que justifica la muerte en nombre de una mejor vida, vista desde la perspectiva de un tipo que se creyó un buda libertador. La vida es sufrimiento → yo conozco la verdad sobre ese sufrimiento → sé qué constituye la verdadera liberación → por tanto, tengo derecho a decidir quién debe ser liberado. Similar a la mentalidad de Himmler durante la ww2. Se puede ver…
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M
Petty bourgeoisie and Hitler particles, name a more iconic duo
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P
Wow. Desde la dirección, guión, actuación, musicalización, historia, LOS GIROS de cámara Y transiciones. PURE masterpiece!
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🤩
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M
فتونة تجنيز مذوت ادالج هذوان مسيانية النرجسي السليط قياميا اي ابادي خلاق
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B
im so fucking scared
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C
Criterion Challenge 2026 20/52 27. 1960s I think this is my first Czech New Wave film, and what an entry! The main guy was creepy af even before you find out he’s the titular cremator. And while this is visually incredible, I think what makes this film is the music – it’s haunting and somehow seeps deep into your bones. Really unsettling overall.
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A
I absolutely LOVE this movie, the script is so beautifully and exquisitely written. it’s so poetic and melancholic. although some scenes are drastic, it isn’t really that gore-y, it perfectly fits the movie. what I find interesting and , is that it’s not the usual film about this historical period, rather it takes place in Prague, in a partly jewish family (Marie, “Lakmé” is half jewish, therefore making her and Kopfrkingl’s children, Zina and Milivoj, making them quarter jewish, which…
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RRobin 8 月 22, 2026
Quite strange and terrifiying – really unique style and hard to believe it was made in the late 60s!
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G
Una película la cual sabía que me iba a llamar la atención, y lo ha hecho. Me esperaba otra cosa, pero me ha sorprendido igual. Creo que es una película muy interesante donde se tratan temas muy filosóficos y profundos, y vemos como evoluciona el protagonista hasta el punto en el que sus valores y sus creencias se ven corrompidas. Tiene una muy buena estructura la peli, donde juega todo el rato con lo real y lo que no y…
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Ggabi baggio 8 月 22, 2026
bom filme pra se ver estando em princípios de resfriado
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M
Thank god we don’t have weak men like this anymore… 😔
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R
dark and funny and devastating and incredible editing. intense eye contact with the camera and crazy little cuts that seem to show you the character’s thoughts in flashes. very well done and I’ll be thinking about it for a while.
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1
The Camerawork, editing (especially the transitions), acting, cinematography, THE SCORE. Its’s all phenomenal, but I want to touch on something that I haven’t seen many people speak about with this film. Constantly throughout the film we see Kopfrkingl have the tendency to change a belief to best suit him – creating a narrative that serves what his selfish desires call for, making it easier to justify action as the end goal always benefits himself. An example of this is across…
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D
A pure psychological horror about a maniac
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C
השימוש בעדשות רחבות הכי יפה שהייתי עד אליו בחיי. יותר מסקונדס יותר מכל סרט של וונג קאר וואי או גספר נואה. מאסטרפיס מפגר
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E
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E
Impressive editing and atmosphere but I’ve not been catched
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L
Knew it was gonna be good when a man in a suit randomly started talking about Tibet
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T
Is this guy Chuck Schumer?
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J
Deus sabia o que dizia quando disse: do pó viestes e para o pó voltarás. -Que tipo de sangue será que eu tenho? Será tcheco ou alemão? -Não há diferença no sangue. É o mesmo com as cinzas humanas Já no fim da Nouvelle Vague Tcheca. É lindo, as transições entre cenas são um primor, sempre me surpreendem. Parece até inovador pra muitos filmes atuais. Existe uma certa comédia satírica aqui bem pesada com tons macabros, é inteligente e bastante perspicaz. Impressionante como pode ser facilmente atual, a hipocrisia do mediocre é a porta de entrada do fascismo. Lembra em temática “O Conformista” do Bernardo Bertolucci
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G
There’s a popular Tolkien paraphrase that goes: “Evil cannot create anything new, they can only corrupt and ruin what good forces have invented or made.” I think The Cremator presents Nazism as this type of evil force which slowly corrodes Kopfrkingl’s Buddhist ideas on cremation and death. His transformation is marked by a black haired woman who follows him throughout the film, symbolizing both the death that is to follow, and the corruption of Kopfrkingl’s ideology. Her presence can also…
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T
Absolutely phenomenal movie with sublime writing, richness in philosophical and spiritual motives, and furthemore stunning camera work. Truly possibly the best East-European movie of all time
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L
„I’ll save them all… the whole world.“ Probably one of the most harrowing movies I’ve seen, the whole atmosphere is just starting to close in on you the further you’re into the movie. The slow descent into madness, how the mind is gradually being corrupted through adopting fascistic ideology, coming to the conclusion that cleansing the world is just and offers salvation, paired with the haunting music being played in the background of scenes is just spine chilling. Not a…
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J
Everywhere these factories of managed death.
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A
Pourquoi on ne fait plus de film avec des mises en scènes comme ça de nos jours ?
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I
блин прикольный фильм как нацыки нассали в уши а чувак считая себя героем влился в эту систему и начал процесс осовобожденич тт страданий. а еще очень сильно понравился визуал и костюмы одежда ваще всех персонажей ОЧЕНЬ круто супер хорошо
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Y
Phenomenal. Perfectly captures the predatory depravity of those seduced into the Nazi party. The fetishisation of the reduction of suffering at the cost of anything. The stupidity of those doing it. The esoteric nonsense. Even more haunting considering the experiences had by the director.
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H
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D
Em The Cremator, o horror mostrado na tela não parte do sobrenatural, do místico, do misterioso ou de qualquer outro elemento surreal que escape às explicações lógicas. O horror nasce e cresce da própria barbárie humana, da presença desagradável e da hipocrisia de Karel Kopfrkingl. Nasce da banalidade completa de um mal humano. Nasce, sobretudo, da nossa compreensão de um processo histórico e político que assolou não apenas o povo tchecoslovaco, mas toda a Europa em meados da década de…
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H
Freaky as fuck. Honestly not sure why this is not a 5 star film, but perhaps it needs a rewatch at some point. . . Perhaps the turn to fascism was a little trite, that being said this such an early film, perhaps it could be considered a progenitor of such a trite storyline.
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Premessa: Non prende lo streaming né Netflix a Scalea, abbastanza assurdo. DVD che si trovano in questi casi: -Lo Hobbit (provato a vedere, staccato dopo 10 minuti dopo aver scoperto che era la seconda parte) -L’uomo che bruciava i cadaveri; reperto che avrei potuto trovare solo a casa di Nonna Marisa. Trovato nello studio. Ci ho messo un po’ per capire come mettere i sottotitoli in inglese dato che c’era solo in ceco. Poi Safiria è tornata a casa nel…
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L
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L
Esse filme é MUITO impressionante. A história é excelente e bastante mórbida, e nos permite acompanhar a transformação da visão de mundo do protagonista, que agora vê seus ideais permeados pela ideologia nazista. Na parte técnica, isso daqui é um primor, principalmente as transições entre cenas que são INCRÍVEIS e muito fluidas. Estou bastante supreso com a qualidade de tudo que vi aqui, excelente!
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K
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R
Gotta keep that hair in place at all times!
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A
An interior decorator for the afterlife slowly realizes fascism has excellent posture. I laughed once, then felt the film write my name in soot.
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X
ba pompefunebre, ce-i cu arfele astea?
- Synopsis
- In 1930s Prague, a Czech cremator who firmly believes cremation relieves one from earthly suffering is drawn inexorably to Nazism.
- Director
- Juraj Herz
- Writer
- Ladislav Fuks, Juraj Herz
- Studio
- Filmové studio Barrandov
- Country
- Czechoslovakia
- Language
- Czech, Hebrew (modern)
- Year
- 1969
- Runtime
- 101 mins
- France21 Jul 1971
- Germany27 Jun 2014
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