Juraj Herz| Czechoslovakia 1968, 96 minutes |
11am, Saturday 15 July
It truly is a meticulously orchestrated film. It is an achieved, congruous blend of psychological horror and the blackest of comedies. – Adam Schofield, Senses of Cinema
Karl Kopfrkingl, chillingly portrayed by Rudolf Hrušínský, is a cremator wooed by Nazism in the early days of the German occupation. Production of this adaptation of Ladislav Fuks’ novel was halted during the 1968 Soviet invasion, further charging its already potent political undertones with an added horror and complementing Stanislav Milota’s virtuoso expressionist cinematography and Zdeněk Liška’s indelible score.
Preceded by The Junk Shop (Herz 1965) 31 mins. Shot in the very junk shop where author and co-scenarist Bohumil Hrabal worked for seven years, Herz’s exuberant Pearls of the Deep episode heralded a singular new talent.
The screening is introduced by Cerise Howard, artistic director of the Czech and Slovak Film Festival Australia.
Co-Presented with The Czech and Slovak Film Festival and the Australian Cinémathèque.
This is a free screening taking place at the Australian Cinémathèque, GoMA, as part of The Gothic Fantasies of Juraj Herz retrospective.
D Juraj Herz S Juraj Herz from Ladislav Fuks P Ladislav Hanus C Stanislav Milota E Jaromír Janácek
Language: Czech with English Subtitles
Distribution: National Film Archive DCP
Unrated 15 +
