Der Leichenverbrenner

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.[1] 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.

The story is set in 1930s Prague, where the cremator Karel Kopfrkingl lives and works. 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 is mostly made up of monologues from Kopfrkingl that follow his descent into madness. Influenced by German Expressionist film,[2] 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 The film was withdrawn from circulation in 1973 and not seen again until 1990, after the collapse of the communist system in Czechoslovakia in 1989.[3]

With a 90.2% score on the Czech and Slovak Movie Database[4] as well as praise from movie critics, The Cremator is often considered to be one of the best movies ever made in Czechoslovakia. It has also gathered a prominent cult following.[5]