Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

The Cremator Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 17, 2020

Juraj Herz's "The Cremator" (1969) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include trailer for the recent restoration of the film; new interview with film programmer Irena Kovarova; archival documentaries; and more. Also included with the release is an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by critic Jonathan Owen and technical credits. In Czech, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

You are trying to put the man’s (Rudolf Hrusínský) words in a proper context but it isn’t working, and the more time passes by, the more you begin to wonder if they actually deserve your attention. What if they are exactly what they appear to be -- random, completely meaningless words? Could that be it? If this is the case then there must be something seriously wrong with the man. Does he have some sort of a medical condition that has unplugged his mind from reality, but he does not realize it? It could be, but slowly you begin to recognize that the man’s words and actions are coordinated, which means that he has complete control of his mind. Could it be that he is just a very, very eccentric joker and his ramblings are part of a silly game that will eventually be exposed? If this turns out to be the case you will quickly revisit the film to see what are some of the obvious and not so obvious clues about his game that you should have picked up.

Now you have been in the company of this strange man for almost an hour and are ready to declare that he is crazy. The eloquent descriptions of the cold bodies he burns in the crematorium are the proof that you are right. In fact, you have seen enough to declare that he is a pervert and closeted junkie as well. The only thing you are still unsure about is if his craziness is entirely legit, or if it involves a substantial amount of acting. Some of the most dangerous chameleons you have seen in other films have been exactly like him -- individuals with split personalities that are neither legitimately crazy nor completely sane. Is the man like them?

The moment where everything finally begins to make perfect sense to you is the one where the man agrees to begin spying on a group of people he has started seeing as inferior. He judges them and then calmly explains why they have to be eliminated. The man openly behaves like a God who has the authority to reset order on Earth and clean the human waste that has made a mess of it, and he is damn proud of himself. Other men that share his concerns then emerge and begin touting a grand plan that their German neighbors have prepared and will soon begin implementing. It is only a matter of time, one of them declares, and everyone has to choose a side. Everyone.

Seeing the man destroying his family does not surprise you. It is only natural because he has had to face the reality that his wife’s blood and that of their children isn’t as pure as his blood, so he is ‘sacrificing’ them. It is the only way the grand plan can work. It is why others like him have started doing the same.

When the final credits disappear from your screen, you take a moment to ponder the man’s evolution. First you thought that his words were too chaotic to be taken seriously, so you nearly dismissed them. Then you speculated that the man had a medical condition and nothing his mind produced was worthy of your attention. You even entertained the idea that he could be an extravagant joker playing a witty game you were too slow to get. You were wrong and you missed what should have been so obvious from the get-go. The man wasn’t crazy, you just could not recognize how dangerous he was.

The style and tone of Juraj Herz’s film threw you off. They were part of an environment that you did not think could produce the evil that emerges at the end of the film, which of course is the very point that makes your entire experience with the man so illuminating. Your mind did not even entertain the possibility that you were in the company of a true monster. You did not understand what was happening in his head until his transformation was complete and his ideas were flourishing in the heads of other monsters like him. It is precisely how the world’s most destructive political ideologies were missed -- their genesis did not make sense until it was too late.

The Cremator Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Cremator arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet that is provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This 4K digital restoration was undertaken by the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival at the studios of Universal Production Partners (UPP) and Soundsquare in Prague, in cooperation with the Narodni filmovy archiv and the Czech Film Fund. A new digital transfer was created on a Nightlight 2 film scanner from the 35mm original camera negative. Picture restoration was completed using Pixel Farm's PFClean and Digital Vision's Phoenix. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from a 35mm duplicate positive using iZotope RX7 Advanced.

Supervisor: Ivo Marak.
Colorist: Pavel Marko/Universal Production Partners (UPP), Prague."

I have an old European DVD release of this film in my library and after performing some direct comparisons with it I can confirm that the new 4K restoration represents a tremendous upgrade in quality. Obviously detail and clarity are vastly superior, but on my system some of the greatest improvements were introduced by the excellent grading job. This film now has a very nicely balanced organic appearance that promotes wonderful nuances of grays, whites, and blacks; on the DVD release the film basically has a dated analogue appearance that is quite underwhelming. There are no traces of problematic digital adjustments. Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks spotless as well. Very impressive restoration. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Cremator Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Czech LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

While viewing the film, I did not encounter any technical issues or anomalies to report in our review. The audio is very clean, sharp, and nicely balanced. Also, there are absolutely no traces of age-related imperfections in the upper register, where older films typically reveal weaknesses. The English translation is outstanding.

The Cremator Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - new trailer for the recent 4K restoration of The Cremator. In Czech, with optional English subtitles. (2 min, 1080p).

• This Way to the Cooling Chambers - this archival program revisits some of the shooting locations of The Cremator and focuses the film's production history. The program was produced in 2011 by Bildstorung and reedited for Criterion by Daniel Bird. In Czech and German, with optional English subtitles. (24 min, 1080p).

• Madness and the Macabre - in this new interview, film programmer Irena Kovarova discusses the The Cremator, its unique style and tone, and the career of its creator. The interview was conducted for Criterion in 2019. In English, not subtitled. (18 min, 1080p).

• Music by Zdenek Liska - this archival documentary examines the life and legacy of composer Zdenek, who scored The Cremator. Included in it are interviews with the Quay Brothers, Juraj Herz, and Jan Svenkmajer, amongst others. In Czech and English, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (55 min, 1080p).
  
  1. Sounds and Music
  2. Taking Risks
  3. Mutating Style
  4. Hearing Images

• Rudolf Hrusínský - this archival program offers an intimate portrait of actor Rudolf Hrusínský, who plays the main character in The Cremator. The program was filmed in 1993 and broadcast on the Czech television program Inventura Febia in 2011. In Czech, with optional English subtitles. (16 min, 1080i).

• The Junk Shop - this short film marked the beginning of Juraj Herz's directorial career. It was completed in 1965. Remastered. In Czech, with optional English subtitles. (32 min, 1080p).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring Jonathan Owen's essay "No One Will Suffer" and technical credits.

The Cremator Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I have wondered in the past if The Cremator might have been an inspiration for Bernardo Bertolucci's The Conformist. These films use their dual personalities to expose the exact same type of pure and very disturbing evil, but it is only after their final credits disappear that you begin to realize just how incredibly effective they have been. This, I assure you, is entirely by design as well. If you are unfamiliar with The Cremator now is a perfect time to discover the film. Criterion's release is sourced from an outstanding recent 4K restoration and features a very nice collection of bonus features. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.