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Juraj Herz (4 September 1934 – 8 April 2018) was a Slovak film director, actor, and scene designer, associated with the Czechoslovak New Wave movement of the 1960s.[2][3] He is best known for his 1969 horror/black comedy The Cremator, often cited as one of the best Czechoslovak films of all time,[2][4] though many of his other films achieved cult status.[5] He directed for both film and television, and in the latter capacity he directed episodes of a French-Czech television series based on George Simenon's Maigret novels.
Herz made his breakthrough with his 1969 film, The Cremator,[5] based on a novel by Ladislav Fuks, starring Czech actor Rudolf Hrušínský as a demented crematorium manager who collaborates with the Nazis during World War II.[2] The film was selected as the Czechoslovak entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 42nd Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.[8] In 1972, it won the Festival de Cine de Sitges Best Film award, as well as awards for Hrušínský and cinematographer Stanislav Milota. Immediately banned by Communist censors after its premiere,[3]The Cremator was not seen again in Czechoslovakia until after the Velvet Revolution in 1989,[2] but achieved wide international acclaim and cult status.[3][2][9] It was re-released in 2017.[5] The film combined horror and black comedy,[7] and is often cited as one of the best movies ever made in Czechoslovakia.[4][2]
Herz intended to make an adaptation of Alfred Jarry's absurd erotic novel Supermale but was forced to shelve it by the government.[11]
His 1982 movie Ferat Vampire (Czech: Upír z Feratu), a horror movie about a murderous Ferat sports car fuelled on human blood, starred Jiří Menzel and future first lady Dagmar Havlová.[2] In 1986 Herz released The Night Overtakes Me, a tragic drama about his experiences in the concentration camp.[3]
Herz was very interested in genre films,[clarification needed] especially horror. He was very interested in dark, macabre elements and themes and also erotic imagery, which genre films allowed him to incorporate.[6] Herz also frequently used psychological horror and politically dissident elements in his films. He said that dark humor was a form of expression, and that even serious films should be laughed at.[12]
Death
Herz died in Prague on 8 April 2018, aged 83.[4] His death was announced on Facebook by Slovak actor Andrej Hryc, his friend and long-time collaborator.[2]
