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Juraj Herz | |
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| Born | (1934-09-04)4 September 1934 |
| Died | 8 April 2018(2018-04-08) (aged 83) |
| Occupation(s) | Film director Screenwriter Actor |
| Years active | 1961–2018 |
Juraj Herz (4 September 1934 – 8 April 2018) was a Slovak film director, actor, and scene designer, associated with theCzechoslovak New Wave movement of the 1960s.[2][3] He is best known for his 1969 horror/black comedyThe 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 onGeorge Simenon'sMaigret novels.
Herz was born in 1934 inKežmarok, in modern-day Slovakia, to Jewish parents.[4] He was aHolocaust survivor,[4] having been imprisoned at theRavensbrück concentration camp during his childhood.[2] Roughly 60 members of his family perished during the Holocaust, but all of his immediate family members survived.[6] After attending secondary school inBratislava, he studied photography at the city's University of Applied Arts, going on to study directing and puppetry at theTheatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (DAMU) alongsideJan Švankmajer.[3][7] He remained in Prague after he completed his studies to work at theSemafor Theatre andBarrandov Studios.[5]
Herz was self-taught as a film director.[3] His first experience working on films was as second-unit director underZbyněk Brynych (Transport from Paradise; 1962) andJán Kadár (The Shop on Main Street; 1965).[3] Because he had attended DAMU rather than its sister film school,FAMU, Herz was initially not part of the core group of directors who would form theCzechoslovak New Wave.[3] His 1965 short filmThe Junk Shop was excluded from the group's manifesto anthologyPearls of the Deep (1966) due to its running time.[3]
Herz made his breakthrough with his 1969 film,The Cremator,[5] based on a novel byLadislav Fuks, starring Czech actorRudolf 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 theBest Foreign Language Film at the42nd Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.[8] In 1972, it won theFestival de Cine de Sitges Best Film award, as well as awards for Hrušínský and cinematographerStanislav Milota. Immediately banned by Communist censors after its premiere,[3]The Cremator was not seen again in Czechoslovakia until after theVelvet 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]
The following year sawSweet Games of Last Summer, an expressionist adaptation ofGuy de Maupassant.[3]
Herz was best known for his work in the horror genre; he was one of the few Czechoslovak film directors working horror films during the Communist period.[3] His other horror works included 1972 murder dramaMorgiana and a gothic re-interpretation of the fairy taleBeauty and the Beast (Czech:Panna a Netvor) in 1978.[2] Herz's 1971 dramaOil Lamps (Czech:Petrolejové Lampy) was in competition for thePalme D'Or at the 1972Cannes Film Festival.[4][5][10] Herz's 1976 filmDay for My Love, a drama about the death of a child,[3] was entered into the27th Berlin International Film Festival.[4]
Herz intended to make an adaptation ofAlfred Jarry's absurd erotic novel Supermale but was forced to shelve it by the government.[11]
His 1982 movieFerat Vampire (Czech:Upír z Feratu), a horror movie about a murderous Ferat sports car fuelled on human blood, starredJiří Menzel and future first ladyDagmar Havlová.[2] In 1986 Herz releasedThe Night Overtakes Me, a tragic drama about his experiences in the concentration camp.[3]
Herz emigrated to Germany in 1987.[5] His last major films were paranormal thrillerDarkness (Czech:T.M.A.; 2009),[2] andHabermann (2010),[5] a war drama about theexpulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia after World War II.[2]
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]
Herz died in Prague on 8 April 2018, aged 83.[4] His death was announced onFacebook by Slovak actorAndrej Hryc, his friend and long-time collaborator.[2]
