The Gothic Visions of Juraj Herz

A titan of the Czechoslovak New Wave, a lightning rod for controversy following the release of his 1969 black comedy The Cremator—who, notwithstanding that film’s ban by the Communist regime, continued to live and work prolifically in his home country—Juraj Herz turned out an immensely varied, feverishly inventive body of work. Self-taught as a filmmaker, Herz studied puppetry alongside Jan Švankmajer instead of attending the Prague Film School like most of his New Wave peers, and he developed an autodidact outsider’s willingness to experiment and innovate. As a Slovakian Jew and Holocaust survivor, Herz was perhaps understandably drawn to morbid subject matters, and it was this aspect of his personality that helped him, almost single-handedly, create a distinctive Czechoslovakian horror-fantasy tradition, which includes his baroque period thriller Morgiana (1972), the gorgeous Gothic fairy tales Beauty and the Beast (1978) and The Ninth Heart (1979), and the sly, metaphor-driven social commentary Ferat Vampire (1982), all appearing in new 4K restorations. Lushly atmospheric and filled with images indelible and uncanny, Herz’s stylish and slightly surreal cinema is appointment viewing for any appropriately spooky Halloween season.

Organized in collaboration with the Czech Center New York

Special thanks to Severin, North American distributor of the films and prize sponsor of the series, for their generous donation.