12 Facts About Juraj Herz

Juraj Herz was a Slovak film director, actor, and scene designer, associated with the Czechoslovak New Wave movement of the 1960s.

Juraj Herz 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.

Juraj Herz was a Holocaust survivor, having been imprisoned at the Ravensbruck concentration camp during his childhood.

Juraj Herz remained in Prague after he completed his studies to work at the Semafor Theatre and Barrandov Studios.

Juraj Herz made his breakthrough with his 1969 film, The Cremator, based on a novel by Ladislav Fuks, starring Czech actor Rudolf Hrusinsky as a demented crematorium manager who collaborates with the Nazis during World War II.

Juraj 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.

Juraj Herz intended to make an adaptation of Alfred Jarry's absurd erotic novel Supermale but was forced to shelve it by the government.

In 1986 Juraj Herz released The Night Overtakes Me, a tragic drama about his experiences in the concentration camp.

Juraj Herz was very interested in dark, macabre elements and themes and erotic imagery, which genre films allowed him to incorporate.

Juraj Herz frequently used psychological horror and politically dissident elements in his films.

Juraj Herz said that dark humor was a form of expression, and that even serious films should be laughed at.

Juraj Herz's death was announced on Facebook by Slovak actor Andrej Hryc, his friend and long-time collaborator.