Ekstase (1933)

Director:

Gustav Machatý

Writers:

Robert Horky (book)
Frantisek Horký (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 December 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The Most Whispered About Picture In The World

Plot:

Eva has just gotten married to an older gentleman, but discovers that he is obsessed with order in his life and doesn't have much room for passion...

Plot Keywords:

Nipples | Divorce | Father Daughter Relationship | Telegraph | Hotel

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Hedy Lamarr	...	Eva Hermann (as Hedy Kiesler)
Aribert Mog	...	Adam
Zvonimir Rogoz	...	Emile
Leopold Kramer	...	Eva's Father
Emil Jerman	...	Eva´s husband (voice)
Jirina Steimarová	...	Typist
Bedrich Vrbský	...	Eva´s father (voice)
Jirina Stepnicková	...	Eva (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Antonín Kubový	...	Ein Landstreicher
Karel Macha-Kuca	...	Der Rechtsanwalt
Pierre Nay	...	Le jeune homme
André Nox	...	Le père
Eduard Slégl	...	Ein Landstreicher
Jan Sviták	...	Der Tänzer auf der Barandov-Terrasse

Also Known As:

Ecstasy (USA)
Ekstase (Austria)
Extase (Czechoslovakia: Czech title)
My Ecstasy (USA) (reissue title)
Rhapsody of Love (USA) (reissue title)
Symphonie der Liebe (Austria)
Symphony of Love

Runtime:

82 min | France:95 min | USA:87 min (1986 alternate version)

Country:

Czechoslovakia | Austria

Language:

French | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:TV-MA (TV rating) | Australia:PG | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Atelier Schönbrunn, Vienna, Austria

Company:

Elektafilm

Trivia:

First non-pornographic movie with a (faked) sex-scene.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "M*A*S*H: The Colonel's Horse (#5.11)" (1976)

One of the best ever made

Famous for introducing the world to Hedy Lamarr and full frontal nudity, but it's oh so much more. In fact, this is one of the pinnacles of cinematic poetry, up there with some of the seminal works of 1930s art cinema, in the same prestigious group as Under the Roofs of Paris, Tabu, Olympia, and even L'Atalante. It's nearly a silent, relying mostly on its miraculous images, and also its fantastic, symphonic score by Giuseppe Becce. It's a masterpiece of cinematography and music, yes, and also of editing, direction, writing, and acting. A good 90% of the film moves along perfectly. Machatý seems an expert at using motifs. Perhaps not as subtle as it could be, and perhaps a bit overused, but the appearances of objects like insects, lights, and horses carry the story forward beautifully. The small snatches of dialogue are, thankfully, unintrusive. They don't jar as much as one would imagine. The final bit is odd, to say the least. Reminiscent of Russian silents, we have a montage of workers. This barely makes sense in the course of the narrative, but it's so gorgeously done that I refuse to harp too much on that flaw. Ecstasy is a film that is desperately in need of rediscovery. It belongs amongst the best films ever made.