Customer Reviews

Ecstasy [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This film has so many versions that it's hard to say which one you will get. The original is quite spicy with several nude scenes of Hedy Geisler (Hedy Lamar). The sound track is primitive with just a little dialog or, depending on which cut, no dialog. This film was made just into the sound era in Chechoslovakia. As a collectors' item, it is a must for classic film buffs, not for its quality or filmaking technique but for its impact on movie censorship in the US. The theme here is adultry. Hedy plays a young new wife to an older cold fish. Fustrated on her wedding night, she embarks on various endeavors clearly motivated by sexual fustration. The nude swim after a horseback ride is what all the hoopla was about. The horse runs away carrying our girl's clothes. From this point on, various versions carry various degrees of Hedy depending on which cut you get. I have 2, one purchased commercially in 1975 and another obtained later from a private collector. The second has much more nudity than the first. While hiding in the woods, Hedy meets a young surveyor and a liason blossoms. You'll have to buy the film to find out what happens. I would buy this film, especially if you haven't seen it. Although tame by modern standards, it had 'em gasping in 1933.

This movie, starring a young Hedy Lamarr is proof of how sexual old films could be without showing much!
Ecstasy is basically the story of a young girl who marries an old guy (though they don't really explain why she did in the first place). He isn't at all interested in her on their wedding night...he isn't really interested in her at all! The simple prettiness of Hedy makes her seem like a girl you yourself would know and it makes it that much easier to feel all the emotions she is feeling. I was a little confused as to why there were silent parts (without even the use of dialogue boxes) and also talking parts. I personally liked the silent scenes. Hedy was a wonderful actress and her face alone could tell the entire story.
Anyways, after she requests a divorce from her husband, she lives with her father and while out alone one day, she decides to go swimming in the nude (this scene was blown way out of proportion; yes, she was naked, but I thought it was done very tastefully and you really don't see much). I won't give away all that happens, but by the end of that scene she meets a very VERY handsome land surveyor, who is everything she's searching for. After this initial meeting she later goes to his home and this results in the first on-screen orgasm, which was done simply showing Hedy's face, and it became, in my opinion, the hottest love scene ever!
Overall, this movie was excellent, though it should probably be seen more than once to see every little erotic message the director put in there. I would have given it five stars, but I didn't care for the ending. But please don't let that keep you from seeing this film! It is still wonderful!

I was amazed by some of the camerawork in this film, enjoyed the inclusion of nudity and sensuality, and was awed by the forceful (propaganda?) images of manual laborers towards the end. The story is simple, but involving. If the film quality were good, I would give this film four or five stars. But I must warn you that while quite a few films this old have survived the ravages of time, or have been restored in one way or another, this film is in absolutely dreadful condition. The soundtrack hisses and rattles (deranging the music, since there is practically no dialogue), and the celluoid is thoroughly scratched, not to mention split asunder by occasional "thunderbolts." Perhaps it would have been too expensive to attempt a complete restoration of this particular film, but for the high price of the DVD, you'd expect some attempt to correct at least some of the damage. (Note: Anyone wishing to buy this strictly for the nude scenes will be largely disappointed because the nudity is mostly distant, and the film quality leaves most of the details to the viewer's imagination.) "Extase" definitely merits restoration, if it is feasible. As it is, the film quality so distracts from the viewing experience that it's painful to watch.

I purchased this flick because it has a notorious reputation, and my reaction was, "Yeah, Right. How wild could a 1932 movie be?" Admittedly, Heddy Lamarr is shown swimming and running through a forest in the nude, and there is a love scene where she reportedly has the first orgasm ever filmed, but these scenes really contribute to a sense of naturalness to the film that I didn't find nasty or lewd....just artful. The use of visual symbols throughout the film is rich, clever,and quite accessable to a modern mind, unlike other films approaching it's time. I'm not a great scholar of films from the 30's, but I was reminded of clips I had seen of Leni Riefenstal's film, "Olympia." There is little dialog, which is in German, although the film is subtitled, but that really removes what would otherwise distract one from enjoying the visual wealth of this film. The soundtrack is well in synchronized with the film in both timing and mood. Altogether and interesting addition to any collection.

This would have made a very good silent movie as it has the expressive power of that medium. What spoken dialogue there is (and the speaking scenes are brief) doesn't add much to the visuals here. First of all, it isn't pornographic. The brief nude scenes are about as arousing as those old nudist camp movies. The nudity takes place in nature and it is completely naturalistic in tone. Second, this is the first film to depict a woman's orgasm (we only see the woman's face but there is plenty to suggest what is going on between her and the man). The plot is simple: a beautiful young woman marries an old coot who is too tired (or impotent) to satisfy her - even on her wedding night. She takes up with a young, virile hunk instead. We get lots of nature scenes, sunshine, horses, swimming, etc. The point of the film seems to be that sex is as natural as - well, nature, and shouldn't be denied. Who wants to argue with that? Certainly not me. Hedy Lamarr is very pretty here. It isn't a great film but it is still sensual and lovely in places. No, it won't turn you on if you are used to being bludgeoned over the head by the typical hard-core porn film made today but it has a sweetness and poetry about it that makes it still worth a look even if it is dated.

Wonderful cinematic romanticism celebrating the beauty and force of nature, of the physical world, and of life itself. Pain as an integral part of love.

Lush and psychologically vivid music recalling Richard Strauss's operas. Even the very sparse dialogue is essentially unnecessary.

A tour de force of imagery; a rare treat.

As with some of the others who reviewed this film, I rented it to see what the fuss was about, once upon a time, and found instead a surprisingly solid film. Hedy gives a very nice performance, even when fully clothed, which is after all, almost all of the film. In the beginning she is a young bride married to a middle aged man and it would have been nice to have had some scene to set up why she got married to this old fellow to begin with, but it's obvious from the start this isn't going anywhere fast, and Hedy goes into a slow death from lack of love, both the physical and emotional. Her performance is very sympathetic and the audience is inclined and expected to be indulgent with her. But her husband isn't played for laughs either, and the scene in which he finally realizes he's being cuckholded is itself very touching. Neither character is morally condemned in the course of the film, nor is her Lover for that matter. For a film that is largely silent, the acting is very modern in style and restrained. There are some pecularities for the modern viewer, especially in the final scenes where we get lots of shots of sturdy working men doing sturdy physical labor, with picks and shovels, building a new Germany I suppose. Maybe that was the price of getting the film released in 1933 Germany. Lots of emphasis on nature, with horses indulging in horse behavior, and lots of gypsies as well. But this is actually a fairly thoughtful, intelligent, sensitive film and well worth watching. And, Heddy in the buff is still pleasant to look at.

I've wanted to see this movie for over 20 years, and finally found a copy for a reasonable price. Reasonable for me is under $15. For that amount of money, the movie was worth watching. I have an idea part of the original film was cut long ago to take out some of the nudity. On the version of the edition that I have, the movie is 82 min. long VHS tape. But have seen versions stating 67 to 88 min. in total length. I wish that the original had never been tappered with, but imagine over the years, when it was released in different locations, it was cut, so there are probably several version out there. If you want it for the nudity - Forget it, you can find more of it on late night TV. The print is not in very good condition, but it is not as bad as some people have let on. Judging from several reviews, it would seem the movie is unwatchable. This movie of course has never been digitally remastered, and your probably watching a copy of say the 6th or 7th generation. Anyway to get to the meat of the movie. If your a Hedley,,,, Sorry Hedy Lamarr fan, you need to have this in your collection. She looks so young, and in my opinion still has a little baby fat on her... I would imagine she is 16 or 17 years old in the movie. The plot is pretty good, and you can follow it quite well with very little dialog. Bottom line..... If your a fan of Hedy Lamarr, and you can find a copy for under $20, I'd say go for it...... It's a lot better than the stuff you see on tv today. This is 100% natural sexy appeal. I didn't care for the almost sudden ending, and I may have to watch it again to get the full value of the film. I know the director seems to view in on the life of bees or flies as the story goes along, and I'm not quite sure what he was trying to get across. Anyway for the age etc. I would give this 4 stars.

Pope Pius XII publically denounced it. The Legion of Decency condemned it. The United States banned it from importation. It is easily one of the great scandals in cinema history: the 1933 ECSTASY.

An Austrian film directed by Gustav Machaty, ECSTASY is the story of Eve (Hedy Lamarr, billed here as Hedy Kiesler), who marries an older man named Emile (Zvonimir Rogoz.) After several days of inattention and disappointment, Eve returns to her father's home. One morning she goes for a naked swim--but her horse runs away with her clothes. Adam (Aribert Mog) comes to the rescue, and although Eve is angry that he has seen her naked, she can't stop thinking about him. Later that evening she goes to his cabin, where she enjoys his embrace. But unfortunately for all concerned, Emile has come in search of Eve, determined to take her home.

The film is done in a deliberately arty style. When Emile takes Eve for their honeymoon, for example, he has a tremendous problem getting the his key in the door lock--a bit of obvious imagery that does not portend well for the marriage. Later in the film Eve's pearls become yet another symbol, and indeed the movie abounds with snorting horses, trains, flowers, and the like, all of them intercut in the narrative. In theory, all this imagery is a commentary on sexuality; surprisingly, it actually works rather well. But the infamy of ECSTASY rests on two scenes: the bathing scene, in which Hedy Lamarr swims and then runs naked through the countryside, and the sex scene, in which the camera holds on Lamarr's face as she appears to have an orgasm.

Nudity in film was not unheard of in American film, and many silent films sported barebreasted maidens. The famous 1925 BEN-HUR not only featured such unclad women, it featured several unclad men as well. By 1933, however, censorship was on the rise, and while the scene is rife with strategically placed branches, Lamarr's nude scene was indeed considered shocking by standards of the day. But the real issue was the sex scene, which film historians describe as the first depiction of orgasm in a non-pornographic film. Lamarr later commented that her facial expression was acheived by the director, who stuck her with a pin to make her grimmace during the shoot. The notion of a woman enjoying sex horrified Americans from sea to shining sea.

ECSTASY was not only banned in the United States, it was also banned in Europe, although not for the same reasons. That same year Lamarr married Fritz Mandl, heir to Hirtenberger Patronen-Fabrik Armaments, and by many accounts the jealous Mandl did his level best to buy and destroy every copy of the film he could find. The film fared no better under the Nazis, for Lamarr was of Jewish descent. In spite of various bans, the unedited film was smuggled into America, where it existed in the hands of a few wealthy collectors; when Lamarr became an American screen star, however, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer worked hard to track down and destroy these prints. It is actually a little surprising that the film exists at all.

Watching the film today one may wonder what all the fuss was about. It is interesting in its juxtapositions of imagery, but it is also rather slow, and the dialogue doesn't help any: in theory a German-language film, ECSTASY is more akin to a silent film. Lamarr is an attractive young woman, but she was hardly the screen siren she later became, and while she runs naked with aplomb she isn't greatly memorable. As for the notorious sex scene--well, by today's standards it is scarcely more than a hoot and holler. The DVD print is not great, but it is watchable, and the DVD has no extras of any kind. Worth watching? If you are a film buff, yes. If not, you might be better off with WHITE CARGO or ZIEGFELD GIRL.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Danke, daß es in USA diesen Film in Originalfassung gibt.
Deutsche Untertitel sind ja auf US-Filmen kaum vorhanden und
verringern den Kaufreiz erheblich !!