Ecstasy
Ecstasy
Ecstasy
Ecstasy
Ecstasy
Ecstasy
Ecstasy

Ecstasy

Origin
Czechoslovakia, Austria
Original name
Extase
Movie genre
Entry
CZK 60
Venue's website
Length
81 min
Director
Gustav Machatý
Release
1932
Cast

Zvonimir Rogoz, Aribert Mog, Hedy Kieslerová

“‘Extase’ is one of the films that features in every handbook and overview of the history of cinema, though not necessarily because of its sheer artistic qualities. Rather, it is usually associated with the scandal it provoked at the ‘Venice Film Festival’ in 1934 that involved, among others, Pope Pius XI and Benito Mussolini. Our main goal, however, was to show the film in its original glory, albeit in digital format, something that required extensive historical research, the tracking down of the best source material for digitization and, above all, looking for a period-appropriate audio-visual rendition. This has been made possible not only by the expertise of our archivists and restorers but also by close cooperation with several other archives,“ says Michal Bregant, director general of the Národní filmový archiv, Prague about the film’s restoration.

With the assistance of his cinematographer Jan Stllich, Machatý turned the straightforward story of a torrid love affair between Eva and Adam, a young engineer – though she is newly married to the older Emil – into an extravagant visual celebration of passion filled with symbols and metaphors. The digital restoration by the highly regarded Italian studio L’Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna was made possible by the British Film Institute, Cinémathèque16, Cinémathèque Suisse, CNC, the Danish Film Institute, Filmarchiv Austria, Gaumont, and the Slovak Film Institute.

Screenings

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