A once banned Czechoslovak film EXTASE (1933) represents 1930s at SSEES 100 Film Festival
On Tuesday 20th of October the SSEES Centenary Film Festival will show a once banned Czechoslovak film EXTASE (Ecstasy, 1933) by Gustav Machatý. EXTASE is a film about a young woman named Eva (played by Hedy Lamarr), who marries a wealthy but much older man. After abandoning her brief passionless marriage, she meets a young engineer who becomes her lover. EXTASE was highly controversial in its time because of scenes in which Lamarr swims and runs through the countryside nude. It is also perhaps the first non-pornographic movie to portray sexual intercourse and female orgasm, although never showing more than the actors’ faces.
The world premiere of the film took place on 20 January 1933 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. In Austria, the film was released on 14 February, but due to censorship problems, German cinemas did not show it until 8 January 1935. EXTASE was not released in the United States until 24 December 1940. It went on to limited run in America without the Hays seal, where it played in mostly independent art houses. Lamarr’s first husband, the wealthy arms dealer Friedrich Mandl, reportedly spent $280,000 in an unsuccessful attempt to suppress the film by purchasing every existing print. The screening will take place at Bloomsbury Theatre, October 20, 18.30. Book your tickets here. Related Posts |