Gustav Machatý is rightly viewed as one of the great figures of Czechoslovak cinema. Extase (Ecstasy, 1932) was the most successful Czechoslovak film of the pre-war era with international audiences. But it also represents a reaction to cold box office returns – for Machatý was unhappy with his previous two talkies, and so for this effort he reduced dialogue in favour of music. The 31 year-old director thus hoped that this drama, relaying the story of a love triangle, would be understandable to audiences across the globe. However, Machatý ultimately had to produce not just a Czech and German version of the film, but also a French-language one – each with slightly different elements. Artistically, this complex film can be said to be in the spirit of the German concept of “Gesamtkunstwerk” – meaning “total artwork”. Furthermore, Extase gained a scandalous reputation for its provocative and explicit eroticism (19 year-old Hedy Kiesler [later known as Hedy Lamarr] appears naked on screen). But such controversies failed to take away from the fact that this story of a young woman, who is escaping from an unhappy marriage into the arms of an attractive engineer, is ultimately a tale filled with conventional morality.
Eva, the daughter of a landowner, marries the well-off but many years older Emil Jermann. Upon returning from the marriage ceremony to their luxurious Prague apartment she realizes her mistake: her husband shows no interest in her as a woman. The sensitive girl suffers from his cold and bachelor's meticulousness so much that she returns to her father's estate and requests a divorce on grounds of insuperable revulsion. While bathing in the pond Eva meets Adam, a young civil engineer working close by on a highway construction site. The man is the exact opposite of her husband: though he looks robust, he acts gently. During a night-time storm Eva goes after him to his house and becomes his lover. Only now does she know the passion of love. Her husband receives a court dispatch and sets off after Eva and beseeches her, to no avail, to return. On the way back he comes across Adam and realizes who he is. Both men are staying in a village inn where Eva comes to visit Adam. The husband commits suicide in his room. His death comes between the lovers. Adam returns to his work, Eva gives birth to a child.
Jan W. Speerger was originally cast into the role of lawyer but was replaced by Karel Mácha-Kuča and the scene was shoot again. The film was issued in Czech, German and French versions. The film in Czech version was presented at the 2nd Venice Film Festival, 1934.
In the year 2019 the Czech version was digitally restored by National Film Archive (Národní filmový archiv).
Voice by neuvedeno
Eva Jermannová
Voice by Jiří Plachý
stavební inženýr Adam
Emil Jermann, Evin manžel
Voice by Bedřich Vrbský
velkostatkář, Evin otec
advokát
písařka na stroji Madla
tanečník na barrandovských terasách
muž ve venkovské hospodě
muž ve venkovské hospodě
zvěrolékař ve stáji
František Illek (fotograf), Alexandr Paul (fotograf), Willy Ströminger (fotograf)
Song Composer Giuseppe Becce
Writer of Lyrics František Halas
Singer mužský hlas /recitativ/
Song Composer Giuseppe Becce
Singer mužské hlasy
Song Composer Giuseppe Becce
Extase
Extase
Ecstasy
film
featuretheatrical distribution
drama
Czechoslovakia
1932
1932
date of censorship 17 January 1933
date of censorship 20 June 1938
withdrawal from distribution 30 November 1938
date of censorship 09/1939 (neschváleno do distribuce)
withdrawal from distribution 1948
projection approval 15 November 1957
withdrawal from distribution 2 February 1966
withdrawal from distribution 31 December 1991
gala premiere 19 January 1933 (kino Lucerna, Praha)
premiere 20 January 1933 /unsuitable for youths/ (kina Kotva /3 týdny/ a Lucerna /3 týdny/, Praha)
renewed premiere 19 December 1947 /unsuitable for youths/
renewed premiere 28 February 1958 /unsuitable for youths/
renewed premiere 16 October 1978 /unsuitable for youths/
renewed premiere 23 January 2020 /unsuitable for children under 12/
AB Vinohrady (zvukové scény), Schönbrunn Vídeň (němé scény)
Slavia-film (původní 1933), Státní půjčovna filmů (obnovená 1947), Ústřední půjčovna filmů (obnovená 1958 a 1978), Národní filmový archiv (obnovená 2020)
feature film
90 min
2 558 meters
35mm
1:1,19
black & white
sound
Tobis – Klang
Czech
Czech
without subtitles
Czech
Festival: 76. mezinárodní filmový festival Benátky
2019
Benátky / Italy
Venice Classics Award for Best Restored Film
Národní filmový archiv
Festival: 20. mezinárodní filmový festival Benátky
1959
Benátky / Italy
Český filmový ústav
Festival: 2. mezinárodní filmový festival Benátky
1934
Benátky / Italy