i can not comment on this film without discuss it significance to me personally . a a child bad health prevent me from ever go to a cinema . i first encounter movie at the end of wwii through roger manvilles splendid penguin book film and which bring me so much pleasure a my health begin to improve that i wish i could buy another copy to re read today . my introduction to many classic film such a the battleship potemkin and drifter ( grierson magnificent documentary ) and metropolis and the cabinet of dr caligari and and ecstasy while come first through this book and later at my university art house cinema . ecstasy have incur the wrath of the vatican and for condone eva desertion of emil and her subsequent divorce and and the brief swim she take in the buff and but roger manville ignore these trivial matter and discuss the film a a triumphant and outstandingly beautiful and visual paean to love a view echo by many imdb user . a very lonely young man and when i saw it and i willingly concur . no further opportunity to see ecstasy arose until the introduction of home video by then it have become a treasured memory not to be disturb . quite recently i finally add ecstasy to my home video collection and find this assessment very superficial . ecstasy be much more of a parable on the continuity of human existence and against which individual life be insignificant perhaps a tribute to what bernard shaw in his aggressively agnostic writing use to term the lifeforce . ecstasy portray a young bride marry a middle age man whose sex urge be no longer strong . disappoint and she return home and divorce him . soon after she experience a strong mutual attraction to a young virile man she meet whilst out horse rid . she make love for the first time and it be an overwhelming experience . her former husband can not face rejection and give the young man a lift in his car intending that a passing train will kill them both on a level crossing . but the train stop in time and the apparently ill driver be take to recuperate at a nearby hotel where he later commit suicide by shoot himself . after these excite climacteric sequence and a bland and predictable and almost inevitable end emphasis that whilst individual human live exhibit both joy and tragedy and collectively life continue to carry u all forward in it stream and only through contribute to this stream can we be truly happy . this story be trite and the acting be no more than adequate while and normally such a film would have disappear into the garbage and a do most of it contemporary and long ago . what have give ecstasy it classic status be exceptional cinematography and a continuous lyrical score and very careful love direction and couple with something fortuitous but in cinematographic term very important it appear just after the introduction of sound and be probably plan a a silent film . it be sub title and it director have exploit the impact of brief verbal sequence accompany some sub title and and occasionally break into the score which so lovingly carry the film forward . this make it not only almost unique but extremely rewarding to watch . the parable in the tale be stress continuously but so subtly that only when reflect after view do one become fully aware of it . for example and the name eva and adam while the obsessive behavior of emil on his wedding night which show that triviata have become the most important thing in his life and predicate his eventual suicide since he have no adequate purpose to sustain him while the ongoing series of beautiful sequence show erotic imagery ( a bee pollinate a flower and a key enter a lock and a breaking necklace during eva virginal lovemaking sequence with adam and etc . ) while and the final post suicide sequence which could have be film in many different way but serve to extol the importance to individual of perform some type of work that contribute positively to society and as well a of create new life to sustain this society after we ourselves pass on . a a 1933 film i would rate this at 9 even compare it with contemporary work i would not reduce this below 8. for me the film will always remain a must see and ( although you may feel that my background remark above indicate some bias in this judgment ) . unfortunately in north america contemporary assessment of this film have be distort by the extreme 1930 reaction to hedy kiesler very brief and relatively unimportant nude scene which she have difficulty live down in hollywood ( some critic and who have clearly not see such classic film a hypocrite and hula and back to god country and bird of paradise or some of the early work of d. w. griffith and c. b. demille and have even erroneously refer to this a the first appearance of a nude actress in a feature film ) . this scene be probably part of the original novel and and the film would have be very little different if the director have choose to rewrite it . two further thought while firstly this be a czech film and release there in 1933. it final message about hard work generate positive benefit for society must have seem very superficial to it viewer when a few year later their country become the first victim of nazi oppression and be virtually destroy for at least two generation ( i do not remember these sequence be screen just after the war when i first saw this film be they remove from the copy i saw then . ) . secondly for me it main message today be that thing of real beauty be often very transitory even though their memory may stay with one for a lifetime . we should all be thankful that today some of them can be capture on camera and view again at our convenience .