Whereas most of those who see Ecstasy in mainland Europe take it in their stride, in the US it is greeted with outrage. Still, there are a few who see beyond the movie’s titillation potential. In a review in the May 18 issue of the Hollywood Spectator, Fred Stein enthuses:
We are at a loss for words with which to convey the qualities of Ecstasy. It is a pictorial poem, a symphony in moods and movement expressed in the most evanescent overtones of sight and sound. … No picture we have seen has so completely realized the cinema as an independent art form. … No doubt this picture should not be seen by those who are too young to know what life is about. … To the rest of us Ecstasy can be nothing less than a great artistic experience.
