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Visions of Ecstasy
Nigel Wingrove's experimental depiction of the erotic imaginings of the 16th Century Carmelite nun remains the only film ever to banned under Britain's blasphemy laws.
Drama 1989 20 mins
Director: Nigel Wingrove
Overview
Visions of Ecstasy, an experimental art film made in 1989, is the only film ever to have been banned outright in the UK solely on the grounds of blasphemy. Further, its depiction and interpretation of the erotic imaginings of the 16th Century Carmelite nun, St. Teresa, were such that the film's banning was upheld in an historic judgment at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg in a case that took seven years to reach its conclusion.
Following the abolition of the UK's blasphemy laws in 2008, Visions of Ecstasy is now available for UK viewers to see what all the fuss was about.
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