No. 8 - Jahresausgabe 2021, St. Anton & Stuben

The White Extasy (1931)
This comedy is among the most well-known films ever
shot on Arlberg and it is the first skiing movie with sound.
With her klutziness young Leni from Berlin (Leni Riefenstahl)
drives skiing instructor Hannes (Hannes Schneider)
nuts. But she has her mind set on one thing: with Hannes’
help she wants to participate in a beginners’ ski race –
and win it, too. The film was produced by Arnold Fanck
and the landscape shots and skiing scenes from St. Anton
delighted so many cinemagoers it made the Arlberg a
place of longing over night. The revolutionary filming
technique, impressive jumps, choreographies, and thrilling
races did their part in making the film a classic.
The scenes depicting the mass-start of the Weisser Rausch
ski-race on Vallugagrat are particularly impressive – and
today the legendary ski race which takes almost ten
minutes still is one of the longest in the world.
Magazin
The Arlberg Witch
(1953/54 and 1999)
This film by the Danish
director Finn Antoft creates
magical moments featuring
young Karl Schranz. A witch
(Toni Marth) has snuck into
the ski school business in
St. Anton and introduces
young talents to the sport
with a lot of humour. But,
of course, there can’t be a
witch on Arlberg, which is
why a wild chase through
powder snow follows, complete
with acrobatic stunts. Numerous skiing instructors
from St. Anton were hired for the skiing scenes.
Unfortunately the film remained unfinished and only
in 1999 did the director’s family have it newly cut,
new sound added and presented it to the public at
the St. Anton film festival. 41