Filmarchiv Austria: Saturn Collection

>> View collection Between 1906 and 1910, Saturn, a Vienna-based company, produced a number of erotic films, which were the first fiction films produced in a continuous manner in the Habsburg Empire. Saturn produced films with erotic content only – and that was how it advertised itself in different trade publications, publicizing its films in a printed catalogue, very similar to the French Pathé productions, which Saturn sometimes remade in an adult manner.

Detailed description provided by the archive:

An examination of the media history of erotic films and pornography reveals interesting trends in the world of film. Since the era of silent film, pornographic films have not only produced genuine successful titles, but have also imitated the concepts, logics, and narratives of well-known mainstream films. These kinds of imitations play out as a form of interrelationship which in turn affects so-called “adult remakes”. This effect would also be true for the films of the Austrian production company Saturn Film, which were linked to some extent to similar French productions of that period. Between 1906 and 1910, Saturn, a Vienna-based company, produced a number of erotic films, which were the first fiction films produced in a continuous manner in the Habsburg Empire. Saturn produced films with erotic content only – and that was how it advertised itself in different trade publications, publicizing its films in a printed catalogue, very similar to the French Pathé productions, which Saturn sometimes remade in an adult manner. All the preserved titles of the Saturn film company have recently been restored and released on DVD with an accompanying book by Filmarchiv Austria. The whole collection will also be made availabe through the EFG and EUROPEANA (www.europeana.eu).