Faust

Director: F.W. Murnau F.W. Murnau

Overview

In this German film, Emil Jannings glowers his way through the role of Mephistopholes, who offers the aging Faust an opportunity to relive his youth, the price being Faust's soul. Though highly stylized, the film is unsettlingly realistic at times, especially during the execution of the unfortunate Gretchen.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/18/2012
UPC:	0661799488365
Original Release:	1926
Source:	Desert Island Films
Language:	English
Time:	1:25:00
Sales rank:	57,613

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Emil Jannings	Mephisto
Camilla Horn	Marguerite
Wilhelm Dieterle	Actor,Valentin
Frieda Richard	Mutter,Gretchens Mutter/Marguerite's mother
Yvette Guilbert	Aunt Marthe
Eric Barcley	Herzog
Hanna Ralph	Herzogin
Werner Fuetterer	Erzengel
Hans Brausewetter	Farmboy
Lothar Müthel	Actor
Hans Rameau	Actor
Hertha von Walther	Actor
Emmy Wyda	Actor
Gösta Ekman	Faust,Actor
Eric Barclay	Herzog von Parma/Duke of Parma
Werner Heymann	Composer
Timothy Brock	Composer

Technical Credits

Gerhart Hauptmann

Hans Kyser

F.W. Murnau	Director
Erich Pommer	Producer
Gerhart Hauptmann	Screenwriter
Hans Kyser	Screenwriter
David Shepard	Producer

Editorial Reviews

F. W. Murnau's Faust (1926) has long lingered in the shadow of Nosferatu, his unauthorized Dracula adaptation. Although it's no masterpiece, there are riveting moments galore. It kicks off with a breathtaking opening, using light metaphorically to depict an argument between the Devil (Emil Jannings) and an angel, punctuating the frame with extremes of brightness and darkness. Driven to despair, Faust (Gösta Ekman) makes a deal with the devil to save his town, in which half the inhabitants have died of plague in just a few days. Faust is a film of great set pieces -- the opening; Gretchen (Camilla Horn) agonizing in abandonment amid winter snowdrifts; a flight taken by Faust and Mephisto -- but not a great film. Murnau emphasizes imagery over storytelling, leading to some jarring tonal shifts. The middle section, devoted to Faust's courtship of Gretchen, is almost lighthearted, injecting a comic element that seems wildly inappropriate here, although it might work in a different context. Faust is at its best in moody, mystical mode. Frequently the film draws on its own roots as a folktale as much as on Goethe's version. Even if its spell wavers, Faust bedazzles often enough to make the movie a memorable experience. -- Steve Erickson