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| An original, Gothic-styled, chilling poster for F.W. Murnau's Faust |
Faust, an old alchemist, who is attempting to make gold, becomes the object of a bet between God and Satan: If the devil can corrupt Faust, he is entitled to everything!
Faust is written by Gerhart Hauptmann (Der Biberpelz (1971), TV movie) and Hans Kyser (Arabella/Arabella. Der Roman eines Pferdes (1924)), based on the legendary Faust tale and on Johann Wofgang von Goethe's (The Sorcerer's Apprentice/Der Zauberlehrling (1797), poem) same-titled two-part play (1808; 1832), and directed by German master filmmaker F.W. Murnau (Tartuffe/Herr Tartüff (1925)).
As the plague sweeps across his town, Faust welcomes the devil's messenger, Mephisto, - in the grotesquely overacting, menacing figure of Emil Jannings (Husbands or Lovers/Nju - Eine Unverstandene Frau (1924)), - and later he fully enters a pact to reclaim his youth. SPOILER Contrary to the original ending of the myth, here God is in the end proved right, because the devil doesn't know of ... Liebe! [love] This provides a fine and moving ending that has a grandeur about it that matches the rest of the film's.
Faust is most impressive because of its striking images, compositions and lighting, (cinematography by Carl Hoffmann (The Girl from Fano/Das Mädchen von Fanö (1941))); its sets, costumes and effects, (among them are Faust and Mephisto's flying on the latter's cape to Italy!), and its iconography, as is also apparent in the photos from the film below.
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Cost: 2 mil. marks, different sources determine this to have been approximately 0.47 - 0.9 mil. $ at the time - a very substantial budget at the time
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertain - but reportedly the film recouped only half of its costs in admissions, which would decidedly suggest that it was a huge flop
[Faust was first released 20 September (in Denmark!) and runs 106 minutes, - though running times may vary from version to version, as at least 5 versions of the film have been located. Murnau was not initially meant to direct the film, but after he - with Janning's backup - sought the job, he got it. And due to his success with The Last Laugh/Der Letzte Mann (1924), he was given a reportedly unlimited budget. Kyser's first script was reportedly so disliked by the studio that they hired Hauptmann, whose script was even less liked, and Kyser's was reportedly the one finally used. Filming lasted 6 months in UFA's Berlin studio, where Murnau challenged convention with two cameras filming simultaneously and innovative detail and effects orientation. The details surrounding the film's theatrical performance are not known. Murnau had relocated to Hollywood, when the film came out in Germany, and he was already busy making his first film there, Sunrise/Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927). Jannings returned in The Way of All Flesh (1927), also in Hollywood, now a lost film. Roger Ebert has given Faust a 4/4 review, translating to two notches better than this one. A version of the film has entered the public domain and can be seen and downloaded free and legally here. Faust is fresh at 94 % with an 8.4/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Faust?
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