Murnau's last German film features astonishing photography, magnificent art direction, and special effects which retain the power to amaze. Freed from the constraints of psychological narrative, Murnau's mastery of cinematic technique places Faust at the pinnacle of the silent era, its barrage of visceral and apocryphal imagery contrasting with the simplicity and directness of its spiritual theme.
In collaboration with the screenwriter Hans Kyser, Murnau fused Faust's script from German folk legend and the works of Goethe, Gounod, and Marlowe (particularly using the latter's tone). Faust's tale is a classic one of a man who sells his soul to the devil. In an attempt to gain control of the Earth, Mephisto (Emil Jannings) wagers an angel (Werner Fuetterer) that he can corrupt the soul of the elderly professor Faust (Gosta Ekman). As the Horsemen of the Apocalypse ride demonically through the sky, Mephisto towers over Faust's hometown unleashing a plague that spreads amongst its inhabitants. Faust, unable to find a cure for the citizens who are dropping dead around him, renounces both God and science invoking the aid of Satan through a mysterious book that he chances across.
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Faust
German CutFaust
International CutStreaming Options
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Technical Specifications
Supplements
- Full-length audio commentary by critics David Ehrenstein and Bill Krohn
- New harp score by Stan Ambrose, as well as optional Timothy Brock orchestral score
- The complete export version of the film
- A 20-minute video piece with critic Tony Rayns discussing the film
- A video comparison between the domestic and export versions of the film
- 28-page booklet with new essays by Peter Spooner and R. Dixon Smith, and a selection of rare production stills