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Faust

Released Dec 6, 1926 1h 57m Drama Fantasy Horror List
91% Tomatometer 34 Reviews 91% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
In this classic of silent cinema, the demon Mephisto (Emil Jannings) makes a bet with an archangel that a good man's soul can be corrupted. Mephisto sets his sights on the thoughtful old alchemist Faust (Gösta Ekman), who is desperately trying to save his village from a plague. He is able to help the villagers, thanks to Mephisto, but further dealings with the devil lead Faust on a decadent downward spiral. Can he redeem his soul before it's too late?

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Faust

Critics Reviews

View All (34) Critics Reviews
Wilella Waldorf New York Post It can be said without exaggeration that each individual scene in this production is in itself a perfect picture. Oct 7, 2020 Full Review C. Hooper Trask Variety From the standpoint of taste and photographic brilliance it Is doubtful whether there has ever been a production that surpassed it. Oct 7, 2020 Full Review Times (UK) Staff Times (UK) If we do not trouble our heads about the Faust legend or about consistency in the interpretation of it, the film, considered as a succession of swift, brilliant scenes, is a good one. Oct 7, 2020 Full Review Dennis Harvey 48 Hills It confirmed within the industry that the director was some kind of genius. Jan 8, 2022 Full Review Carl Sandburg Chicago Daily News [Faust] is one of the most beautiful of all works of the moving picture. It should be in the library of every art school and museum of America. Dec 14, 2021 Full Review Robert E. Sherwood LIFE It seems incredible that [Emil Jannings] could give a performance that is almost ludicrously unimpressive -- that is, artificial in the most operatic sense; but such is the shocking case. Oct 5, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (254) audience reviews
Miguel Ángel P Great film. Best sound track. Without doubt one of the best film in the history. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/05/24 Full Review Killian M A good enough silent horror movie with a story that could be done great justice in a modern setting. It just suffers what a small portion of silent movies do by having us read paragraphs at a time. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/13/24 Full Review Matthew B F W Murnau was one of the most talented directors of the silent era, and he had a gift for putting images on the screen that still look breathtaking and remarkable today. In fact the movies of Murnau were far in advance of many early talkies, which were handicapped by the need to soundproof noisy cameras. He was able to create a visual spectacle that is just as captivating today as it was then. There is a kind of wizardry about the best silent moves – the ability to use the most basic of methods to make something extraordinary. Perhaps the very limitations of the films actually helped make them more convincing. When you watch a silent movie, you are never in doubt that you are watching a film. The images may be grainy or flickering. The movement of the images may be jumpy. There is no sound but music. Actors talk and yet we hear no words. Occasionally an intertitle flashes on the screen to tell us something that they said. This is in contrast to movies ever since. The images on the screen have become clearer, the special effects have become more sophisticated, the dialogue is audible. It is possible to lose oneself in the film and treat it as reality. As a result, the moviemaker cannot afford to use sets, props or effects that look too phoney, as they break the viewer's suspension of disbelief. Murnau did not have this problem, because the silent movie is by its nature dream-like and unreal. When Murnau shows Faust and Mephisto flying amidst dark and looming clouds, passing by peculiar birds that look almost like pterodactyls, the director can use models of houses, mountains, rivers and waterfalls below the actors, and we accept the illusion. In other scenes, we do not mind that flames are being created by burners, or that fans are being used to make the characters' cloaks billow in the wind. The image still convinces. Sometimes it is remarkable to wonder how the visual trickery was achieved. Images are superimposed on the screen. The devil is seen looming over the earth, dwarfing the entire town. Mephisto draws up a diabolical pact for Faust to sign, and we see glowing words appear slowly on the scroll, a scene which took an entire day to film. In any case, the film embraces opportunities for looking artificial. Houses are crooked, camera shots are slanted, and parts of the screen are darkened so that we are only allowed to focus on the part of the image that Murnau considers to be important. The movie uses religious language and representations, but perhaps we could see it more simply as being about the conflict between the nobler and darker sides of human nature, a central theme in Sunrise too. The archangel and demon are on one level the outer representations of an inner psychological struggle in the personality of Faust, and it is one that we too are fighting inside ourselves. I wrote a longer appreciation of Faust on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2018/09/06/faust-1926/ Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/24/23 Full Review Audience Member This could have been five stars if they had a margarine dukey 2022 cameo in it. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Michael M F.W. Murnau's Faust is a visually-stunning adaptation of the German folktale which falls among the director's best. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/01/22 Full Review william d Easily the best special effects in a pre-1930 movie I have ever seen. Combine that with a timeless story and Murnau's brilliant direction and you have a true cinema classic. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis In this classic of silent cinema, the demon Mephisto (Emil Jannings) makes a bet with an archangel that a good man's soul can be corrupted. Mephisto sets his sights on the thoughtful old alchemist Faust (Gösta Ekman), who is desperately trying to save his village from a plague. He is able to help the villagers, thanks to Mephisto, but further dealings with the devil lead Faust on a decadent downward spiral. Can he redeem his soul before it's too late?
Director
F.W. Murnau
Producer
Erich Pommer
Screenwriter
Hans Kyser, Gerhart Hauptmann
Production Co
Universum Film A.G.
Genre
Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Original Language
German
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 6, 1926, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
May 22, 2017
Runtime
1h 57m
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