Faust (Full Screen): Amazon.ca: G�sta Ekman, Emil Jannings, Camilla Horn, Frida Richard, William Dieterle, Yvette Guilbert, Eric Barclay, Hanna Ralph, Werner Fuetterer, Hans Brausewetter, Lothar M�thel, Hans Rameau, Carl Hoffmann, F.W. Murnau, Elfi B�ttrich, Erich Pommer, Gerhart Hauptmann, Hans Kyser, Johann Wolfgang Goethe: DVD

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F.W. Murnau's last German production before leaving for Hollywood is a visually dazzling take on the Faust myth. Pushing the resources of the grand old German studio UFA to the limits, Murnau creates an epic vision of good versus evil as devil Emil Jannings tempts an idealistic aging scholar with youth, power, and romance. The handsome but wan Swedish actor Gosta Ekman plays the made-over Faust as a perfectly shallow scoundrel drunk with youth, and the lovely Camilla Horn (in a part written for Lillian Gish) is the young virgin courted, then cast aside, by Faust. The drama falters in the middle with a tedious courtship and bizarre comic interludes, but the delirious images of the opening (Jannings enveloping a mountain town in his dark cloak of evil) and the high melodrama of the climax (Horn desperately clutching her baby while crawling, abandoned and lost, through a snowstorm) triumphs over such shortcomings. The sheer scale of Murnau's epic and the magnificent play of light, shadow, and mist on his exquisitely designed sets makes this one of the most cinematically ambitious, visually breathtaking, and beautiful classics of the silent era. --Sean Axmaker

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
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Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Love breaks all bonds, July 1 2006

By

bernie "webviator" (Arlington, Texas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Faust (Full Screen) (DVD)

The story is Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe's; the film is unmistakably F.W. Murnau.

The Archangel (Werner Fuetterer) and the evil one are in a struggle for the world. Both are sure they know best. A bet is stuck for the sole of a religious alchemist named Faust as we can see he has knowledge of the elements yet maintains a moral attitude.

A grate plague appears and with all of his books and learning Foust can not save anyone. He turns to prayer and seems to get nowhere. So in a fit he burns his books; in the embers he spots a book that suggests he call on Mephisto (Emil Jannings.) He does so and is repelled at what he did. However after some dickering he accepts a one day contract to at least be able to help some of the plague victims. Naturally he is to reject God and sign in blood. And you guessed it things go wrong. He is tempted by youth, "Your Life was only the dust and mold of books.", and distracted with an Italian cutie Duchess of Parma (Hanna Ralph) just long enough for the sands to run out on him. From there things go down hill but the story heats up.

With the overwhelming visuals and great acting one tends to not notice the elements or threads that tie this film today to our society. Notice the standard circle and the calling upon the four corners as Faust calls three times the name Mephisto. Also notice the garlands that Gretchen made for the children. More interesting is the use of the flower with "She loves me...she loves me not."

Emil Jannings does such a good job that you almost find your self rooting for the bad guy.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Epitome of an Epic, Jun 21 2004

By

Polkadotty (Mountains of Western North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Faust (Full Screen) (DVD)

For all intents and purposes, this is THE silent film to own, if one can own just one. It has everything. Drama, special effects, comedy, allegory, myth, good vs evil. Murnau is a director par excellence and displays his visionary propensities to splendid effect in this classic Goethe tale. The inimitable Emil Jannings plays a hearty, red-blooded Mephisto. Jannings as a silent screen actor invokes in one look, or a singular movement, what some contemporary actors could not hope to capture within a fete of endless dialogue. Camilla Horn plays a heartbreaking Gretchen, and the scene in which she wanders the snow with her dying baby is as evocative as it gets. Grab a hankie and do not feel shamed to find yourself swept along for the ride, of which there is a most splendid one included in this film, where Faust and Mephisto glide above a world in miniature. Amazing, exhilarating, absorbing. You shan't be disappointed.

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5.0 out of 5 stars This is why we have movies today!, Nov 13 2003

By

James H. Wilson (Newport News, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Faust (Full Screen) (DVD)

Do you know that many older people dream all or in part in black and white? Our dreams (and perhaps that is what movies are) were framed by our visions of movies and TV. Murnau's, "Faust" is one of those visual images that sets in your mind and comes forward when you reflect on movies. It is that good, it is that powerful. Like his later movie, "Sunrise," Faust is a visual feast that is more colorful in black and white than it could possibly be in color. (I ALWAYS maintain that Kurosawa is more colorful in b-&-w than in color)
The story is simple. It is the story of Faust, a man who sells his soul to the Devil. The movie does slow down in the middle. But the imagry of the beginning and the end are worthy of the finest film crafting of all time.
I taught histoy for many years and an important facet of history is getting and understanding of where the world of today came from. We have cars because 100 years ago people grew fond ofr cars. We have airplanes because 100 years ago people grew to want planes. And we have movies because 100 years ago people made them part of their lives. Faust is one of those beautiful works of art that people love then and can still admire today.
Praise goes to Kino for producing a clear well scored DVD of a work of art for us to study and admire.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning reproduction and photography, good art film
I'm not a silent film buff. But the story of Faust was enough of a temptation. The black and white photography, alone, makes this worth watching. Read more

Published on Oct 6 2003 by Thomas Lapins

4.0 out of 5 stars Visually stunning but flawed
Having watched Nosferatu recently, I've developed a bit of a Murnau "thing", and Faust has done nothing to dampen this. Read more

Published on Aug 5 2003 by O. Buxton