Faust (1926)

Essential Viewing

Germany

Feature Film

Director: F.W. Murnau

Writers: Gerhart Hauptmann, Hans Kyser, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Cinematographer: Carl Hoffmann

Composer: Timothy Brock (1995)

Cast: Gösta Ekman, Emil Jannings, Camilla Horn, Frida Richard, William Dieterle, Yvette Guilbert, Eric Barclay, Hanna Ralph, Werner Fuetterer

von Goethe’s Faust – in which forces of Good and Evil, battling over possession of the Earth, decide to settle their dispute by wagering on the fate of the soul of the pious Faust – comes to life with Murnau’s expressive mise en scène, Hoffmann’s eloquent photography, Herlth and Röhrig’s incredible sets, Jabs’s wonderful make-up, and Ekman’s outstanding central performance. Iain.Stott