Faust - Eine deutsche Volkssage (1926)

Director:

F.W. Murnau

Writers:

Johann Wolfgang Goethe (play)
Gerhart Hauptmann (titles)
(more)

Release Date:

6 December 1926 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Mystery

Plot:

God and Satan war over earth; to settle things, they wager on the soul of Faust, a learned and prayerful alchemist...

Plot Keywords:

Faust | Plague | Youth | Love | Death

Cast

Gösta Ekman	...	Faust
Emil Jannings	...	Mephisto
Camilla Horn	...	Gretchen / Marguerite
Frida Richard	...	Gretchens Mutter / Marguerite's mother
William Dieterle	...	Valentin: Gretchens Bruder / Marguerite's brother (as Wilhelm Dieterle)
Yvette Guilbert	...	Marthe Schwerdtlein: Gretchens Tante / Marguerite's aunt
Eric Barclay	...	Herzog von Parma / Duke of Parma
Hanna Ralph	...	Herzogin von Parma / Duchess of Parma
Werner Fuetterer	...	Erzengel / Archangel
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hans Brausewetter	...	Bauernbursche / Farmboy (uncredited)
Lothar Müthel	...	Mönch / Friar (uncredited)
Hans Rameau	...	(uncredited)
Hertha von Walther	...	(uncredited)
Emmy Wyda	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
F.W. Murnau

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Johann Wolfgang Goethe		play "Faust"
Gerhart Hauptmann		titles
Hans Kyser		titles

Produced by
Erich Pommer	....	producer

Original Music by
Wolfgang Dauner		(1976)
Werner R. Heymann
Erno Rapee
Daniel Schnyder		(1999)
Rolf Unkel		(1976)
William Axt		(USA, 1926) (uncredited)

Cinematography by
Carl Hoffmann

Film Editing by
Elfi Böttrich		(new version)

Art Direction by
Robert Herlth
Walter Röhrig

Costume Design by
Georges Annenkov
Robert Herlth
Walter Röhrig

Makeup Department
Waldemar Jabs	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hans Rameau	....	assistant director

Art Department
Robert Basilice	....	property master
Arno Richter	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Kurt Schmidt	....	sound: new version
Rudolf Wohlschläger	....	sound: new version

Camera and Electrical Department
Erich Grohmann	....	assistant camera
Hans Natge	....	still photographer

Music Department
Kurt Graunke	....	conductor: new score

Other crew
H.H. Caldwell	....	intertitler (US version)
Katherine Hilliker	....	intertitler (US version)
Charles Rosher	....	photographic consultant

Production Companies

• Universum Film (UFA)

Distributors

• Universum Film (UFA) (1926) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1926) (USA) (theatrical)
• Continental Home Vídeo (2002) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Divisa Home Video (2002) (Spain) (DVD)
• Eureka Entertainment (2006) (UK) (DVD)
• Grapevine Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Kino Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Kino Video (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Kino Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (two-disc special edition)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Faust (Germany) (short title)
Faust: A German Folk Legend (Canada: English title)
Fausto (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Fausto (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Faust (Austria) [de]
Faust - Eine deutsche Volkssage (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

Canada:85 min | 116 min (1997 restored version)

Country:

Germany

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Germany:6 | Spain:T

Filming Locations:

Ufa-Atelier, Berlin-Tempelhof, Berlin, Germany

Company:

Universum Film (UFA)

Trivia:

After the film had already been shot and edited, UFA decided it disliked Hans Kyser's script. Over Kyser's objections, it asked German writer Gerhart Hauptmann to work on it. However, the studio decided that it disliked Hauptmann's script even more. The film was released in Kyser's original version.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Die Sprache der Schatten - Murnau: Die frühen Jahre und Nosferatu (2007) (V)

A feast to look at.

Faust is a famous German story from Johann Wolfgang Goethe but to be honest I wasn't familiar with it until I saw this movie. Perhaps that's also why I liked the story so much, the movie changes direction time after time and from the beginning on you don't know how it is going to end. A great story of good versus evil in which love conquers all.

What makes the movie very memorable is the visual look of it. The movie is filled with some truly amazing early special effects. F.W. Murnau truly was a master in using convincing early special effects in his movies, some scene's are really impressive. Also the cinematography is spectacular and it has some brilliant lighting.

In many ways the movie was decades ahead of its time. The way the story is told in the movie is unique and spectacular for its period and so is the use of humor in it. All the scene's with Mephisto and Marthe Schwerdtlein were shear comedy brilliance, also mainly thanks to Emil Jannings his acting.

Mephisto himself really was one scary great villain character, especially when the character is first introduced to Faust.

Maybe not entirely a classic masterpiece, the middle and the drama is bit too much dragging and lacking for it but certainly a movie historical important and memorable movie. A F.W. Murnau movie that deserves to be seen by more.

9/10