Faust - Eine deutsche Volkssage (1926)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

F.W. Murnau

Writers:

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

Release Date:

6 December 1926 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror

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 | Youth | Plague | Death | Love

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
Christopher Marlowe		play "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus" (uncredited)

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)

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 Los 5 Faust de F.W. Murnau (2002) (V)

10/10

A lyrical fable version of Goethe's famous story, where Mephisto and an angel gamble with Faust's spirit, the entire film has an aura of delicate beauty. When Faust's town is shrouded with a pestilence, Faust summons Mephisto and agrees to a trial selling of his soul, in the hopes that he can save the townspeople. When Faust does indeed cure the town, Mephisto tempts him with the promise of youth and Gretchen, the most beautiful woman in Italy. Misty, often eerie, fiendish imagery, like satanic birds, hooded men, flying horsemen and Caligari-inspired exteriors fill the screen. When Faust signs his contract, the words burn themselves into the page as Mephisto dips his feather pen in Faust's vein. A wonderful touch near the beginning has Faust trying to escape Mephisto but having him appear wherever he goes, always a few steps ahead. Both Faust, as a young man, and Gretchen are lovely, and Jannings gives an excellent performance as the Dark Prince. A masterpiece of poetic atmosphere that ages Murnau's technical mastery wondrously, the film is aided tremendously by the sometimes ominous, sometimes enchanting orchestral score. 10/10