Brain Pain discussion

Discussion – Faust (movie) by F.W. Murnau

Faust, by F.W. Murnau was released in 1926. It is widely available for sale and download, and can be watched on Youtube (This version is of reasonable quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muQmM...

Murnau has created a composite version of the Faust legend, but follows most closely Goethe’s play, Faust Part One.

More information can be found on this Wikipedia page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faust_%2...

After you have watched the movie, please use this thread to discuss your impressions of Murnau’s version and its relation to the overall canon of the Faust legend.

Amazing movie. I’ve watched Nosferatu at least 10 times, no idea why I never saw this one. Some of the best moments were the ones where Murnau took the most liberties with the original, such as Mephistopheles' repeated appearances along the road after Faust invokes him at the crossroads. Actually, the entire crossroads scene was pretty rad.

I thought that in general Murnau did a good job putting in needed simplifications while staying true to the spirit of the original. Faust makes his original bargain due to his frustrations at being unable to cure the plague, which is reasonable shorthand for his existential frustration at his limitations in the Goethe. I also liked the way Mephistopheles lured Faust into coming to him by starting the plague in the first place. And I loved the ending, which invoked the end of Goethe’s part two with its redemptive power of love.

Young Faust, with his motivations being primarily located just south of his stomach, was definitely less interesting than old Faust. We pretty much lost any sort of deeper motivations from the time he appeared until the time he finally quit being a jackass and wished away his youth.

It is always unfair to a movie to compare it with a written work, as they tend to get judged on plot and character whereas it’s the visuals that are a film’s strong points. And Faust had some amazing ones: Mephistopheles looming over the town, the weirdly twisted sets, the scenes of the plague, etc. On a poetic level, the two works seem comparable in their own mediums. I would even give a higher score to Murnau on that basis, but it’s unfair to judge verse in translation.

On an interesting side note, in Roger Ebert’s discussion of Faust (Faust Review) he says that the actor who played Valentin later directed “The Devil and Daniel Webster”, which was my first exposure to Faustian plot lines.

Whitney wrote: "Amazing move. I’ve watched Nosferatu at least 10 times, no idea why I never saw this one. Some of the best moments were the ones where Murnau took the most liberties with the original, such as Mep..."

I watched Faust again today on youtube and realize I really need to see a clean version to appreciate the cinematography.

Murnau did a great job simplifying, as you said. A good mix of love story and Faustian bargain, with the dénouement of Love conquering all and trumping the devil's compact.