The Thursday Horror Picture Show will screen F.W. Murnau’s Faust on Thursday, Sept. 22, at 9:15 p.m. at The Grail Moviehouse, hosted by Xpress movie critic Scott Douglas.
Faust
Movie Information
In Brief: F. W. Murnau's 1926 interpretation of the classic tale of a pious alchemist who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge, youth and the love of a beautiful young woman, this is possibly the most accurate recounting of the story ever filmed. Murnau draws heavily from Goethe's play, but also from older folktales that provided the basis for both that work and Christopher Marlowe's The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus. One of the most technically advanced films ever shot at the time of its production, Murnau's Faust would have ramifications on the film industry that persist to this day. The effects shots in this film, revolutionary in their day, will still prove remarkable to even the most CG-addled modern cineaste.
| Score: | |
| Genre: | Fantasy Horror |
| Director: | F. W. Murnau |
| Starring: | Costa Ekman, Emil Jannings, Camilla Horn, Wilhelm Dieterle |
| Rated: | NR |
TRIVIA NOTE: The Wilhelm Dieterle listed in the cast list would later become Hollywood director William Dieterle who made the 1939 HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME w/Charles Laughton (which owes a lot to this movie) and the 1948 PORTRAIT OF JENNIE among many others. Also, for the record, it’s Gosta Ekman (with a G instead of a C) There’s an umlaut over the “o” which I can’t reproduce here. The name is pronounced -GURsta. He was Sweden’s top classical stage actor (in the vein of Laurence Olivier) before making movies.