Faust (Germany, 1926)

As we close in on the end of the month, I have been changing my selections on an almost daily basis. Faust has moved all over my list, finally dropping off a week ago, and now reappearing at the last moment. The reason is simply that my enthusiasm for watching a two-hour silent film waned as the October Horror Movie Challenge went on.

While I loved FW Murnau’s Nosferatu, and very much wanted to see his other great surviving horror film (sadly, his adaptation of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is long lost), I found myself craving faster and punchier films to keep my enthusiasm going in this last stretch. As a result, I decided to review the new French horror film MadS instead. After watching half of it, however, I realised that I might struggle to write anything interesting about it. MadS is a perfectly entertaining film, but the only thing I could think to talk about was the camera trickery that makes it appear to be a single take, borrowing heavily from Hitchcock’s Rope.

So, we’re back to Faust. And I think I made the right choice.

The restored version of Faust is available on YouTube. Scroll down to view it.

Synopsis

The demon Mephisto makes a bet with an archangel that he can corrupt the soul of an innocent man, with the prize being dominion over the world. He sets his sights on Faust, an ageing alchemist, visiting a plague upon the town where he lives. While Faust uses both his knowledge and his faith to try to help the afflicted, concocting medicines and praying for salvation, the bodies continue to pile up.

Maddened by his failure, Faust burns his books. One falls open in the flames, revealing a passage about calling on the forces of darkness for aid. Using this forbidden knowledge, Faust heads out to a crossroads at midnight and conjures up Mephisto.

While Mephisto offers to do anything Faust desires, the price is that Faust must renounce God. Faust rejects Mephisto, but the demon offers him a free sample of the power to help, just for one day. This starts Faust down a path of temptation and corruption that could doom the world. The temptations only grow as Mephisto makes Faust young again and starts showing him all the pleasures he has been missing.

Will the forces of darkness triumph, or will Faust be saved from perdition by the power of love? Given that this is a mediaeval morality tale, you can probably guess the answer.

General Thoughts

Watching this film made me realise how little I knew about the legend of Faust. The versions I was familiar with omitted the wager between divine and infernal forces, making the story much more about Faust’s desire for knowledge. The importance of the romantic subplot surprised me, as did how dark it became. Now I’ve done a bit of reading on Wikipedia, I realise that all this was there in Goethe’s version of the tale. Murnau’s film seems to be a fairly accurate retelling of Goethe.

The descent of the plague upon Faust’s home town looks a lot like a poison gas attack. Given how soon after the Great War this was made, I assume that was a deliberate allusion.

Emil Jannings’ performance as Mephisto is the high point of the film. He is a gurning, capering avatar of mischief, full of sinister, campy charm. When Faust falls for Gertrude, the pious peasant girl who proves his salvation, Mephisto acts more like a jealous boyfriend than a fiend of Hell. I don’t know if Murnau intended their relationship to be a love triangle, but it’s hard not to see it that way.

The free trial of power that Mephisto offers feels like the worst kind of pay-to-play marketing. He times its end just as Faust is lost in temptation, feeling the full rush of both youth and lust. In a modern retelling, I’d expect Mephisto to pop up and ask for his credit card details.

Verdict

It can be tricky to review silent films. Of course, they’re going to look old and creaky compared to more modern fare. Both filmmaking technology and storytelling have evolved immeasurably in the past hundred years. The pace of older films may try the patience of modern viewers, and the acting can seem unnatural and exaggerated. So I think it’s important to try to appreciate older films as products of their time.

Even so, there are aspects of Faust that absolutely stand up. The visual effects and cinematography are phenomenal for 1926, and the image of Mephisto looming over Faust’s hometown remains as powerful as it ever was. This is a film filled with grand spectacles and clever cinematic trickery, and it is a joy to watch. Almost every frame is like a Gustave Doré engraving brought to life.

My one complaint is the pacing. The romance subplot between Faust and Gretchen goes on for far too long, dragging the narrative down. It is enlivened by some comic escapades with Mephisto, but I found myself wanting to skip through the middle 20 minutes. Happily, things grow much more interesting once Mephisto’s machinations tear the relationship apart, sending the story in a surprisingly dark direction.

In short, I absolutely recommend Faust, but only if silent films are your thing. It is a fascinating piece of cinematic history, a technical marvel, and a damn good piece of storytelling.

The October Horror Movie Challenge

Please do join in and share your own thoughts with us about this or any other films as the month goes on. You can usually find us on Twitter, BlueSky, Reddit, Discord, or lurking in the dark corners of your home.

If you would like to play along at home, my provisional selections are:

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (USA, 2021)
Tales That Witness Madness (UK, 1973)
When Evil Lurks (Argentina, 2023)
Under Paris (France, 2024)
In a Violent Nature (Canada, 2024)
Torso (Italy, 1973)
Titane (France, 2021)
Rorschach (USA, 2015)
The Coffee Table (Spain, 2024)
Dr Caligari (USA, 1989)
Bit (USA, 2020)
The Guard From Underground (Japan, 1992)
Oddity (Ireland, 2024)
Speak No Evil (Denmark/Netherlands, 2022)
Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (USA, 1982)
Grave Torture (Indonesia, 2024)
Bedlam (USA, 1946)
The Innsmouth School For Girls (USA, 2023)
Daddy’s Head (UK, 2024)
All You Need Is Death (Ireland, 2024)
Eight Eyes (USA/Serbia, 2021)
Poor Things (Ireland/UK/USA, 2023)
Seven Deaths in the Cat’s Eye (Italy, 1973)
Longlegs (USA, 2024)
Night of Fear (Australia, 1973)
Stopmotion (UK, 2024)
Terrifier (USA, 2016)
Azrael (USA, 2024)
Faust (Germany, 1926)
Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (Hong Kong, 1991)
I Saw the TV Glow (USA, 2024)

A Final Note

If you have been enticed here by these posts, please do look around at some of our other film reviews. We also have a podcast, called The Good Friends of Jackson Elias, which occasionally covers horror films. If this appeals, you might want to check out some of the following episodes.