Faust (F.W. Murnau, Restored Deluxe Edition) (Blu-ray)
RESTORED DELUXE EDITION
Mobilizing the full resources of the Ufa Studios, F.W. Murnau (Nosferatu, Sunrise) orchestrated a colossal adaptation of Goethe's FAUST that ranks alongside Fritz Lang's Metropolis as the greatest achievement of the German silent cinema.
Gösta Ekman stars as the titular alchemist who, struggling with his faith amidst a devastating plague, is offered the power to cure and the gift of youth...in exchange for his soul. As the diabolical Mephisto, Emil Jannings (The Last Laugh) delivers a performance of operatic scale and intensity, by turns charming, comical, and horrific.
This special Kino edition contains the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation’s meticulous restoration of the original German version of the film (with unique hand-painted intertitles), as well as a lengthier alternate cut prepared by the Ufa Studios in 1930.
FAUST: Eine deutsche Volkssage
Germany 1926 106 Min. B&W 1.33:1
Directed by F.W. Murnau
From the play by Johann Wolfgang Goethe
Produced by Erich Pommer
Photographed by Carl Hoffmann
With Emil Jannings, Gösta Ekman, Camilla Horn, Wilhelm Dieterle
Score compiled from historic photoplay music by
The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra
C Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung, Wiesbaden
Music C and P 2009 Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra
Previous U.S. Release Version 116 Min. B&W 1.33:1
Music composed and conducted by Timothy Brock
Performed by The Olympia Chamber Orchestra
Produced for video by David Shepard
C Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung, Wiesbaden
Music C 1995 Timothy Brock
-Piano score by Perez de Azpeitia, adapted from the original 1926 orchestral arrangement
-Orchestral score by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.
-Orchestral score by Timothy Brock, performed by the Olympia Chamber Orchestra (U.S. Release version).
-"The Language of Shadows: Faust" - a 53-minute documentary on the making of the film and its subsequent restoration.
Screen test footage of Ernst Lubitsch's abandoned 1923 production Marguerite and Faust.
- F. W. Murnau - Director
- Johann Wolfgang Goethe - Writer
- Emil Jannings - Actor
- William Dieterle - Actor
- Gosta Ekman - Actor
- Camilla Horn - Actor
Reviews
"One of the most astonishing visual experiences the silent film has to offer." - Dave Kehr, The New York Times
"Murnau extracts the essence of Goethe’s poetic masterwork through the strength of his images...Such astonishingly vast visual conceits as the Devil covering a town with his wings and spewing gas to spread the plague, or the final transfiguration of the martyred lovers, suggest an artistic imagination that isn’t merely adaptive but even rivals Goethe’s own." -Richard Brody, The New Yorker
Awards
Official Selection New York Film FestivalFor press and publicity inquiries, please email [email protected]. A selection of press materials for this title may be available for download here.
Videos
Stills
