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It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

I'm not sure which version of the film I saw, although it did have live piano accompaniment, which was nice. The announcer mentioned it was presented on film at 18 fps. It started out with a Kino logo. I think all the text on the screen was in German, with English subtitles.The film itself however was a disappointment, mostly because even today you still have to have a good story to tell. This is less a story than cartoonish propaganda.I do give credit for the early-on special effects, which seem good even by today's standards. I'm reminded a bit of Dracula (1992). Filmmakers (especially in Canada) should take note that special effects come from skill, not computers.But as to the story, it's just not there. For example, it's never really clear why Faust suddenly abandons his hope of curing plague and decides to lust after some young woman. We have to make up the reasons ourselves. It's never clear why the side of "good" permits a mob to burn an innocent bystander for the sake of a game involving someone else, permits the death of child due to shunning by society, or why the side of "good" permits these mob attitudes, or plague at all. In the end, although we're told that "love" wins, both lovers die in the mob's fire, and we're left to assume that the remaining plague victims die as well without supernatural help. In fact guilt wins, mayhem wins, hatred wins, and disease wins. That's all.I have to say I found Mephisto rather a fun figure, more like Puck than anyone evil, and I was certainly rooting for him through most of the film, even if he was a jerk.Ultimately, the film only makes sense if you buy into the mythology already, as it makes no attempt to justify or expand any of it. For any rational viewer, it's just so much nonsense that the skill with effects and even the comedy becomes irrelevant. Such a shame.

The special effects in F.W Murnau's expressionism masterpiece Faust - Eine deutsche Volkssage (Faust) are just astonishing. I was really surprised when I saw the flying sequence with the weird bird creatures and inventive camera angles, it looks so modern compared to other films of the time and even many films made after it. Its also very creepy at times(mainly in the beginning) and tells a classic tragic story of love and the battle between good and evil(even though it doesn't at all times make a clear distinction between the two).(Slight spoilers ahead) The moral dilemma is probably the greatest when Faust says he'll "help the people in Satan's name" and as he is trying to save a child from the plague he is stopped by the crucifix the child is holding and then is almost stoned to death by the townspeople (who he is trying to help in the first place) because he can't bare to look at the cross and is in league with the devil.Acting in Faust is great same with cinematography and the story is just so captivating. Highly recommended for fans of silent horror,silent cinema and German expressionism.

You will never see cinematography like this in a sound or color film! Murnau's 'Nosferatu' (1925) pales in comparison to this visually fantastic masterpiece!The first half is a perfect supernatural tale of God and the Devil (Mephisto) wagering over the soul of man: if Mephisto can win Faust, all of Earth belongs to Satan. It is shown and told with such amazing photography, sets and acting. Check out the other reviews that describe the wonderment of all its stunning shots in detail. The final scenes are masterful as well: the death of Gretchen's baby and Faust's final salvation.Emil Jannings is so great as Mephisto it looks like the Devil is a sure winner. He steals every scene he's in, whether he's pure evil, puckish, Satanic or clownish. "The Snake Has All The Lines!" No wonder he was the first actor to receive a Best Actor Oscar! It made me want to see his other classic, 'The Last Laugh' (1924).The musical soundtrack perfectly matches the action and mood of every scene. Great!But---the middle really drags on too long as a love story between the now young and handsome Faust and the beautiful Gretchen, and there are some needless scenes of Mephisto being pestered by Marguerite's aunt seeking to be his wife.The movie picks up again in the last third as Gretchen is condemned for her affair with Faust, who sacrifices himself for her, and Mephisto loses the bet.The film is so staggeringly made we can forgive the boring middle parts, but I can only give it a 9, not a 10.

Many people have heard the tale of Faust, which has become ingrained in the collective mind of our culture. A worldly doctor sells his soul to the devil in exchange for any earthly good he could desire in exchange for the loss of any spiritual good he could have. This, I believe, is told from the Goethe angle, seeing as how the tale of Faust is more of a folktale than anything that can be attributed to any one novelist.An archangel and Mephisto, played magnificently by Emil Jannings, make a wager: if Mephisto can tempt and acquire the soul of Faust, a renowned and prestigious alchemist, all of mankind is doomed. The hideous raven-form of Mephisto slinks off to his work....In a truly awe-inspiring image, we see Mephisto spreading his demonic wings over the nameless Germanic town in what is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. This spreads the plague, which devastates the town. Faust sells his soul in order to stop it, but doesn't stop there. Be it wealth or the flesh of the loveliest woman alive, Mephisto will give him any earthly desire after he makes his contract permanent.The story is heart-breaking: a classic tale of good, evil, religion, love, and temptation. I'm not one of your weepy types, but I have to admit I was getting a little misty-eyed at the ending. The acting is awesome across the board, with Emil Jannings stealing the show as the cackling Mephisto. His range of facial expressions boggles the mind! But really, it's the visuals that make the movie memorable: phantasmagoric montages of bizarre and demonic images, just what you'd expect from the director of Nosferatu. A demon engulfing a town in his wings, satanic birds, skeletal horsemen....and others. It's really....really interesting to watch.Murnau may be known best for Nosferatu, but don't skip out on this other gem from the Expressionistic era.