tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post3198008498107196171..comments2024-03-15T04:08:16.172-04:00Comments on Only the Cinema: FaustEd Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-79154909376874742742013-04-05T18:21:56.283-04:002013-04-05T18:21:56.283-04:00Hello, Ed. I stumbled upon your blog while doing a...Hello, Ed. I stumbled upon your blog while doing a search for Mephisto, a much later German film. Now I'm intrigued enough to watch Murnau's Faust which I was happy to find on Netflix. Since they have the streaming version, I'll be able to watch it tonight.<br /><br />By the way, have you ever seen Jan Svankmajer's Faust? I have this for sale at my online video store Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06188016674102878805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-38237519555315286822012-02-19T18:54:34.427-05:002012-02-19T18:54:34.427-05:00Thanks, Judy. I can see what you mean about the ch...Thanks, Judy. I can see what you mean about the change in Faust's character being rather abrupt early in the film, but I think it's making the point that the desire for power, even in service of good intentions, all too easily leads to corruption. Faust just wants to help people at first, but once he gets a taste of what Mephisto can give him, he wants more, and he's easily led into Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-34384792986287159652012-02-18T15:49:28.394-05:002012-02-18T15:49:28.394-05:00Ed, I saw this film yesterday and really appreciat...Ed, I saw this film yesterday and really appreciated reading your review straight afterwards. I had not picked up on the wager over the soul being an echo of Job - very interesting. As you say, the special effects are astonishing and Emil Jannings has a wonderful time as Mephisto. I really like your point about the way in which his flirtation with the aunt mockingly counterpoints Faust and Judyhttp://movieclassics.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-69443251220247664312012-02-17T20:27:34.702-05:002012-02-17T20:27:34.702-05:00I saw this without music, too, I've gotten int...I saw this without music, too, I've gotten into the habit of muting my TV for silents because it's so rare that I actually care much for the music accompanying silent films on DVD. Too often I find the music distracting from the visuals when the music was added to the film later. <br /><br />Agreed about the "wandering narrative" quality of the film, I love that it's so Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-16560761001832082002012-02-17T19:56:20.469-05:002012-02-17T19:56:20.469-05:00Faust is my favorite Murnau too. I saw it years ag...Faust is my favorite Murnau too. I saw it years ago for the first time at the Anthology Film Archives in New York, back-to-back with The Last Laugh. I found out after I bought my ticket that both were to be screened without any music and even considered leaving before sucking it up and sitting down. Well, I was spellbound for 4 hours (or however long it took) - and since then have generally Joel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-80575985973822472632012-02-17T10:28:24.964-05:002012-02-17T10:28:24.964-05:00Yeah, it's a fantastic and extremely influenti...Yeah, it's a fantastic and extremely influential film, David. I don't have the MOC disc but I'd like to get it, since I imagine, as is usually the case with that company, it's the best version of the film. That Rohmer book sounds great, a shame I don't read French, and that more of his criticism hasn't been translated into English. From what I've read by him, he was a Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-13927366909190770042012-02-17T09:58:30.911-05:002012-02-17T09:58:30.911-05:00Also if you read French I reccomend L'organiza...Also if you read French I reccomend <i>L'organization de l'espcace dans le "Faust" de Murnau</i> par Eric Rohmer, which was published in 1977 by Editions 10/18.<br /><br />I do wish someone would translate it as it's excelent.DavidEhrensteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11016905507543736049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-13161606938579051502012-02-17T09:22:11.265-05:002012-02-17T09:22:11.265-05:00Faust is Murnau's masterpiece. Several years b...<i>Faust</i> is Murnau's masterpiece. Several years back Bill Krohn and I did the commentary track for the "EUREKA! Masters of Cinema" DVD -- aBritish Region 2 release. We discuss the film as a whole and zero in on specific images that were slavishly copied by Disney for <i>Fantasia</i> and Welles for <i>Citizen Kane</i>DavidEhrensteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11016905507543736049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-37289702269968128752012-02-17T08:27:09.155-05:002012-02-17T08:27:09.155-05:00I was certainly inspired by that discussion to wri...I was certainly inspired by that discussion to write this one up. For me, <i>Faust</i> and <i>The Last Laugh</i> are the greatest out of those four Murnau classics, but of course that's just subjective. This film is bursting with style and has a great performance in Jannings, though I'd say that Horn's Gretchen is also admirable, especially towards the end of the film during the Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-10497716601518656522012-02-17T08:00:30.414-05:002012-02-17T08:00:30.414-05:00With a recent discussion on the cinema of 1926 at ...With a recent discussion on the cinema of 1926 at hand and a staging of Gounoud's operatic masterpiece FAUST at the Metropolitan Opera that was boaodcast worldwide on simulcast, I'd say this remarkable review of Murnau's expressionistic gem is timely, but also a significant addition to the literature of the director's last German film. Even in a career that includes some of the Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.com