Wire report
Faust review – FW Murnau’s silent masterpiece is a devilishly dazzling vision
The 1926 film of Goethe’s tragic tale of a man who sells his soul to the devil remains a spectacular feat of German expressionism The centenary of FW Murnau’s silent fantasy-melodrama from 1926 is the occasion to ponder this mysterious film, taken from Goethe’s 19th-century depiction of the alchemist and natural philosopher who sells his soul to the devil but, in a very high-minded climax of German romanticism, is redeemed by love. (Not love of God precisely, but love of a good woman; the word “Liebe” finally appears at the centre of Murnau’s radiating vision of concentric circles conjured by the heavens, which annul his debt to the Evil One.) It is therefore very different from Christopher Marlowe’s scarier and more unforgiving account of Doctor Faustus. Murnau’s Faust is (obviously) concerned with and animated by evil, and there are echoes of his Nosferatu , made four years previously.
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The 1926 film of Goethe’s tragic tale of a man who sells his soul to the devil remains a spectacular feat of German expressionism The centenary of FW Murnau’s silent fantasy-melodrama from 1926 is the occasion to ponder this mysterious film, taken from Goethe’s 19th-century depiction of the alchemist and natural philosopher who sells his soul to the devil but, in a very high-minded climax of German romanticism, is redeemed by love. (Not love of God precisely, but love of a good woman; the word “Liebe” finally appears at the centre of Murnau’s radiating vision of concentric circles conjured by the heavens, which annul his debt to the Evil One.) It is therefore very different from Christopher Marlowe’s scarier and more unforgiving account of Doctor Faustus. Murnau’s Faust is (obviously) concerned with and animated by evil, and there are echoes of his Nosferatu , made four years previously.
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According to The Guardian’s source item, Faust review – FW Murnau’s silent masterpiece is a devilishly dazzling vision, The 1926 film of Goethe’s tragic tale of a man who sells his soul to the devil remains a spectacular feat of German expressionism The centenary of FW Murnau’s silent fantasy-melodrama from 1926 is the occasion to ponder this mysterious film, taken from Goethe’s 19th-century depiction of the alchemist and natural philosopher who sells his soul to the devil but, in a very high-minded climax of German romanticism, is redeemed by love. (Not love of God precisely, but love of a good woman; the word “Liebe” finally appears at the centre of Murnau’s radiating vision of concentric circles conjured by the heavens, which annul his debt to the Evil One.) It is therefore very different from Christopher Marlowe’s scarier and more unforgiving account of Doctor Faustus. Murnau’s Faust is (obviously) concerned with and animated by evil, and there are echoes of his Nosferatu , made four years previously.
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Primary source: Faust review – FW Murnau’s silent masterpiece is a devilishly dazzling vision via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
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- Faust review – FW Murnau’s silent masterpiece is a devilishly dazzling visionThe Guardian - 2026-10-15T08:00:26+00:00
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