Pushing the considerable resources of the Ufa Studios to the breaking point F.W. Murnau (Nosferatu, Sunrise) masterful version of of Goethe s FAUST ranks alongside Fritz Lang s (better known) Metropolis as the great example of the German silent cinema. Gösta Ekman stars as the doomed alchemist who, struggling with his spirituality in the middle of a crippling plague, is offered the ability to remedy the plague and the blessing of youthful vitality. Not to spoil anything, but the downside is steep.
As the diabolical Mephisto, Emil Jannings (The Last Laugh) delivers of power and surprising complexity. This special Kino edition contains the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation s painfully meticulous restoration of the original German version of the film (with striking hand-painted titles), as well as a longer, alternate cut prepared by the Ufa Studios in 1930.
Kino's two disc set includes a 53 minute documentary on the making of Murnau's classic as well as "lost" screen footage of Lubitch's never completed Margurite and Faust project.
www.kino.com
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