Faust (35mm)

In the organizer's words:

FRG 1960, Director: Peter Gorski, Gustaf Gründgens, 128 minutes, 35mm, OF

Gorski's 1960s adaptation of Goethe's "Faust I" brings the tragedy from the Hamburg Schauspielhaus to the screen, with an outstanding Gustav Gründgens as Mephisto - to this day, it is considered one of the best interpretations of the deepest human dilemmas between good and evil! "The task of this film adaptation must be to find the exact middle ground between filmed theater and pure film," said Gründgens. The play should "neither be photographed nor softened by cinematic showmanship." Theater film is thus neither a filmed stage nor pure cinematic art, and yet it follows the camera beyond the horizon of experience of a theater visit. The color and lighting design sketches a dark world, while at the same time resolutely distancing itself from mysticism and blurriness in order to rely entirely on the expression of the actors.
Gorski's FAUST makes intensive use of the black of the theater buildings to reinforce the mystical atmosphere of the play and to position the characters effectively. Black, the color of mystery, death and power, frames the central themes of hell, damnation and Mephisto's dark magic, who maliciously exposes Faust's dualities in a contrastingly wise mask.

Supporting film: A Chairy Tale, Director: Norman McLaren, Canada 1957, 10 min, 35mm, original version

Price information:

Donation requested