Tehran, Tehran – The Iranian Artist Forum (IAF) will show you a restored version of the 1926 silent fantasy film “Faust,” directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau on Friday.
Irna reported that a 107-minute film screening would begin at IAF’s Naserihal at 6pm.
Murnau’s film is based on the old traditions of Faust’s legendary tales and the classic 1808 version of Goethe.
In this silent film classic, Mephisto the Devil bets on the Archangel and bets that the soul of the good man can be corrupted. Mephisto aims to Faust, a thoughtful old alchemist who is desperately trying to save the village from the plague. He is able to help the villagers thanks to Mephisto, but he deals with the devil Reed Faust further in a decadent downward spiral. Can he redeem his soul before it’s too late?
The film stars Gesta Ekman as Faust, Emile Jannings as Mephisto, Camilla Horn as Gretchen/Marguerite, Frida Richard as mother, Wilhelm Dietar as brother and Yvette Gilbert as Marte Schweldrein.
“Faust” was Murnau’s last German film, and after that he moved to the United States. The film has been praised for its special effects and is considered an example of German Expressionist films.
Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (1888-1931) was a German film director, producer and screenwriter. He is considered one of the film’s most influential filmmakers in his work in a quiet era.
Murnau was a erudite child with an early interest in film, and eventually studied philosophy and art before director Max Reinhard recruited him to his acting school.
Murnau’s first directorial work premiered in 1919, but he did not achieve international recognition until the 1922 film Nosferatu, which was the adaptation of the 1897 novel Dracula. Though it is not a commercial success due to copyright issues with the author’s stalker’s real estate, the film is considered a masterpiece of German Expressionist films and early cult films.
SS/SAB