Overview
A timeless tale of ambition and temptation, where the price of youth is the soul itself.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- eerie
- brooding
- tragic
- classic cinema night
- film history study
What critics said
Later critics broadly regard Murnau’s Faust as a canonical German Expressionist masterpiece and one of silent cinema’s most astonishing visual experiences.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Faust trades his soul to Mephisto for renewed youth and access to worldly experience.
The film presents demonic forces, plague, celestial spaces, and medieval settings through highly stylized production design and imagery.
God and Satan wager over Faust's soul, turning his temptations and choices into the stakes of a metaphysical contest.
Faust's liaison with Gretchen brings her dishonor while the relationship becomes central to the question of his possible redemption.
Films like Faust, and why
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
German Expressionist fantasy, supernatural temptation, stylized visual design, and moral conflict
Nosferatu
silent-era spectacle, gothic atmosphere, demonic imagery, and German Expressionist visual language
The Devil's Advocate
mythic bargain with supernatural forces, tragic romance, and heightened theatrical fantasy
The Black Cat
dark folkloric fantasy, doomed love, and visually stylized moral struggle
Movie Details
- Director
- F. W. Murnau
- Release Date
- 1926-10-13
- Runtime
- 116 min
- Rating
- 7.9 / 10 (415)
Cast
- Gösta Ekman
- Emil Jannings
- Camilla Horn
- Frida Richard
- William Dieterle
- Werner Fuetterer
- Yvette Guilbert
- Eric Barclay
- Hanna Ralph
- Hans Brausewetter
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Kino Film Collection
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Faust about?
- A learned alchemist’s bargain with Mephisto unleashes a visually astonishing struggle among plague, desire, damnation, and redemption.
- What is Faust like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Faust as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Faust violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Faust as mild.
- What did critics think of Faust?
- Later critics broadly regard Murnau’s Faust as a canonical German Expressionist masterpiece and one of silent cinema’s most astonishing visual experiences.
- Which films are like Faust?
- Films with a similar feel include The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, The Devil's Advocate, and The Black Cat.
- How long is Faust?
- Faust runs 116 minutes.
- Where can I watch Faust?
- In United States, Faust streams on Kino Film Collection.
