I'm not sure which version of the film I saw, although it did have live piano accompaniment, which was nice. The announcer mentioned it was presented on film at 18 fps. It started out with a Kino logo. I think all the text on the screen was in German, with English subtitles.
The film itself however was a disappointment, mostly because even today you still have to have a good story to tell. This is less a story than cartoonish propaganda.
I do give credit for the early-on special effects, which seem good even by today's standards. I'm reminded a bit of Dracula (1992). Filmmakers (especially in Canada) should take note that special effects come from skill, not computers.
But as to the story, it's just not there. For example, it's never really clear why Faust suddenly abandons his hope of curing plague and decides to lust after some young woman. We have to make up the reasons ourselves. It's never clear why the side of "good" permits a mob to burn an innocent bystander for the sake of a game involving someone else, permits the death of child due to shunning by society, or why the side of "good" permits these mob attitudes, or plague at all. In the end, although we're told that "love" wins, both lovers die in the mob's fire, and we're left to assume that the remaining plague victims die as well without supernatural help. In fact guilt wins, mayhem wins, hatred wins, and disease wins. That's all.
I have to say I found Mephisto rather a fun figure, more like Puck than anyone evil, and I was certainly rooting for him through most of the film, even if he was a jerk.
Ultimately, the film only makes sense if you buy into the mythology already, as it makes no attempt to justify or expand any of it. For any rational viewer, it's just so much nonsense that the skill with effects and even the comedy becomes irrelevant. Such a shame.
The film itself however was a disappointment, mostly because even today you still have to have a good story to tell. This is less a story than cartoonish propaganda.
I do give credit for the early-on special effects, which seem good even by today's standards. I'm reminded a bit of Dracula (1992). Filmmakers (especially in Canada) should take note that special effects come from skill, not computers.
But as to the story, it's just not there. For example, it's never really clear why Faust suddenly abandons his hope of curing plague and decides to lust after some young woman. We have to make up the reasons ourselves. It's never clear why the side of "good" permits a mob to burn an innocent bystander for the sake of a game involving someone else, permits the death of child due to shunning by society, or why the side of "good" permits these mob attitudes, or plague at all. In the end, although we're told that "love" wins, both lovers die in the mob's fire, and we're left to assume that the remaining plague victims die as well without supernatural help. In fact guilt wins, mayhem wins, hatred wins, and disease wins. That's all.
I have to say I found Mephisto rather a fun figure, more like Puck than anyone evil, and I was certainly rooting for him through most of the film, even if he was a jerk.
Ultimately, the film only makes sense if you buy into the mythology already, as it makes no attempt to justify or expand any of it. For any rational viewer, it's just so much nonsense that the skill with effects and even the comedy becomes irrelevant. Such a shame.