Doktor Faustus

Cerebral and altogether too-literal transcript of Christopher Marlowe’s venerable play – the end result is opulent yet claustrophobic, not to mention dull.

Burton the producer/director certainly made inspired choices for his collaborators – production designer John De Cuir, cinematographer Gabor Pogany, composer Mario Nascimbene. Burton the actor, then, is riveting as always (particularly the monologue towards the end) – but real-life spouse Elizabeth Taylor is simply ludicrous as Faustus’ object of desire (in various disguises including Helen of Troy)! The remaining cast is largely made up of Oxford University drama students (the University itself, of which Burton was a former graduate, partly financed the film!): of these, only Andreas Teuber’s bald-headed, monk-clad Mephistopheles manages a striking performance.

The “Mondo Digital” review had likened this to the cult horror films made by Hammer, Roger Corman and Mario Bava: judging by the campy Papal sequence (with a host of fey clergymen on whom Faustus plays childish pranks) and an equally tacky conjuring act before a medieval court, I’d say that Burton and Coghill probably drew more on the decadent work of Federico Fellini or Pier Paolo Pasolini than anything else! Anyway, the experimental nature of the film extends to the baffling over-use of a pointless ‘foggy’ effect; its depiction of lust, however, emerges as traditionally naïve – with frolicking satyrs in a garden setting and decorous female nudity (including Taylor herself for one very brief moment).

Ulimately, DOCTOR FAUSTUS is to be considered an interesting failure – a personal tour-de-force for Burton but which, perhaps, needed a steadier hand…say, Joseph Losey (with whom the two stars would soon work on BOOM! [1968], curiously enough, a similar and equally maligned blend of fantasy and theatricality).

Here the most distinguished star of the screen at the time in a brilliant characterization as the legendary Faustus who sold his soul to Mephistopheles for a woman . The film's opening prologue states : "A tragic legend written down in the sixteenth century wherein a learned scientist honoured with the laurels of his university, sold his soul to the devil for still greater knowledge and power in the unknown". It deals with Faustus (Richard Burton , being his first, ending and only ever financed and directed) , a scientific at the University of Wittenberg where he earns his doctorate degree . His insatiable and stubborn appetite for knowledge and power using witchery leads him to conjure Mephistopheles out of inferno . As Faustus sells his soul to devil in exchange for youth and love of Helen of Troy (Elizabeth Taylor who shows up entirely painted in silver body-paint and having no lines of dialogue at all) and as Alexander's paramour . Faust signs the pact in his own blood and in writing , then Mephistopheles (Andreas Teuber) reveals the works of the devil to Faustus.

This classy story by Columbia Pictures concerns the scientist Faust who sells his soul to the devil in order to have a long life as well as the woman he loves . This is a stagy -but visually impressive- and stilted rendition , there outstanding the baroque settings by John DeCuir , the weird musical score by Mario Nascimbene and the colorful cinematography by Gábor Pogány . The movie is deemed to be an official shot record of a 1966 stage production of "Doctor Faustus" that Richard Burton had played in which had been staged and directed by Nevill Coghill with support players from the Oxford University Dramatic Society . Based on the play by playwright Christopher Marlowe who also wrote "Edward II" , "Jew of Malta" , and "Tamburlaine" . Starred by Andreas Teuber and by marriage Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton , though Actress Elizabeth Taylor's acting is completely mute , as her characterization being entirely silent . Being the sixth of eleven films that Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton performed in together , these are the following ones : Cleopatra , The Sandpiper , Anne of the thousand days , The Comedians , Boom , Under milk wood , and the latter of which was : Hammersmith is out . Richard Burton gives a nice acting as Faustus who employing necromancy bargains away his soul to Lucifer in exchange for living 24 years during which Mephistopheles will be his servant . Burton is magnificent , his performance swells to fit the screen and Elizabeth Taylor looking beautiful and desirable . See it for Burton's brilliant performance and Taylor's looks . Richard Burton was a notorious and prestigious actor with a long career until his early death at 58 . He starred a lot of of movies as in his native country , U.K. , as in the US ; as he played films in Hollywood : My cousin Rachel , The Robe , Alexander the Great , The rains of Ranchipur , Bitter victory , and he is back England where shoots Look Back in Anger , Hamlet , A midsummer night's dream . And superproductions as The Longest day , Cleopatra , VIPs , Zulu , When the eagles dare . And , subsequently , he plays all kinds of genres as drama , Spy , historical , Wartime , Thriller , such as : The night of the Iguana , Ice Palace , The spy who came in from the Cold , Staircase , The assassination of Trotsky , Massacre in Rome , The Klansman , Exorcist II : the heretic , Absolution , The Medusa Touch , Circle of two , Klansman , Tristan and Isolda and his last one : Nineteen Eight-Four . After the 1966 stage production of "Doctor Faustus", star Richard Burton did not show up on stage again for about a decade until he portrayed on Broadway a psychiatrist in Equus in which he followed playing the same character in the Equus (1977) film version directed by Sidney Lumet.

This Doctor Faustus was well produced by Richard McWhorter , being one of five collaborations of actor Richard Burton and producer Richard McWhorter, most of them were period costumer pictures . The films include Becket (1964), The taming of the shrewd (1967) , Anna of the thousand days (1969) and The spy who came in from the Cold (1965) .The film's co-writer and co-director Nevill Coghill was Merton Professor of English at Oxford University at the time that the film was developed , made and released . The picture was professional but strangely directed Richard Burton and Nevill Coghill , being he first, final and only ever cinema movie directed by both authors .

Other flicks about Faust legend -usually based on Gothe's poem titled ¨Faust¨- are as follows : the classic example of Germanic expressionist titled ¨Faust¨ 1926 German silent by F.W. Murnau with Emil Jannings ; ¨Hammersmith¨1972 by Peter Ustinov also starred by Richard Burton , Elizabeth Taylor ; ¨Doctor Faustus¨ 1982 with Jon Finch , Hanns Zischler and even a Comedy retelling ¨Bedazzled¨ 1968 by Stanley Donen with Dudley Moore , Peter Cook , Rachel Welch and another terror version : ¨Faust : love of the damned¨ by Brian Yuzna with Andrew Divoff , Jeffrey Combs , Mark Frost .

Richard Burton co-produced, co-directed, and stars in this adaptation of Christopher Marlowe's play "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus", concerning an aged 16th century German scholar who conjures up Mephistopheles, servant to Lucifer. Despite a warring of conscience in which saints and demons both attempt to sway Faustus to their side, the conflicted doctor signs his soul over to the Devil in exchange for lust and power, quickly discovering the black magic not living up to its promise. Marlowe's poetry, like subterranean Shakespeare, seems to flow naturally from Burton, and the combination of soliloquy and performance is a lively one. The art direction, production design, and cinematography are all first-rate, with pop-art colors insanely, imaginatively blended together like bewitched Jell-O powder. Elizabeth Taylor's intermittent (and mostly silent) entrances and exits as Helen of Troy probably do the picture more harm than good, but Burton is in fine form (after an unsure start) and Andreas Teuber cuts a striking figure as the Devil's Aid. The film has the same late-'60s, hallucinogenic quality of the other-worldly "Barbarella" (and no wonder: both pictures were made in Rome under the auspices of movie mogul Dino de Laurentiis). You can't take your eyes off "Doctor Faustus"--and, for fear of missing anything, you wouldn't want to. **1/2 from ****

I saw this movie donkeys years ago, and was captured by it. In my book Richard Burton can do no wrong, and this is no exception. E Taylor added a nice bit of fluff as Fausts love interest, (how ironic). The movie was very deep and thought provoking, I would highly recommend it to any one with literary appreciation. I appreciated the fact that it was done in black and white, it just added to the Gothic nature of the movie. I found the special effects also quite appropriate, (the worms in the skull, etc). This is indeed a classic movie, and I will make every effort to add it to my collection. In the mean time I would invite anyone who loves a good classic drama to hunt out this fine, old film

Thank God, Richard Burton did this film. A man who was unjustly considered a sell-out, he did this first on stage and then for film with all profits of both productions going to Oxford. Yes, it's cheaply designed and theatrical, with an distracting music score...but when else will you see a film of Marlowe's play with an actor as great playing the part?

I realize the film has its shortcomings, but its virtues are also plainly evident. Those who dismiss it a just a bad film strike me as a bunch of gluttonous clods or anti-intellectual pismires. It's a movie to cherish.