Faust - from heaven through the world to hell
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Faust - from heaven through the world to hell |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1988 |
| length | 162 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Dieter Dorn |
| production | Bavaria Film ; Günther Rohrbach |
| music | Roger Jannotta |
| camera | Gernot Roll |
| cut | Annette Dorn |
| occupation | |
| |
Faust - From Heaven through the World to Hell is a theater film adaptation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust I from 1988 . The main roles in the production, created in collaboration with the Münchner Kammerspiele , played Helmut Griem as Faust, Romuald Pekny as Mephisto and Sunnyi Melles as Gretchen.
Directed by Dieter Dorn .
content
The devil Mephistopheles bets the Lord that he will manage to turn the embittered scientist Faust off the right path. He has dedicated himself to black magic to reveal the last secrets of life. In his zeal he even conjures up the earth spirit to which he feels connected. But Faust has only got rid of it and then disappears again. Devastated, he no longer sees any meaning in life and initially intends to kill himself with poison; But at the last moment he thinks back.
The next day he walks with his family Wagner across the field where the people celebrate Easter. There they meet a black poodle that Faust takes into his study. In the evening, refreshed from the walk, he sets out to translate the Gospel of John into German when the poodle suddenly begins to growl and bark. To Faust's astonishment, the poodle melts and finally transforms into Mephistopheles. He can no longer leave the house because the exit is blocked by a pentagram drawn on the floor . He uses cunning to put Faust, who does not want to let him go, into a magical sleep and conjures up rats that gnaw the symbol and thus enable him to escape.
Shortly afterwards Mephisto returns and makes a pact with Faust, according to which he is entitled to the doctor's soul if he succeeds in bringing him true fulfillment. In addition, Mephisto takes him on a journey; first to Leipzig, where he drives a devilish joke with four drinkers in a wine cellar, as a result of which they cut off each other's noses. Then he takes Faust into the kitchen of a witch who serves him a potion that makes him a handsome young man again.
On the street, Faust meets Margarete, whom he immediately desires because of her beauty. He demands from Mephisto that he should procure her as a lover and also find a present for her. The next day, Mephisto is furious because the jewelry box that he had put in Gretchen's closet was found by her mother and taken to confession, where the priest immediately struck it off. Now Mephisto sneaks around Gretchen's neighbor Marthe Schwerdtlein in order to make her an ignorant accomplice. Marthe is only too happy to act as a matchmaker and makes her garden available as a meeting place. Over the next few days, Faust and Gretchen get closer, until Faust finally gives her a bottle of anesthetic for her mother so that she can finally spend the night with her.
At the city fountain, Gretchen meets Lieschen, who tells her about a mutual acquaintance who got involved with a man who made her pregnant and then left her. Gretchen now plagues her conscience, since she has given herself to Faust, and prays to St. Mary for forgiveness.
Gretchen's brother Valentin, who has found out about her "misstep" and now also fears for his honor, lies in wait to finish off the suitor. When Faust appears with Mephisto, who sings Margarete an indecent serenade, he jumps out and demands satisfaction. Mephisto incites Faust to stab Valentin when his hand becomes paralyzed by Mephisto's magic. Together they flee and leave the wounded man behind. While dying he curses Gretchen for her lewd behavior and calls her a whore . Gretchen is devastated and passes out at the funeral mass for her brother and mother, who died of the alleged narcotic drug.
Meanwhile, Mephisto takes Faust to Walpurgis Night on the Brocken , where witches, ghosts and devils celebrate a wild orgy. Faust wants to advance to the summit in the hope of finding answers to previously unsolved mysteries there. Mephisto, on the other hand, persuades him to dance with a lustful witch. But Faust finally turns away from this when he notices an apparition. A pale, naked woman who resembles Gretchen hovers over the hustle and bustle and has a red line on her neck like an executioner's ax.
After Faust learned that Margarete had given birth to his child and killed it in her desperation and is now waiting in the dungeon for her execution, he is plagued by violent remorse. He asks Mephisto to bring him to her and help him free her.
Arriving in the dungeon, Margarete, who is close to madness, initially thinks Faust is her executioner and shrinks back. When she does recognize him, she is torn between the affection she feels for her lover and the disgust she harbors for her brother's murderer. She is almost ready to walk with her fist. But when she notices that Mephisto is still his constant companion, she turns away from him and surrenders to the grace of God.
The downcast Faust flees with Mephisto and Gretchen remains in her cell.
Reviews
- Lexicon of international film : “ A discussion-worthy interpretation of Goethe's world poem based on a production by the Münchner Kammerspiele; without any remarkable imagery and largely lackluster acting. "
- Cinema : “ Theater director Dorn delivered [...] a rigorously modern interpretation of the classic. "
DVD release
- Faust - From Heaven through the World to Hell / Euro Video / January 7, 2005
Web links
- Faust - From heaven through the world to hell in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Faust (1987/88). In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed April 20, 2017 .