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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ripe For Rediscovery., 7 Aug 2006
Back in 1967 when this film was first released the critics jumped all over it as just another Richard Burton/Elizabeth Taylor vanity project which it was but that's all they saw. Now 30 years later with Liz and Dick having been supplanted by the likes of Tom and Katie or Brad and Angelina it's time to revisit the film which is ripe for rediscovery for there is much to discover that was overlooked the first time around. The beauty of Christopher Marlowe's play lies in the poetry of the lines and the philosophical and theological points the playwright raises. This Oxford University production which Burton co-directed captures its stage origins but has been cleverly opened up for the screen in a number of ways which makes it a fascinating cinematic experience thanks to an imaginative use of lighting, beautiful cinematography, and a memorable music score from Mario Nascimbene (ONE MILLION YEARS B.C.). And then there is Richard Burton. His intense portrayal of the title character is a marvel to behold and serves as a vivid reminder of just what a charismatic performer he could be. His glorious voice speaks the Elizabethan text as if it were everyday conversation but with a power and conviction that must be heard to be believed. There are even DVD subtitles available if you wish to follow the text. The rest of the cast is made up of members of the Oxford Dramatic Society and they fufill the other roles as required with Andreas Teuber a standout as a rather melancholy Mephistopheles. Last but not least there is Elizabeth Taylor who has to do nothing more than look beautiful in a variety of guises (she has no dialogue) and this is where the vanity part of the production comes in although Taylor certainly fufills the role of the classical ideal of woman especially back then when she was so beautiful. Some find her presence a distraction but it fits when you consider the obsessive nature of Faustus. No one seems interested in remaking DOCTOR FAUSTUS anytime soon so there is even more reason to celebrate this version which is not without its flaws but clearly shows what the play has to offer as a graet precursor to Shakespeare and how to make a major film on a minor budget. Unfortunately for most viewers in the U.K. only Region 1 copies are available at this time.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Camp and Culture, 30 Oct 2009
Burton and Coghill's adaptation of Marlowe's last, and perhaps most famous play, is a garish mixture of camp and culture, and deserves to be better known. Although there are at least two other filmed versions, neither Svankmajer (1994) or Murnau (1927) utilise the Marlovian text, which is often as distinctive, and as great, as the playwright's more frequently filmed contemporary Shakespeare. Coghill has reduced the content to the essentials, stripped out a lot of the original bawdiness, done some modernising, and has even borrowed the occasional line from another play to make the project more accessible to the general viewer. The result is bizarre and compulsive at the same time, a film entirely characteristic of the time.
Marlowe's morality tale tells the story of the German scholar and conjurer, Faustus, who abjures philosophy, learning, and religion to sell his soul to the devil in return for 27 years of youth and pleasure. During the time of this blood-sealed pact on earth, he has Mephistopheles as his servant. The lustful and arrogant Faust indulges his earthly appetites, sees the seven deadly sins, performs magic for the emperor, and has fun whilst invisible at the expense of the Pope, before being dragged down to hell at the hour of reckoning.
None of this would seem out of place if reworked in a Hammer horror film, and memories of the Bray studio's sensibilities duly spring to mind as the film unfolds. Entirely set-bound, the film has a claustrophobic feel, entirely in keeping with Fausts' self-centredness. As he experiences the diabolic freedom to indulge himself it is a delusion, as at the same time he is by necessity trapped and inevitably condemned to hellfire. The rooms he moves in are artificially cluttered, full of garish colours, skulls, books, furniture and costumes. The trappings of the world impinge upon the viewer, constantly emphasising just how transient it all is.
Unfortunately for this adaption, matters are thrown off balance by the casting. A busty Elizabeth Taylor, appears as Helen of Troy, the continuous source of Faust's lust and fantasy ("The face that launched a thousand ships"), mute throughout. While the decision to maximise the presence of this star is understandable, her overexposure tends to push the matter of damnation into the background, reducing Faustus' longing for material fulfilment to that of a school boyish crush. The rest of the cast, drawn from the Oxford Dramatic society, is overshadowed by Burton and Taylor, whose stellar status tells in every scene.
One or two unintentionally ludicrous aspects do not help matters of dramatic gravity, but have their own appeal. For much of the first act, before he is damned and made young again, Burton wears a thick pair of black glasses, presumably to emphasise his learning. While these also allow for some interesting photographic effects, his comic aspect is distracting. Further on, Faustus is confronted by three of the deadly sins at once, who appear as knights. Those like myself who treasure the Knights Who Go Neh! from `Monty Python's Life of Brian' can savour this moment in a way completely unintended. In contrast, when Faustus plays farting tricks at the Pope's court further on, Burton seems ill at ease at the light footed and earthy humour required. As a tragedian he was a famous Hamlet, and would have made a marvellous Tamburlaine (Marlowe's grandest tragic hero). The scholar-magician Faustus by contrast, who spouts Latin off the cuff and has studied all knowledge, requires a different presence. Burton's rich delivery of lines cannot ultimately overcome this basic issue of miscasting. Occasionally, (as in the great "Christ's blood streaming in the firmament" speech) and in some of the grander soliloquies, he makes himself felt. Otherwise one yearns for an actor like Nichol Williamson (a notable Merlin in Boorman's `Excalibur'), at his prime at this time, to be in the role.
Actors aside, the film boasts an evocative score by the prolific Maro Nascimbene, who also did fine work on Hammer's `One Million Years BC' (1966) around the same time as well as `Barabbas' (1962). As already mentioned, Gábor Pogány's cinematography is also a stand out, which captures exactly the peculiarly hallucinogenic nature of Faustus' incantations, spells and visions. Optical tricks and double exposure abound and are generally well conceived and carried out. Having said that, there is no sense of horror in Faustus' fate or in his eventual descent into a small scale hell. This is partly to do with budget of course, but one is tempted to make unflattering comparisons with other representations, such as in `Dante's Inferno' (1935) - which achieved a greater sense of awe of damnation, in black and white, and with fewer camera tricks, almost thirty five years before.
But there's much entertainment to be had from the film, representing a colourful attempt to translate one of the greatest plays of the day to the screen. Those who enjoy the contemporary horror product will find it a change and lovers of serious drama will be intrigued too, even if ultimately there's rather less cinematic magic than one might have hoped for.
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