Murnau's "Faust"
F.W. Murnau, director of the classic Nosferatu, directed a silent version of Faust that premiered in 1926. Murnau's film featured special effects that were remarkable for the time and many of these shots are still impressive today. In one, Mephisto towers over a town, dark wings spread wide, as a fog rolls in bringing the plague. In another, Faust rides with Mephisto through the sky, as the camera seems to swoop across a landscape that includes snowy mountains, cliffs and waterfalls.
In this version of the story, Faust is an elderly scholar and alchemist who is frustrated at his inability to help the plague-stricken population. He summons Mephisto, who overcomes Faust's reluctance to sign a pact by telling him he can try it for one day with no obligation. At the end of that day, having been restored to youth and helped by Mephisto to steal a beautiful woman from her wedding feast, Faust is sufficiently tempted that he agrees to extend the pact for eternity. Eventually he becomes bored with the pursuit of pleasure and returns home, where he falls in love with the beautiful and innocent Gretchen. His corruption (in the form of Mephisto) ultimately ruins both their lives, though there is still a chance for redemption in the end.
Similarities to Goethe's Faust include the classic tale of a man who sold his soul to the Devil, the same Mephisto wagering with an angel to corrupt the soul of Faust, the plague sent by Mephisto on Faust's small town, and the familiar cliffhanger - Faust unable to find a cure and therefore turning to Mephisto, renouncing God, the angel and science alike.
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