Doctor Faustus

Trailer—Doctor Faustus

I especially liked the film because, unlike so many re-makes of Shakespeare's works, here Marlowe's writing shines through almost untouched by later hands. As far as I know, this is the only one of Marlowe's plays that has made it to the screen, and the film is very true to the play itself. The language is authentic, the special effects understated, and the use of drama students in the secondary roles gives, to my mind, a freshness that a star-studded production would have lacked. If you are a fan of Renaissance theatre, you owe it to yourself to see Doctor Faustus.

Though by its very nature it's quite stagey, the bizarre psychedelic effects downright intrinsic of the period add to the charm of this intriguing work. Even crap films such as 'Exorcist II: The Heretic' can't be dismissed because of Richard Burton's outstanding persona. Elizabeth Taylor's appearance can't be considered sheer waste because her beauty and je ne sais pas make this tale of someone willing to give up his very soul for the woman he loves completely believable. In the director's chair for once as well, even though he is helped, he does a resolutely credible job, nothing to be embarrassed about. Definitely worth one's time for the adventurous cinephiles out there.

I have been intrigued by the legend of Dr. Faustus, the man who sold his very soul to the devil himself for knowledge and lust. After much research on the web, I watched this film based on the play by Christopher Marlowe (a playwright who lived at the same time as Shakespeare) and it was awesome! I love Elizabeth Taylor, and I have a few of her films. But I got confused about whether it was a horror film or a dramatic film. Of course, the film's horrific images of Hell and that gross corpse covered with maggots when Dr. Faustus practices necromancy (the magical art of bringing the dead to life) make it a horror film. I was shocked by the negative reviews I would see on the Web; I thought it was an excellent horror film. You know, in the scene where Dr. Faustus sees the Seven Deadly Sins, I think the guy that plays Lechery or Lust is very hot (*drool*). But they omitted gluttony and sloth, of course! The film is 92 minutes long.

One thing about Richard Burton...the movies he makes are never mediocre. They are either very good or very bad. I'm not sure on which end that Doctor Faustus falls. It wasn't exactly what I expected...Burton's adaptation of Christopher Marlowe's play on the legend of Faust. The sets and much of the cinematography is masterful...the problem is the script, which is done completely in Old English and in virtual iambic pentameter, which makes it very hard for the average person to understand.

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.

Shortly after I picked up a copy of Marlowe's play, I spotted the film in a video store. Having read the play first, I wondered how the film would portray it. It did pretty well. The film apparently wasn't a high-budget item, but it conveyed the essence of the play. And, as important, it used the basic Marlowe play. That adds a touch that a more "modernized" film wouldn't have. In that, it shares a legacy found in many Shakespearean films. The Faust story is well enough known so that there are no plot twist surprises. It may not be for everyone, but it's worth a view. Richard Burton makes a fairly believable Faust.

Marlow's play about the man who sold his soul to the devil for 27 years of pleasure is not the most cheerful of topics. But the horror element is well-played in this classy production with Burton as the title character and Liz Taylor as Helen of Troy, the "face that launched a thousand ships." Mario Nascimbene's spooky score gives an appropriately dark mood to this great masterpiece of a story.