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Silent film

Faust

Year
1926
Director
F. W. Murnau
Length
106 minKino Lorber restored original German presentation Version sources ↓

A wager over one man’s soul expands into plague, desire, flight, and tragedy under skies that seem built from shadow.

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Country
Germany
Language
German
BleakBeautiful Approachable · Moderate Silent film
Original illustration for Faust: A tiny scholar's candle-lit desk under an immense swirling mantle of storm clouds shaped by light rather than a literal face.

Image: Monocurator · source · Original Monocurator artwork

What to expect

F. W. Murnau uses layered effects, monumental sets, and controlled light to make moral conflict tangible. The film’s scale is cosmic, yet its emotional weight gathers around Gretchen and the consequences hidden inside Faust’s renewed youth.

How to ease in

The opening is deliberately grand; once Mephisto’s bargain is made, follow Gretchen’s story as closely as Faust’s. The restored German presentation named here is not interchangeable with later export versions.

Heads-up

A quick, non-exhaustive note Includes plague, death, religious terror, sexual coercion, pregnancy outside marriage, infant death, execution, and intense images of damnation.
Momo's Note May contain spoilers Who is Momo? →
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I remember the enormous cloak over the town, but Gretchen’s small room troubles me more. The film can command clouds and fire, yet its tragedy sharpens when power enters a private space and leaves someone else to bear the cost.

— Momo

Momo thinking about this film

Credits & versions

Version map

Kino Lorber restored original German presentation 106 min 106 minutes is attached only to this named presentation. No edition, score, territory, cut, frame rate, source element, or restoration detail is inferred. Source: Kino Lorber — Faust Restored Deluxe Edition Runtime reference · Checked 2026-08-20

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