Jan Svankajer's feature film follow up to his masterpiece Alice is a rather free interpretation of the classic and often referenced tale of Faust. Like in 'Alice', Svankmajer approaches the story in a unique and original fashion, both conceptually and visually - as usual, he mixes various genres and art forms, combining live actors, puppetry and claymotion. Faust is sometimes an ordinary man playing the role of Faust, sometimes a puppet and sometimes Faust himself. The film shows Svankmajer's brilliant creativity and imagination, and his fantastic and unique stop-motion technique, at their best; even though I find it only slightly inferior to 'Alice' (the overdubbed voices are again annoying, but much better than on 'Alice'). It has a wonderful surreal and dark atmosphere, some brilliant character designs and even a couple of scenes that are quite entertaining (like the old man who collects legs). I adore the way Mephistopheles turns himself into a clay mirror of Faust himself, the head-changing puppet which is both devil and angel, and the delicate transformation of Faust turning from man to puppet and back. If for nothing else, then for the visual side by itself Faust is well worth seeing. If you're a fan of Svankmajer, or are interested in classic animation and puppetry, buy Faust now.
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kruno-f9 February 2006This is not a movie that strikes the first time viewer. It asks for some former knowledge. It mainly relies on the epic Faust by Johann Wolfgang Goethe, but since monologue and dialog have been very rare in this one, symbols are probably easier to read if the book has been previously read. For example, the empty egg in the bread which actually contains one's soul according to pagan mythology could be overlooked.
This is as far as the script is concerned. The directory, however, is done by one of the greatest and most influential stop-motion-animation masters and puppeteers, greatly appreciated by the well known Quay Brothers (see The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer) as well as the others. This means that very imaginative and expressive combination of animation, string puppets theater and acting is expected.
When one thinks about the story of Faust, the question that often pops in one's head is what would be the price on my soul. Faust traded his soul for the absolute understanding which in the end he does not receive. However, the moment of gaining control over his destiny is shown so simply and yet so powerfully the moment of detaching strings, the question that remains is who was pulling Faust's strings in the moment he decided to sell his soul. That was the decision he made former to his strings detaching. The movie swarms with this sort of fractions that trigger bursts of reflections and that's why this movie won't put you to sleep. On the other hand, if you are sleepy go watch something else, this movie deserves attention. -
Jonny_Numb22 September 2006Jan Svankmajer's telling of the German folk tale "Faust" is--like his rendition of "Alice in Wonderland" (simply titled "Alice")--a refreshingly surreal treat of a film. It's confusing, disconcerting, and grotesquely tongue-in-cheek (the Jester character is at once obnoxious, amusing, and creepy). The plot plays out like a Greek Tragedy, with the ill-fated Faust (Petr Cepek) wheeling and dealing with the Devil and his minions, manipulating Old Scratch until finally succumbing to a seduction that results in his demise. The intricacies of story are thrown at the viewer in a consistent flurry, to the point where it's best NOT to try to piece it all together. Throughout my viewing, favorable comparisons to Homer's "Odyssey," David Lynch's "Eraserhead," and the early short films of Roman Polanski were crossing my mind. While the English dubbing is atrocious and Svankmajer sometimes lets the film lull too far into a dream-like state (to the point where I had to take a brief nap halfway through), that shouldn't inhibit you from seeing "Faust."
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trippycheez27 September 2004This is the first and only Jan Svankmeyer movie I have ever seen, and after viewing it I can't wait to see his others. Here, Svankmeyer basically juxtaposes a staged showing of the play FAUST with the story of the man who is kidnapped into playing Faust. As the film rolls on, the character's story and the actor's story become more and more indistinguishable. There are also a bunch of insane devil marionettes and the whole thing has the vibe of a medieval Punch and Judy show.
Probably the main thing I liked about FAUST was the fact that, although it is a fairly surreal film, it doesn't go out of it's way to be strange for strangeness's sake [like the Czech film DAISIES or the Georgian REPENTANCE, though those are okay movies]. Sure, you have bizarre goings-on like a stop-motion fetus in a jar growing old and turning into a skull, but many of the details you thought were unrelated to the story all wrap up in a very pleasing manner.
Of course, not all of your questions will be answered. I still don't understand the significance of the theater sets versus real scenery, or why Faust sometimes appears in his costume and sometimes in his regular trench coat. But I'm glad I don't completely get it--I like a movie to provoke thought rather than explain everything outright.
Also, man, what's with the other comments saying this is an art-house flik, or only pretentious snobs will enjoy it? I work at a video store. We played FAUST on our TV just tonight, and at least ten customers were intrigued enough to stop what they were doing and watch it for a little while--far more people than when we played JERSEY GIRL the other day. Sure, FAUST is not for everybody, because not everybody likes unusual or even minorly challenging movies. Don't let the reverse-snobs scare you away. -
awalter119 May 2001"Faust" is a wonderful blend of real-time and stop-motion storytelling by a master of the surreal. An apparently ordinary everyman is led by curiosity into a dilapidated building which turns out to be a strange blend of alchemical laboratory, theater, and puppeteer's workshop. Suddenly, the man finds himself becoming the legendary Dr. Faust, selling his soul to the devil in exchange for magical powers.
Jan Svankmajer is the true sorcerer here. He blends stage sets with real locations and seven-foot puppets with live actors, making magic of it all.
The film has been dubbed for English audiences, but there has perhaps never been a less obtrusive film dub. The voice performances are excellent and actually add to the surreal quality of the film. -
Jan Svankmajer is one of the best animators of all time and one of the best artists of the 20th century. There is simply no one else making animation like this: disturbing, hilarious, dreamlike. "Faust" is one of the best films I have ever seen, combining the visual sensibility of Salvador Dali with the philosophical sensibility of Mikhail Bulgakov. Powerful, surreal, and more intelligent than any animation anywhere.
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zetes11 February 2002Personally, I like this film. It's an imaginitive adaptation, and it definitely begs to be seen. I think, though, that Jan Svankmajer fans are likely to be disappointed. People unfamiliar with his work are likely to hate it. Now, I'm no expert in his work. I've seen three shorts and his version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, just called Alice in the U.S. The three shorts are all masterpieces in their own ways (my favorite being The Death of Stalinism in Bohemia) and Alice is a near-masterpiece. Faust is not nearly as inventive as those other works. Svankmajer is known as a stop-motion animator, but his Faust contains little animation. The animation that there is is universally stunning. I will bet that any fan of the medium will just love the sequence with the baby, and will probably wish that it were longer. Actually, the medium that is most abundant in Faust is marionettes. Most of the film is live action, as well. The marionettes are often replaced with actors wearing gigantic papier-mache heads. This isn't as interesting as stop-motion animation, but it still works. Some of the puppets can be annoying, especially the jester. I believe that the puppet characters are done in the kind of exaggerated style familiar to puppet shows. 7/10.
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sinistergoon24 October 2000Faust embodies what it is to be Surreal. Svankmajer has captured the essence of a dream in full form and put its application to the archetypal story of Dr. Faustus.
The integration of live action, puppetry, and stop-motion animation is the work of a true genius/madman.
If you are looking for something to exercise the bizarre regions of the brain and the human imagination, WATCH THIS FILM. you shan't regret it. -
marcopop30 April 1999I had wanted to see this film for a long time, and had big expectations I sat down with my purchased copy, but unfortunately it didn't quite make it for me. I think it's those annoying marionettes spending half the movie running around making silly noises. The movie didn't grip me. 'Alice' was better.
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NateManD12 August 2005The classic tale of Faust, the man who sold his soul to the devil, is given a strange twist. In the film, an ordinary guy finds a map on a subway which leads him to an abandoned theater. He chants the phrases which cause the devil to appear. The devil offers him anything he wants in exchange for his soul. Then we are treated to creepy marionette puppets that act out the play. Czech animator Jan Svankmajer is most notorious for his nightmarish stop motion film "Alice"(1988). In "Faust" he also combines his usual elements of live actors, puppets and clay animation. Most memorable is the creepy baby made of clay. Svankmajer creates his own bizarre world that is creepy yet often humorous. So if you enjoy surrealism, stop motion animation or any film that is in a category of its own; you should definitely see Jan Svankmajer's unique vision of "Faust".
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This is my favorite one within the 4 works I have seen, which are Little Oik, Conspirations of Pleasure and Alice in different times. Every time, I saw Svankmajer's work, I was a bit shocked and excited.
And I can always see marionettes, tongue, biting food, juice, repeat (which quite annoying, cos the repeat is beyond the limit you can bear). Like the clown read spell to control the movement of the devil again and again, same thing happened in Alice.
I found Svankmajer like whipping, like close-up shots of the scene when people biting food.
I broke laughter when Faust had sex with the female marionettes and found she was the devil in disguise.
I think Frust will be much better if more conversations are deleted and some plots are cut. Cos people with patience like me are so few.
In conclusion, it is a nightmarish marionette movie for children but a funny one for adults, isn't it? hehe -
rooprect8 July 2007Surrealism tends to fall in one of 2 categories:
(1) Random, confounding, absurd images best enjoyed under the influence of psychomorphic drugs
(2) Careful, structured, lucid themes augmented by unusual visuals, all of which is designed to raise our understanding beyond what is "real"
Or, I could also say that Surrealism tends to fall in one of 2 categories:
(1) Sucky movies
(2) Awesome movies
I'm happy to report that in both cases, this film is a #2. It can be compared with the masterpieces of Jean Cocteau (Orphee, Beauty & the Beast), or if you prefer the modern stuff it can be compared with Terry Gilliam's early work. Svankmajer has that same creative spirit, the same eye for the bizarre and yet the same intelligence in presentation that makes for great art. He also has a slightly disturbing edge.
This is a great film for profound cinephiles as well as casual filmgoers in the mood for something completely different. This isn't simply a masturbatory showcase of "how much weird & pointless stuff we can throw at you", the way many famous Surrealists operate. Rather, this roots itself with a solid, philosophical foundation & excellent dialogue and takes it to the next level with creative visuals. Svankmajer has a fantastic sense of humour, too, so you never get the feeling that he's some pompous, pretentious jerk showing off what he can do with a camera.
This movie's hallmark, as with much of Svankmajer's work, is the fantastic use of puppetry. It can be both comedic and chilling, and it definitely puts you into a mind-warping state of mind which is perfect for a tale of this scope.
I'm rating this a 10/10, and you can see by my voting history that I don't give 10s casually. This is truly a fantastic work.
An important note: You should really read Marlowe's "Dr. Faustus" before watching this movie. And be sure it's the MARLOWE version (1604), not the Goethe version (1806) titled "Faust". Yes, the title of this movie is misleading. -
There has been numerous stage and film adaptations of Goethe's tragedy Faust, where the eponymous hero sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for the Devil serving Faust during his time on the Earth, as long as upon death, Faust will serve him in return in Hell. F.W. Murnau's 1926's Faust is probably the most acclaimed film adaptation, whilst Istvan Szabo's 1981 masterpiece Mephisto transformed the setting of the play to WWII-era Germany. I would imagine that there has never been such an imaginative and unpredictable interpretation than animator Jan Svankmajer's 1994 effort. Combining live-action, stop motion animation, and puppetry, the Czech's various talents come together to make a surreal, and brilliant, piece of art.
The film begins as Faust (Petr Capek) finds a map on a train that leads him to an abandoned theatre. When there, he accidentally creates a clay baby that develops quickly from a foetus into a fully formed baby. It quickly starts shifting its face into adults, as the Devil starts to attempt communication with Faust. He destroys the baby, and ends up unwillingly on a stage, in costume, accompanied by large wooden puppets who act as the supporting characters. The play and reality start to blend together, as even when our hero pops outside for a cigarette, the puppets follow dressed in human's clothes. The play/story goes on, as Faust plays with his new powers, and is frequently influenced by the Devil.
It's quite hard to write a formal review about a film that had its impact on me a couple of hours after the credits have rolled, and some scenes where I genuinely did not know what was happening. It plays out like a sort of medieval Punch and Judy show, with some strangely creepy characters. It's undoubtedly quite childish and playful, but at the same time it is dark and complex, and more than anything else, frequently surreal.
In my favourite scene, the Fool character who is reading Faust's textbook discovers that he can the Devil whenever he likes and dismiss him just as quickly. When dismissed, the Devil quickly legs it out the door, dressing himself up in an overcoat and hat and passing the smoking Faust in the street. As he is called back, he is forced to shed the clothes and rush back to the stage to make a explosive entrance. He goes back and forth for about 5 minutes. I couldn't help but laugh at the sheer absurdness of it all.
While quite not as stunning as Alice (his Alice In Wonderland adaptation), Faust does constantly surprise, entertain, and bewilder.
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Creative visually, but storytelling so poor that for me it became a real torture to finish. It's just one long surreal ride, hard to connect to or feel anything for. It needed balance, or I needed drugs.
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Jan Svankmajer probably has visions and dreams that few of us would want to have, but luckily for us he's so creative and talented and all-that-and-a-bag-of-chips with a mound of clay and (in this case) marionettes that he can put them all on display on film. His version of Faust is sometimes confusing, bewildering, and, as I gathered from not reading the original play or (sadly) not yet seeing the Murnau silent feature, not altogether makes a lot of sense. This isn't to say the central premise is lost on me, which is of a man who conjures up the force that is Mephistopheles and sells his soul. This is of course shown at one pivotal moment in the film, but if you think you know what to expect from this outcome or how it's presented you might have to rethink things.
If you've seen Svankmajer's other films, however, like Alice, then some of his approach shouldn't seem too far out... Actually, it is always very far out, but in an approachable manner, told often in a classical style of cinema that relies often on the unspoken. In this case it's not as non-dialog laden as Alice, as there are often scenes with the marionettes going on and on with their dialogs, and then with the man and the Satan figure him/itself (whether it's a man or an 'it' I can't say for sure, as Svankmajer makes it a being who materializes first as some skull, then into a near reflection of the man himself as some crazy theologian). What draws one in is the lack of abandon for narrative, and the chances he takes in making it self-conscious. It would be one thing to present the puppets themselves, but the editing is feverish; cuts go between the puppets, their movements, and then those of the puppeteer's hands. We never see their faces, but we always know someone is pulling the strings. This is key.
But beyond simply that, it's just a pure pleasure to take in how the filmmaker mixes the elements, tricks it up on the audience (i.e. after the marionettes inside for so long, they bust out into the streets without puppeteer's hands), and with the stop motion, and the moments of Bunuelian surrealism with the man going between puppet form and reality, and then out in the middle of some field. I can hardly explain more, and it would be better, after all, if he was allowed to introduce himself. Staggering, near masterpiece work. -
KGB-Greece-Patras12 February 2005This is why I watch films. Every now and then I stumble across beautiful strange, unique films! Grotesque, macabre but with a very weird sense of humour present at all times, this stop-motion animation / puppet & real actors film has to be one of the strangest films. I am so happy to own it! Actually in the beginning I was not quite linking to the character Faust, as he was too alienated in whatever happened - but while it went on, it began to make sense in a deeper level than the simple surrealism I had thought in the first place.
For all people interested in strange, weird films, black humour & fed up with the trash Hollywood serves us, then go for this spectacular film! -
ferne_stimmen26 November 2005The first time I saw 'Faust', I was instantly compelled, and completely indulged in it's content, framing, sound, atmosphere..if you are a Svankmajer fan, or just finding out about his work, this is one film that I recommend owning. Svankmajers 'Faust' has become one of my number 1 favorite films, of all time. I have watched it more than 1,000 times over the last 5 years, and still adore every moment of it. Definitely touches upon dissimilar content than 'Alice'. And I do think that it may be difficult for some viewers to get use to its random, and experimental aspects of sound and imagery. I do wish that I could find the Czech Language version..or does that not exist? I have the English language version on DVD and VHS...does anyone know if there is an original undubbed copy available somewhere?
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Polaris_DiB19 November 2008Like "Alice in Wonderland", the story of Faust has been almost infinitely adapted to various interpretations based on the nationalist and socialistic concerns of the time, making it perfect material for Svankmajer to play with. In terms of Svankmajer's other work, this fits more closely to his 1970 short "Don Sanche", but overall it's the most populated movie of his I've seen thus far. Most of his shorts are rather hermetic, with story lines as splintered as his characters: "Alice" is kept entirely in the young girl's head, "Lunacy" is trapped in an insane asylum, and his shorts are either devoid of people or the very few characters that are there react to their absence. Here, he tries a little bit to provide a world populated with extras and background, but it isn't long before he removes the action (once again) to an abandoned theatre wherein he can get his puppets and claymation to work.
Instead of a straight-up adaptation, Svankmajer plays it loose and surreal, introducing multiple layers of narrative and letting them dance with each other. This approach to storytelling is matched by the mixed media he includes with life-sized puppets, stop-motion animation, claymation, and live action, sometimes at the same time, sometimes taking over each other, and sometimes giving the floor to another. It's interesting that the primary recognizable Faust narrative is contained in puppetry, meaning that even behind the metaphysical story of the fateful struggle over a man's soul are unnamed human hands authoring the tale. On one hand, an argument could be made that the story doesn't really even start until the second half of the movie, meaning it could have been cut to about 45 minutes in length; on the other hand, like any serious animator's work, it's really much more about movement, and it never really drags.
Of all of Svankmajer's work, this is one that seems like previous knowledge of him would be helpful going into. A lot of the symbolism, such as all of the food that gets eaten, the disembodied leg, the clay baby, and the close-ups of mouths are all much more easy to understand as shorthand to his usual concerns; I feel like had I not recognized them as such, I could have gotten bogged down trying to figure it all out and the movie would have been a bit more confusing. Remember that this story begins with a cracked egg.
There are, indeed, many amazing and memorable scenes. The scene in the dressing room where Faust converses to an always metamorphosing Mephistopheles is really where all of the imagery and themes come together in their smoothest and most actualized forms--AND it's enough to disturb for weeks. I especially like the little angels and demons coming out of the big angels and demons; that scene also reflects the "consuming" nature of a lot of the earlier imagery.
Anyway, definitely for die-hard fans of Svankmajer, though others might be a little put off, if not by its imagery, then by its pacing.
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Rectangular_businessman14 June 2010Faust was the first Jan Svankmajer's movie I've seen and I've been literally stunned by his wicked and exotic interpretation of this classic plot. This is not a literal adaptation of the book written by Goethe, but a surreal combination of the different version of the original story (Like, for example, the play of Cristopher Marlowe) with stop-motion animation, live action performances and puppets. The result it's very interesting and well made, creating a unique and fascinating world. It's easy to see in what way filmmakers like Terry Gilliam, the brothers Quay were influenced by the astounding work of Jan Svankmajer: There is a great, dark atmosphere, filled with bizarre creatures and strange situations, like in the movies of those directors. If you love dark, surreal films, then you will like a lot this.
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Jeremy_Urquhart4 March 2023One of those films where it's hard to even know where to start, when it comes to describing it. I guess at its most basic, it's a retelling of the story of Faust set in the modern day. The presentation is what makes it unique, though, as it's told with a mix of live action, stop motion animation/claymation, and puppetry (a surprising amount of puppets, actually).
Feels like the kind of movie where it's best to just soak up the weird atmosphere and creative visuals, but I'm also fairly sure if anyone watching wanted to break it down and analyse it, there's probably ample stuff here to look over and scrutinise.
I happened to watch this right after seeing David Lynch's Dune (1984) for the first time, and the two made for an interesting yet mind-melting double feature. I'd recommend the pairing, but at the same time wouldn't recommend the pairing. Offbeat sci-fi followed by offbeat fantasy/horror made for a wild few hours of Saturday night viewing. -
karl_consiglio13 December 2006A very artistically playfully free film with the use of stop motion which must take a hell of a lot of work. This film is full of alchemical humour with the use of marionettes and what not. This film gave me that nostalgia to visit Prague again. This film is not exactly scary but tremendously haunting and is bound to remain imprinted in your mind. It is so dreamlike that to some it can be pretty disturbing. I think that this film is bursting with magic. Svankmajer is profoundly imaginative and consistent in his creativity, his work is pretty astounding. Here he plays around with the myth of Dr Faustus with the use of very diabolical life size marionettes and demons from hell who offer our main Czech actor all that he could possibly want in return for his soul. This is shockingly unique stuff.
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Siloty14 July 2008i watched this movie and it took quite a long time before i understood what was going on.
this movie definitely is a very different movie and i only continued to watch for the experience of the movie.
it is very creative though. like the use of claymation,stop-motion and life sized puppets for some of the characters. these creative ideas and the movie's massive "what the?" factor about it is probably why i gave it a 6 out of 10.
i would recommend this movie more for the cultural experience of different movies but thats all i can really give it. -
yardfx15 November 2006The atmospheric trailer for this film made its viewing essential: Why were disembodied hands beating drums in the woods? Who is Mephistopheles? Why are life-size wooden puppets running through Prague without a puppeteer? Svankmajer's film uses a great range of archetypes in this film that appeal to our sense of symbolism. Many scenes in the film have the poetic resonance of dreams: a cryptic note hurriedly pressed into our hands by a stranger, a dimly lit vaudeville stage, dark, grimly portentous puppets at the threshold, magic, illusion, damnation. Using the Faust legend as a starting point, the film explores such themes as predestination, religion, fear, folly and conjures a mesmerising film that I will watch many times for its enchanting originality. A must-see for lovers of spectacle.
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jboothmillard26 September 2006For mainly a Czech film, this is a good surreal film with interesting puppet and stop motion sequences. I can really only work out most of the beginning, where Petr Cepek as Faust is given a map in the street from some guy. He ignores this at first, but eventually he is convinced to go to where the map points out something in red. In this place which seems to be a theatre of some sort, there are many of surrealist events that (for me) make hardly any sense. It seems to be Faust has been given some powers and rule over the many puppet and clay characters, or something like that. It ends with him running out (like the previous visitor), and getting run over. All voices by Andrew Sachs. Worth watching!
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loganx-29 July 2007Jan Svankmajer(Alice/Conspirators Of Pleasure), who I've been watching a lot of, as of late, has a story that incorporates elements of the Faust play, book, and folk tales, in a unique stop animation/claymation/ and puppetry driven surrealist film. A man receives a map on a subway from a stranger follows it to strange theater, housing life size puppets manipulated by always out of sight puppeteers(only their hands are visible), where he sells his soul to Lucifer, making himself Lucifer's servant until death, and is unmade by his hubris. It's edited much better than Alice was, and is immediately rewarded for it, its much faster and has less boring bits. It's a lot funnier and more horrific, as well. A good addition for Svankmajor fans.