GRADE: 9.5
The demon Mephisto wagers with God that he can corrupt a mortal man’s soul.
Original Title: Faust: Eine deutsche Volkssage
Director: F. W. Murnau
Country: Germany
THOUGHTS:
Thought not quite as viscerally thrilling as Nosferatu, Faust shares its magnificent visuals, upping the ante on the inventive special effects. The devil descending on the city to infect it with the plague is one of the all-time cinematic images, in my book. I found the first half more captivating than the second, but only by a hair, and the final shot is so powerful and heartfelt than it more than made up for it.