Eumenides_0 Jan Svankmajer is becoming one of my favorite filmmakers. His Alice movie introduced me to a new world of cinematic animation and surrealism. And now Faust takes me further into that world. Again, he has chosen to adapt one of my favorite books, Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus.This movie has less stop-motion animation than Alice, but it has more surreal imagery. Again Svankmajer shows a talent to create scenes full of dread, dark humor and mystery. Characters quote from the original play, sets change around instantly, opera invades the movie halfway in, men turn into puppets, plasticine creatures become human. This is just a sample of what anyone can find in the movie. And the art direction is great: the sets are grimy, dusty, decadent. It looks like it takes place in a very old world.Once again the filmmaker isn't concerned with realism. This is fiction, and he knows it. When puppets show up, he closes in on the hands moving them. Other times he shows an audience watching the play within the movie, and sometimes Faustus can't even distinguish which is which.This is a great surrealist movie, perhaps superior to Alice. Anyone who enjoys Marlowe's play or a good strange movie should get a kick out of this.

Gina Clark The 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?

demonic76 Well, I'll admit the marionettes can be a bit annoying, but really, I thought the movie was pretty damn good. You can practically feel the guy's mental state deteriorating near the end, as everything gets more and more frantic. I wouldn't show it to any kids though, they might be traumatized by the marionettes. I know I give 'em sidelong glances now when I pass them.I didn't try and approach it as anything deep or meaningful, though, just something to watch while sipping some fine extra Thujone Czech absinthe with friends. For that purpose, it served its role well, and stands out as one of the most insane but enjoyable movies I saw last year.

kate This 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.