Story of movie Doctor Faustus 1967 Film :
Doctor Faustus is a 1967 film adaptation of the 1588 Christopher Marlowe play The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus directed by Richard Burton and Nevill Coghill. The first theatrical film version of a Marlowe play, it was the only film directed by Burton or Coghill, Burton's mentor. It starred Burton as the title character Faustus. Elizabeth Taylor made a silent cameo appearance as Helen of Troy. The film is a permanent record of a stage production that Burton starred in and staged with Coghill at the Oxford University Dramatic Society in 1966. Burton wouldn't appear onstage again until he took over the role of Martin Dysart in Equus on Broadway ten years later.
| Doctor Faustus | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Richard Burton Nevill Coghill |
| Produced by | Richard Burton Richard McWhorter |
| Screenplay by | Nevill Coghill |
| Based on | The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe |
| Starring | Richard Burton Elizabeth Taylor Andreas Teuber |
| Music by | Mario Nascimbene |
| Cinematography | Gábor Pogány |
| Edited by | John Shirley |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures Corporation |
Release date |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English Latin |
Screenplay
University of Wittenberg scholar Faustus earns his doctorate, but his insatiable craving for knowledge and power leads Faustus to try his hand at necromancy in an attempt to conjure Mephistopheles out of hell. Faustus bargains his soul to Lucifer in exchange for 24 living years where Mephistopheles is his slave. Signing the pact in his own blood, Mephistopheles proceeds to reveal to Faustus the works and doings of the Devil.
- Richard Burton as Doctor Faustus
- Elizabeth Taylor as Helen
- Andreas Teuber as Mephistopheles
- Ram Chopra as Valdes
- Richard Carwardine as Cornelius
- Patrick Barwise as Wagner
- Michael Meneaugh as Good Angel / Bishop
- Richard Durden as Evil Angel / Knight
- David McIntosh as Lucifer
- Jeremy Eccles as Belzebub
- Gwydion Thomas as Lechery
- Ian Marter as Pride / Emperor
- Nicholas Loukes as Envy / Cardinal of Lorraine
- Adrian Benjamin as Pope
- Elizabeth O'Donovan as Empress
- Maria Aitken as Sloth
Reviews of the staged version in the British press were "less than enthusiastic", with critics commenting "a sad example of university drama at its worst", with an uninspired Burton "walking through the part". Taylor was "undeniably decorative, but there was nothing much to say about her acting ability". The movie received a terribly negative review in The New York Times, Renata Adler criticizing the adaptation of the text ("the play has been quite badly cut"), Burton's performance ("he seems happiest shouting in Latin, or in Ms. Taylor's ear"), the score ("some horrible electronic Wagnerian theme music"), and Taylor's role ("in this last role , she is, for some reason, frosted all over with silver--like a pastry, or a devaluated refugee from Goldfinger"), reserving praise only for Teuber's performance ("one fine, very pious performance").
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