Doctor Faustus (1967 film)
Doctor Faustus | |
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The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe | |
Produced by | Richard Burton Richard McWhorter |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Gábor Pogány |
Edited by | John Shirley |
Music by | Mario Nascimbene |
Color process | Technicolor |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates |
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Running time | 93 minutes[1] |
Country | United Kingdom |
Languages | English Latin |
Doctor Faustus is a 1967 British
Plot
Cast
- Richard Burton as Doctor Faustus
- Elizabeth Taylor as Helen of Troy
Of the Oxford University Dramatic Society, Queen's College, Oxford, England:
- 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 (credited as Richard Durden-Smith)
- David McIntosh as Lucifer
- Jeremy Eccles as Beelzebub
- 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
With:
- Ambrose Coghill as Avarice
- Maria Aitken as Sloth (uncredited)
- Hugh Williams as Scholar
Reception
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".[3] 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 [Alexander's paramour], she is, for some reason, frosted all over with silver—like a pastry, or a devaluated refugee from Goldfinger[4]"), reserving praise only for Teuber's performance ("one fine, very pious performance").[5]
References
- ^ "DOCTOR FAUSTUS (X)". British Board of Film Classification. 26 July 1967. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- ISBN 9781847061386.
- ^ Lewis, Anthony (16 February 1966). "Dr. Faustus Gets Cool a Welcome: British Reviewers Criticize the Burtons and the Play". The New York Times. p. 49.
- ^ One of the memorable visual images in the James Bond film Goldfinger, produced three years before Doctor Faustus, was the film villain's habit of covering women with gold.
- ^ Adler, Renata (7 February 1968). "Screen: Faustus Sells His Soul Again: Burtons and Oxford Do the Devil's Work; Adaptation of Marlowe Play at 2 Theaters". The New York Times. p. 38.
External links
- Doctor Faustus at IMDb
- Doctor Faustus at AllMovie
- Doctor Faustus at Rotten Tomatoes