| Richard Burton | Dr. Faustus |
| Elizabeth Taylor | Helen of Troy |
| Andreas Teuber | Mephistopheles |
| Ian Marter | Emperor |
| Elizabeth O'Donovan | Empress |
| Hugh Williams | Scholar |
| David McIntosh | Lucifer |
| Jeremy Eccles | Beelzebub |
| Ram Chopra | Valdes |
| Richard Heffer | First Scholar |
| Ambrose Coghill | Professor/Avarice |
| Richard Harrison | Fourth Professor |
| Nevill Coghill | Professor |
| Michael Menaugh | Good Angel |
| Bridget Coghill | Gluttony |
| Jacqueline Harvey | Dancers |
| Richard Canvardine | Cornelius |
| Renzo Pevarello | Wrath |
| Richard Burton | Director, Producer |
| Nevill Coghill | Director, Screenwriter |
| John De Cuir | Production Designer |
| Peter Hall | Costumes/Costume Designer |
| Peter Harman | Special Effects |
| Jacqueline Harvey | Choreography |
| Boris Juraga | Art Director |
| Augie Lohman | Special Effects |
| Richard McWhorter | Producer |
| Mario Nascimbene | Score Composer |
| Gabor Pogany | Cinematographer |
| John Shirley | Editor |
| Dario Simoni | Set Decoration/Design |
Anonymous
Posted October 1, 2010
Amateur supporting cast is right! Compared to Burton who does everything short of chewing on the set, the supporting cast is wooden, lifeless, and boring. Almost all traces of the Elizabethan low-comedy slapstick scenes have been removed (save one- the 'raspberry' scene in the Pope's dining room) and it makes what is left of the story sound ponderous. The special effects that were probably acceptable on stage look flat and unreal such as the flickering lighting on a skull and a statue that replace the Evil and Good angels in Faustus' study. There are Seven deadly sins- where are the other two??? What should be a spectacular scene where Lucifer makes a cameo appearance to stop Faustus from calling upon God is filmed through vaseline so the scene is dark and out-of-focus, lessening it's impact. Taylor, her 1960s glitter eye shadow and overdeveloped chest always prominently displayed probably had a lot of fun (as did Burton) but the fact that this was a 'vanity production' cannot be concealed. A real disappointment.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted August 21, 2002
This for me is the definitive 'Dr Faustus.' It is hardly noticeably abbreviated from the Marlowe text. There is a slight addition of the best lines from 'The Jew of Malta,' (''infinite riches in a little room''). Burton is quite magical as Faustus, and Andreas Truber makes a brilliant Mephistophiles. The stills of the two together, are justifiably famous. Elizabeth Taylor is pretty good too! The music is both good and memorable, although like all film scores, repetitive. I highly recommend it. If you are captivated by the Marlowe play, as I was, it is pretty compulsory.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted November 15, 2009
No text was provided for this review.
Overview