A literary horror film--that sounds like an absurd concept, but Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, and the Leonard Nimoy-like Andreas Teuber bring it off. The most striking aspect of Dr. Faustus are the surprisingly good special effects. The atmosphere, music, and colors combine in an hallucinogenic mix. Yes, it's stagey, as expected, but it flows well nonetheless; the erudite dialogue enhancing the forlorn creepiness.I agree with those who mention that Taylor's make-up is overdone in some scenes. She hardly needs artificial means to look sexy and alluring. It's remarkable that her character loses nothing despite having no dialogue; a good counterpoint to Faustus and Mephistopheles's learned verbal jousting. I even appreciate the copious amounts of Latin; I could scope out some of it, and, in general, it added to the Medieval luster.There's a lot going on here, both visually and intellectually. As others have noted, Teuber's description of hell is a sort of existentialist view of the human condition; Burton's desire to sell his soul has an escapist undertone, like a person on drugs. Like an addict, Burton/Faustus can't get enough hedonistic pleasures. But he has to ultimately 'come down,' literally down to hell. The ending is perhaps the best scene: hell swallows Faustus up a in a claustrophobic dungeon. Sensual pleasures become scenes of torture and madness. In another macabre scene, this time near the beginning, Burton comes upon a sort of desecrated altar in a hideous forest--the definition of haunted. At the other extreme, watching he and Teuber floating in space among the stars is beautiful, majestic. The rotting corpses are very effective, especially as they shift from dismal images of death to the horrid, all too real depictions of decay.The movie is entertaining enough with the relentless parade of horror; there's also the horrible inner tension, as Faustus continues to doubt his switch of allegiance from God to the Devil. One sort of hopes that he will come back to God. He nearly does. It's interesting that God will forgive him, and take him back; but the devil won't give him up without retribution.It's good that the generally obnoxious scene at the Papal court ultimately turns dark; this comic interlude disrupts the tone, as though being in league with the devil is a harmless prank. Faustus's trickster ability is much better handled when he exposes the Emperor's knight as a cuckhold. I must admit I haven't read the original play; I read Goethe's Faust many years ago for a class, but I'm not that familiar with the Faust myth/story. Anyway, a thoroughly enjoyable film for fans of classic horror, and even for those into classic literature. Where else can you hear that fine medievalism from no less a luminary than the Holy Roman Emperor, when he speaks of Faustus's powers as "cunning arts"?

We all know Richard Burton is great at making Shakespearian language sound like normal words. However, that doesn't mean he has to do it all the time, and you don't have to watch every movie in which he does it. In other words, don't watch Doctor Faustus.Richard Burton must have really, really wanted to make this movie. He starred in it, co-produced it, and co-directed it! I don't know what was the matter with him, but the film is a train wreck. It's boring, creepy in a bad way, way too wordy, terribly slow, and nonsensically directed. For most of the movie, there's a sort of circular filter over the camera lens, and half the screen is blurry. For no reason.Faust is an ancient tale about signing your soul to the devil in exchange for youth, vigor, and a beautiful woman. There have been operatic and musical adaptations, dramatic and comedic inspirations, and usually they're at least moderately entertaining. Doctor Faustus is rotten. Richard Burton stands in his room for twenty minutes soliloquizing whether or not to summon the devil. Then he finally decides to do it (which is not a nail biter, since we know the story!) and he spends another ten minutes saying he doesn't believe the devil is all-powerful. To prove his power, the devil sends a proxy, and the proxy summons Elizabeth Taylor out of thin air, who, as soon as Richard Burton starts caressing her, turns into an ugly, old man. Have you had enough? I have.

The movie was one I watched because I was doing some project on it and found the movie at the library. So when I checked it out, I hoped to find a stunning movie about a man and his immortal love. Instead, I was distracted by wild images and scene changes. The plot line was choppy, and was not easy to follow. The end was disappointing. Overall, I rate this movie a three out of ten. It's just not worth it. The actors were good, but even the famous actors and actresses did not make this move a success. Although, I must admit, some of the most famous quotes did come from this movie--"Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss!" I overestimated how much I would like this film. A nice history lesson but no movie in my opinion.

I'll admit from the beginning that Marlowe's Tragical History of Doctor Faustus is one of my alltime favorite plays, and that I used to have it virtually memorized. The play is itself so good that any relatively true adaptation to the screen would make a thoughtful and enjoyable film.I am old enough to remember the tabloid brouhaha about Burton and Taylor, but even that unpleasantness is insufficient to intrude upon my complete enjoyment of this film. The dialogue is over 400 years old, requiring careful listening by the viewer who is unfamiliar with the play, but that viewer will be well rewarded for his attention. The dialogue is so rich with meaning, with philosophical nuance, with the heights and depths of human emotion that the attentive viewer cannot help but think about the meaning of his actions and the consequences of them, as well. This Doctor Faustus is a fleshed out (and fleshly) genius not unlike some of those we might encounter today. The scene in which Faustus knows for certain that all that, for which he has sold his soul, is illusion; yet he still cannot bring himself to renounce it all, and redeem himself, strikes at the souls of all of us. As Don Blanding wrote about his imagined painting entitled "Sin!" I love while I loathe the beastly thing. I guess that's the way one feels about sin."