Doctor Faustus (1967)

Directors:

Richard Burton
Nevill Coghill

Writers:

Nevill Coghill
Christopher Marlowe (play)

Release Date:

6 February 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery

Tagline:

The story of a scientist who sells his soul to the devil

Plot:

A man sells his soul to the devil in order to have the woman he loves.

Plot Keywords:

Hell | Deal With The Devil | Based On Play | Character Name In Title

Cast

Richard Burton	...	Doctor Faustus
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Helen of Troy
Andreas Teuber	...	Mephistopheles
Ian Marter	...	Emperor
Elizabeth O'Donovan	...	Empress
David McIntosh	...	Lucifer
Jeremy Eccles	...	Belsebub
Ram Chopra	...	Valdes
Richard Carwardine	...	Cornelius
Richard Heffer	...	Disciple #1
Gwydion Thomas	...	Scholar / Lechery
Richard Durden	...	Knight (as Richard Durden-Smith)
Patrick Barwise	...	Wagner
Adrian Benjamin	...	Pope
Jeremy Chandler	...	Attendant
Angus McIntosh	...	Rector Magnificus
Ambrose Coghill	...	Professor / Avarice
Anthony Kaufman	...	Professor / Envy
Julian Wontner	...	Professor
Richard Harrison	...	Professor
Nevill Coghill	...	Professor
Michael Menaugh	...	Good Angel
John Sandbach	...	Boy Turned Into Hind
Sebastian Walker	...	Idiot
Nicholas Loukes	...	Pride / Cardinal
Maria Aitken	...	Sloth
Valerie James	...	Idleness
Bridget Coghill	...	Gluttony
Petronella	...	Gluttony (as Petronella Pulsford)
Jacqueline Harvey	...	Dancer
Sheila Dawson	...	Dancer
Carolyn Bennitt	...	Dancer
Jane Wilford	...	Nun / Court Lady
Renzo Pevarello	...	Wrath (as R. Peverello)

Directed by
Richard Burton
Nevill Coghill

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Nevill Coghill
Christopher Marlowe		play "The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus"

Produced by
Richard Burton	....	producer
Richard McWhorter	....	producer

Original Music by
Mario Nascimbene

Cinematography by
Gábor Pogány

Film Editing by
John Shirley

Production Design by
John DeCuir

Art Direction by
Boris Juraga

Set Decoration by
Dario Simoni

Costume Design by
Peter J. Hall

Production Management
Guy Luongo	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gus Agosti	....	assistant director

Art Department
Fernando Valento	....	construction manager
Italo Tomassi	....	set designer (uncredited)

Sound Department
John Aldred	....	sound
David Hildyard	....	sound

Special Effects by
Augie Lohman	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Gerald Larn	....	matte painter (uncredited)

Stunts
Cristea Traian	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Bob Penn	....	still photographer

Music Department
Mario Nascimbene	....	musical director

Other crew
Jacqueline Harvey	....	choreographer
Elaine Schreyeck	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Nassau Films
• Oxford University Screen Productions
• Venfilms

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (1967) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (1968) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1972) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Columbia Films (1968) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Nacional Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (video)
• Telstar Video Entertainment (1990) (UK) (VHS)

Other Companies

• National Screen Service  titles

Also Known As:

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) (1990) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Nassau Films

Trivia:

The Pageant of the Seven Deadly Sins does not use the dialogue from the original scene. Instead, Burton used passages from Marlowe's other plays: _Edward II_ (for Lechery), _Jew of Malta_ (for Avarice), and _Tamburlaine the Great Part One_ (Pride). Two of the Sins, Gluttony and Sloth, do not appear in the film at all.

Quotes:

Doctor Faustus:[speaking about Helen of Troy] Was this the face that launched a thousand ships and burnt the topless towers of Illium? Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in How I Created Doctor Faustef (2008) (V)

An Ambitious Undertaking

It was an ambitious undertaking for Richard Burton, to film Christopher Marlowe's classic Dr. Faustus with an untried amateur cast. I'd say he got a mixed bag of results.

Well, they weren't all that amateur, they were the members of the Oxford Dramatic Society and quite a number of them went on to have substantial careers in film and theater. Fans of the Doctor Who series will recognize Ian Marter who played Harry Sullivan during the Tom Baker reign as the Doctor, he's probably the most well known of the cast.

Of course there's Elizabeth Taylor who plays the brief part of Helen of Troy who in legend is ultimate in feminine beauty. She has no dialog, but she makes her presence known.

Faustus, a man who devotes his entire life to the pursuit of knowledge and somehow feels he's left a lot out of his life. Piety and service to God ain't cutting it any more. He makes a deal with Lucifer himself and even gets one of the fallen angels, Mephistopheles to act as a personal servant and conveyor of Faustus's wishes to the Prince of Darkness.

Of course he gets what he wants, but there's a day of reckoning and Faustus just simply doesn't want to cough up the soul. What do you expect from a guy who constantly refers to himself in the third person? Faustus is rather full of himself.

From what little research I did, Richard Burton made a concerted effort in this film to perform it close to Marlowe's own vision. There seems to be a few versions of this out there and it's all open to speculation.

It was an ambitious undertaking, not entirely successful, but not a total failure either. And Elizabeth Taylor looks pretty good in it.