Mephisto (1981)

A German stage actor finds unexpected success and mixed blessings in the popularity of his performance in a Faustian play as the Nazis take power in pre-WWII Germany. As his associates and ... See full summary »

Director:

István Szabó

Writers:

Péter Dobai, Klaus Mann (novel),

Stars:

Klaus Maria Brandauer, Krystyna Janda, Ildikó Bánsági

Won 1 Oscar. Another 11 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Klaus Maria Brandauer	...	Hendrik Hoefgen
Krystyna Janda	...	Barbara Bruckner
Ildikó Bánsági	...	Nicoletta von Niebuhr
Rolf Hoppe	...	Tábornagy
György Cserhalmi	...	Hans Miklas
Péter Andorai	...	Otto Ulrichs
Karin Boyd	...	Juliette Martens
Christine Harbort	...	Lotte Lindenthal
Tamás Major	...	Oskar Kroge, színigazgató
Ildikó Kishonti	...	Dora Martin, primadonna
Mária Bisztrai	...	Motzné, tragika
Sándor Lukács	...	Rolf Bonetti, bonviván
Ágnes Bánfalvy	...	(as Bánfalvi Ágnes)
Judit Hernádi	...	Rachel Mohrenwitz, drámai szende
Vilmos Kun	...	Ügyelõ

Storyline

A German stage actor finds unexpected success and mixed blessings in the popularity of his performance in a Faustian play as the Nazis take power in pre-WWII Germany. As his associates and friends flee or are ground under by the Nazi terror, the popularity of his character supercedes his own existence until he finds that his best performance is keeping up appearances for his Nazi patrons.

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Plot Keywords:

nazi | power | faustian | actor | success | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

West Germany Hungary Austria

Language:

English Hungarian German

Release Date:

22 March 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mefisto

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 1,925,462 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hessischer Rundfunk (HR), Mafilm, Manfred Durniok Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

István Szabó:  A guest wearing a tuxedo on the theater reception party near the end of the film, complaining about the unnecessary expenses of the luxurious party.

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Goofs

Contrary to what is depicted in the film, Hitler was not named chancellor of Germany after the Nazis won a majority in the Reichstag. He was appointed chancellor in January 1933 without proper parliamentary confirmation, and the Nazi Party did not won an absolute majority of votes in the next election (March 1933).

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Quotes

Hendrik Hoefgen: Am I not the most dreadful villain you have seen?

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Connections

Referenced in Heartburn (1986)

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Soundtracks

"Fruhlingsstimmen"
Written by Johann Strauß (as Johann Strauss)

User Reviews

Before "The Truman Show", "Mephisto" asks its audience, what is good entertainment?

Another disturbing film about the complicity of ordinary people in fascism, which explores similar territory to "Cabaret", "The Conformist", "The Leopard" and "The Remains of the Day". It argues that fascism demonstrates how difficult it is to separate one's public and private roles and beliefs from politics. The title character, an actor, starts to realise how his "make believe" public role has very real, tragic consequences. In this sense, the film has merit beyond its superb acting and other technical features: it subverts the liberal pieties of Hollywood drama which resolve all conflict within the confines of the existing social system. It undercuts the banality of much film criticism which says it is "just entertainment" with "no subtext"- as if produced in a social/historical vacuum with no point of view. In short, the film argues that artists, like everyone else, have to take some responsibility and assume a critical role or risk being haunted, like Mephisto, by the awareness that they have become pawns in a dangerous game.