Faust

Faust (1926) is F. W. Murnau's silent German fantasy you can watch online on iFILM, produced at UFA studios and released in the final flowering of German Expressionist cinema. Gösta Ekman plays the aging scholar and Emil Jannings takes the role of Mephisto.

The premise draws from the ancient legend: Heaven and Hell strike a wager over the soul of one learned man. When plague descends on Faust's city and his prayers go unanswered, he summons the demon out of desperation. Mephisto delivers youth, power and the ability to heal. What he collects in return, Faust only fully understands much later.

Murnau's visual command is the reason this film still circulates a century on — the shot of Mephisto's vast dark wings spreading across a helpless city became one of the defining images of the entire silent era. He left Germany for Hollywood the following year to make Sunrise. Stream Faust (1926) online on iFILM.