Faust - 1926

 So I finished some bullshit on youtube recently and in its bizarre algorithm it suggested Faust to me.  Okay, why not?

Faust is a great example of German expressionism, and a true silent cinema classic.  It is about an hour 45 minutes of incredible black and white, silent cinematography complete with title cards and a piano soundtrack.  It is the classic story of Faust, the old man who is in a awful, poor and destitute city where he has been fairly useless to stop this as an alchemist.  He burns his books and at the last minute sees a page telling him that if he were to summon the dark forces, the dark forces could help in his quest.

This is so visionary and so awesome.  I mean, the beginning alone is 20ish minutes is some of the most incredible cinematography of all time, with many moments of me sitting here wondering "did it ever really get better than this?  In all of cinema?"  The middle part slows, and under a modern lens it drags a little bit, but there is still so much very cool effects and cinema and LIGHTING!  The lighting in this, my god, have we as movie watchers completely gotten away from lighting as an effect?!

It made me think of a realization, albeit basic, that I had recently.  I was bemoaning the loss of cinema and how people just watch shit on TikTok or whatever now, and at that time I realized: movies and stuff are only about 100 years old. This movie especially points that out, and it points out how much the art form has already changed in that time.  From black and white, jerky hand cranked cameras, silent, title cards, rear and front projection etc, to 1930s "Technicolor", to 70s "Sensaround", to 3D, to now 4DX and all the many things in between that I haven't mentioned.  This art form has been altered and redefined and reworked so many times, and in such a short timeframe, who am I to push back against it moving online and embracing a more homemade, shorter length trend?  There is barely a "norm" in cinema to even talk about when one says "cinema is not like this, it's like _______"

Like I said, this movie has a lengthy middle segment.  Basically Faust gives up on saving the world pretty quick in, and decides to just become a youth again.  Once he is transformed, he falls in love with a woman he sees and resets his focus on her.  That cues like an hour of more situational comedy, where Mephisto is screwing over Faust and his love while Faust is twisting Mephisto to his will.  It drags a little bit here, because it just feels unconnected to anything before or after, but it's fine.

I don't know if cinema truly did get better than this.  Its unlikely.  The look of this reminds one that cinema is truly a visionary artform, which we sometimes forget about when the newest thing is action, adventure, sci fi, animation, etc. It would be interesting if like in painting or poetry or some other artforms that exist, if the "old style" or "original" version of this still existed, in any real way.  If there were new black and white, title card, silent, hand-cranked films.  Maybe there are?  I wonder what they're like.

This is a vision, a masterpiece, an incredible object.  I dunno how many people are dialing it up 100 years later, but if you do, you're in for a treat.