Mephisto (UK) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.0 Import - United Kingdom ]

István Szabó's Mephisto is not always the easiest film to watch but the careful viewer will be rewarded. Klaus Maria Brandauer gives the performance of his career as actor Hendrik Hoefgen as he moves from a provincial player to acclaimed star and puppet of the Third Reich. The film is much more than a biopic of actor Gustaf Gründgens it is a subtle analysis of the place of art in an oppressive government.Hoefgen is a political idealist in his native Hamburg wanting to stage plays to bring art to the masses. He gives up his dream when he moves to Berlin and becomes a tool of the National Socialists. The exploration is whether or not true art has a place in this type of government or whether art is just another piece of propaganda that can be used to keep those in power in power. Hoefgen finds that the artist must give up everything including his soul to reach the top. Brandauer's performance is magnificent and he is supported by a great cast. Szabo's long time cinematographer Lajos Koltai creates a mood of oppression with his intentionally long sweeping shots that sometimes seem to go on forever.The film has long been out of print but can be found at some cost in this Anchor Bay edition which features a slightly dark transfer of the film with English subtitles. The subtitles are clear but may not always accurately translate the original German. The only extras are text biographies of Brandauer and Szabo and a short but vital featurette called The Naked Face which covers both Brandauer's and Szabo's methods for filmmaking.This is a long difficult film but well worth the investment of time for anyone interested in serious foreign films.

Klaus Maria Brandauer's performance is tremendous. Hadn't been able to find it on previous searches. Thanks Amazon.

Excellent film. This transfer looks good enough, though it's probably only a bit better than the VHS I have in storage somewhere. Certainly, it's not restored. But it's probably the best version out there of the film, which is sadly neglected now.One huge issue I have with this edition, however, is the subtitles. While it's nice to have optional English subs, these ones are NOT optional. Hence, if you speak German, as I do, and you don't want to have the pictured obscured with captioning, you're out of luck. Note to DVD and Blu-ray manufacturers: we're passed the point of burnt-in subtitles; that's one of the many reasons that DVD technology, with its branching and options, is far superior to VHS. Welcome to 2015 :)

This is a modern classic, set in Germany as it slid from the Weimar Republic into the Nazi period. Based on the Klaus Mann novel, it depicts the compromises made by a leading actor (based on the real life career of Gustav Gruendgens), who deluded himself into believing he could work with the Nazis while in fact being manipulated by them. On one level, it tells the ironic story of an actor who played Mephistopheles in Goethe's Faust, failing to recognize that he was dealing with a real Mephistopheles. At a deeper level, it tells of the impossibility of compromising with the reality of evil. All the performances are stunning, and the direction is fabulous. This is a film worth watching repeatedly.

I loved this film when it was first released, and have never forgotten it. It has been great to watch it again, some thirty years later, and its message remains powerful and true. In the face of dictatorship, individuals cannot enjoy basic human rights, nor power. Individuals who assume that they have rights when living under dictatorship, are likely to discover that privileges come at a moral price, and end up disillusioned.

There are not enough stars to do justice to this film.Brandauer's performance is completely over the top, andthe conceptual environment for a discussion of the roleof art within an authoritarian regime unprecedented andunparalleled. I saw this when it was in the art theaters,and acquired this DVD. It has astonished those who havewatched it with me. The initial viewing in theaters manyyears ago left me with a memory of Brandauer playingMephisto in "Faust" that remained accurate over the years.Don't miss this one.Bob A

Mephisto is one of the best films which I have ever seen. I first saw it in the 1980's and I consider that it is a blistering artistic and intellectual condemnation not only of a particular era, but as with all classics this film has universal application, dealing as it does with the ethical choice between moral integrity and the seductive appeal of plaudits and power, Furthermore, the acting is superb.

Seldom do you see a totally convincing performance like this of Klaus Maria Brandauer. He is a man who givesup his soul to the Nazis in order to be successful.If you like movies about the WW2 period, then this movie hasto be in your collection. The language is German with English subtitles. Video and audio are quite good.

This rating does not reflect the quality of the product, which is superior to my old VHS copy. It is because there is no option for English subtitles. I read the descriptiob & skimmed other reviews prior to purchase, & this was not clear from either. One reviewers said there were none, one that they were burned in, one that only Spanish was available. Amazon needs to make it clearer that no English subtitle is available. The review reflects this, not the product itself.

This Hungarian film (dubbed into German) is one of the great films of the 80s.Klaus Maria Brandauer plays an ambitious and narcissistic actor in 30s Berlin who (despite previously founding a Bolshevik theatre group) finds himself in favour with the Nazis due to his performance in Faust as Mephistopheles, and has to choose to flee Germany or work with the Nazis; convincing himself he is in a position of power by using his connections as the national theatre director to help former friends, he gradually finds he is not in the Mephisto-like role he thinks he is, but rather that of Faust.Brandauer is mesmeric as the self-absorbed (and self-deluded) actor Hendrik Hoefgen, who occasionally engages in monologues with himself, rationalising (really trying to justify) his decisions as he get deeper into his collusion with the Nazi general to whom he owes his appointment.A moral and intellectually engaging tale that resonates even in our own times.The UK DVD is transferred in 16:9 ratio with only serviceable English subtitles that misses out some dialogue (but there ARE subtitles - some reviewers either have a different version or have downloaded the film); the mono sound is acceptable but could be better.There are no extras – a film that deserves a better release, but is at least respectably presented on this DVD from inD World.

Mephisto (1981) is a Hungarian/German/Austrian coproduction of Klaus Mann's 1936 novel of the same name, directed by internationslly famous Hungarian director István Szabó. Klaus Maria Brandauer as Hendrik Höfgen (modelled after Gustav Gründgens) and Rolf Hoppe as the General, actually modelled after Hermann Goering, play the key roles and are the only German actors. The film is rich and lavish, concentrates on social life and the arts, has an unusual number of good looking women, and is generally the opposite of an(y) American adaptation of a German WWII topic like Valkyrie, the 2008 Stauffenberg epic played by Tom Cruise, where the body language and behaviour of most German generals had a totally unsuited Hollywood flavor. Here, it is all mitteleuropäisch, genuinly so.Faust and Mephisto have been a German topic long before Goethe's (1749-1832) world famous two part drama, and the pact between the all-knowledgeable Faust and the devil Mephisto about the ultimate power has been varied over the years - not least by Thomas Mann, the famous author-father of Klaus Mann, who wrote Dr Faustus: The Life of the German composer Adrian Leverkühn, told by a friend, published in 1947. A lot also of Klaus Mann's 1936 biting novel is autobiographi-cal, since sister Erica, like Klaus himself a part time actor, member of the mostly politically left bohème, and also homosexual, was for a while married to Gründgens, who was alternatively playing Faust, but increasingly Mephisto after WWII in (West) German theatres to great public applause and fame.Playing still in the plush Nazi pre-war years, to some extent full of ideals about national rejuvenation and war far away, Höfgen abandons his conscience; he continues to act and befriends himself with the Nazi Party, moving to the political right in order to keep and improve his job and social position. The performing arts in Germany had the biggest role of any country in the world, and the top posts were of high prestige and reward, something the film brings out very clearly, but which people not familiar with German arts may not realize to the full extent. The plot's irony is that Höfgen in reality is Faustus rather than the protagonist's most fond dream Mephisto - which goes to the General.The film is an unconditional five star, but there have been complaints from the audience about sub-titling and a certain blurness/colloquia-lism of speech. I can confirm that this criticism is justified, but that not even knowing German does make you catch all in a first go. No American simplification at hand!

István Szabó's movie is based on the novel with the same title by Klaus Mann, the son of Thomas Mann.There is, however, an essential difference between the treatment in the book and in the movie of the same material: the character and behavior of the actor Gustaf Gründgens, the (ex-) husband of Klaus' sister Erika.Gustaf Gründgens had only one obsession: acting, to become the best actor and that at all costs. For the literary critic M. Reich-Ranicki, Gustaf Gründgens was indeed the best German actor of the 20th century. He excelled in the role of Mephistopheles in Goethe's Faust (see the movie `Faust' shot by his adopted son Peter Gorski - one caveat: no subtitles).The novel and the movieKlaus Mann's novel is basically a sharply defined portrait (and an attack on) of his brother-in-law, the overambitious theater man. In order to fulfill his ambitions, G. Gründgens plays the role of the humble collaborator/servant of all those in power, be they from the left or from the (extreme) right, so also of the Nazis.But, the movie goes one step further. The actor, Gustaf Gründgens, serves as a means to dissect a cardinal human problem: the relationship between art and power (politics). The movie illustrates eminently that an artist (art) should not play the role of an innocent human being in a society full of bloodshed. As André Gide said, `there is no art without liberty'. An artist (actor) should not collaborate naively with culture barbarians (`When I hear the word culture, I reach for my revolver'). In any case, for those culture barbarians artists (actors) should only play the part of their negligible foot soldiers, which can be `crushed like beetles' (`Get out, actor!').Klaus Maria Brandauer plays perfectly the `two' Mephistopheles, the `immoral' character in Goethe's Faust and the `innocent' political collaborator. He is surrounded by a splendidly directed great cast.This movie, which tackles head on the role of art (movies) itself, is a must see for all lovers of world cinema.

This film on DVD technically is just not good enough when we have blu-ray standard equipment & fabulous sound bars buying this quality DVD is always going to be a 'shame about the technical side' However the film itself is wonderful & the story has never been so relevant as it is today. The acting is strong by all the cast involved & the film feels modern & vital can I make a plea to the company who has the copyrights to this release to please remaster the picture & sound as this is one of the great films & deserves the very best of transfers by the company who release it onto the DVD market to the owners of the original film/video - please remaster the film as it's a remarkable beautifully acted piece & anyone who goes to the theatre can enjoy this as so much of the film centres around the world of the theatre in the time of the National Socialists in Germany the German general who 'adopts' MEPHISTO is chilling & the themes in the film are pertinent to todays global events & MEPHISTO played by the magnificent Klaus Maria Brandauer is magnificent 5 stars for the film & 1 star for the technical aspect of the reproduction but nonetheless I will be able to watch many times over as it's a great great film & just a shame copyright owners who release this DVD haven't as yet remastered this gem of a film.