How the Devil Did It

F.W. Murnau's Faust (1925) contains a dazzling array of pioneering special effects, all achieved well before computers. The city Mephisto terrorizes is made of wood and paper, the flaming letters are flammable liquid and asbestos, and the ever-present fog is smoke from burning nitrate film. When talking about Faust in his book The Great Movies III, Pulitzer Prize winning film critic Roger Ebert said: "Such effects, paradoxically, can be more effective than realistic ones...The world of Faust is never intended to define a physical universe, but is a landscape of nightmares."

And what's so awesome about the movies is you can visit this landscape of nightmares yourself -- without having to stay! Faust is showing February 16 at the Castro Theatre - for ticket information visit www.silentfilm.org. Co-presented by Goethe-Institut San Francisco, San Francisco Film Society, and www.midnitesformaniacs.com.

Faust is available on DVD. BUT, you won't want to miss this special presentation on the BIG screen of the Castro Theater. There is no better way to see the film's special effects!