Richard Burton's interpretation of Marlowe's Dr. Faustus was not as bad as i thought it was going to be. The production was typical of the period, pretty cheesy, but the acting was quite good. Burton as Faustus was the perfect fit. His voice commanded the same level of respect that i thought Faustus would if he were a real person, and Burton breezed through the heavy diction as if he was actually making a deal with the devil.
i was surprised by how the movie was able to keep my attention because i struggled to get through the play. Marlowe's language, though beautiful and whatnot, really came alive with Burton's fantastic ensemble in a way that was absent when just reading the text, but i could not get over the music that followed Elizabeth Taylor. it was very annoying. i also did not understand the point of making her role silent. Taylor was a great actress and she could have brought more to the table other than just her starpower and beauty. Also, i did not fully understand her role at the very end; was she Lucifer or was Helen of Troy damned to hell
The movie's special effects were comical, but given the time period of its release i am not surprised. i actually thought they very well placed and not as lame as they could have been.
No comments:
Post a Comment