| Mephisto | |
|---|---|
 Hungarian release poster | |
| Directed by | István Szabó |
| Screenplay by | Péter Dobai István Szabó |
| Story by | Péter Dobai |
| Based on | Mephisto byKlaus Mann |
| Produced by | Manfred Durniok |
| Starring | Klaus Maria Brandauer Krystyna Janda Ildikó Bánsági Rolf Hoppe Martin Hellberg |
| Cinematography | Lajos Koltai |
| Edited by | Zsuzsa Csákány |
| Music by | Zdenko Tamássy |
Production company |
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| Distributed by | Analysis Film Releasing Corporation (U.S.) |
Release dates |
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Running time | 144 minutes |
| Countries | Hungary Austria West Germany |
| Language | German |
Mephisto is a 1981 German-languagepolitical drama film co-written and directed byIstván Szabó, and based onthe novel of the same name byKlaus Mann. It starsKlaus Maria Brandauer as a German stage actor (modelled onGustaf Gründgens) who finds unexpected success and mixed blessings in the popularity of his performance in aFaustian play as the Nazis take power in pre-Second World War Germany. As his associates and friends flee or are forced underground by the Nazi regime, the popularity of his character ends up superseding his own existence, until he finds that his best performance is keeping up appearances for his Nazi patrons.
The film was a co-production of Hungarian, Austrian, and West German studios; starring German and Hungarian-speaking actors. It premiered inBudapest on 11 February 1981 and received widespread acclaim from critics, winning theAcademy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film, the first Hungarian picture to do so.[1] Brandauer's performance earned him many accolades, includingBAFTA andGerman Film Award nominations and launched his film career.
The film adapts the story ofMephistopheles andDoctor Faustus by revealing the costs to the main character Hendrik Höfgen as he abandons his conscience and continues to perform, ingratiating himself with theNazi Party to keep his job and improve his social position.
Höfgen (modelled on German actorGustaf Gründgens) craves center stage. The first third of the film follows his career as a frustrated, passionate actor slogging it out in provincial theaters, occasionally dancing and singing and doing parts in films to gain notice. He even founds a Bolshevik theater with a friend to generate more work, in the avant-garde period of the early 1930s, before the Nazis came to power. Initially, Hendrik is more successful in his social and love life than as an actor. Both strands unite when his new wife watches him play the ultimate role, Mephisto (the devil's agent in the Faustus play), just before the Nazi party came to power in Germany.
While his wife, leading actors, and friends go into exile, or protest against the new regime, Hendrik returns to Germany lured by the promise of forgiveness for his communist theatre escapade and a desire to act in his native language. When the Nazi party offers to make him a star, he doesn't hesitate. Great roles and accolades quickly come his way, and Hendrik revels in his success. Hendrik reprises his greatest role as Mephisto and agrees to run the national theatre, working around the cultural restrictions and brutality of the Nazi government. He blithely overlooks the profound moral compromises of his situation, excusing himself by using the power of his close relationships with Nazi officials to help friends who would otherwise be targeted by the regime.
The plot's bitter irony is that the protagonist's fondest dream is to become Germany's greatest actor, playingHamlet and Mephisto but to achieve this dream he sells his soul and realizes too late that he is not playing the role of Mephisto but that of Faustus; it is the Nazi leader with a major role in the film (modeled onHermann Göring) who is the real Mephisto.
The film was the highest-grossing Hungarian film in the United States and Canada with a gross of $3.9 million.[2]
| Award | Category | Year | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | Best Foreign-Language Film[3] | 1982 | Hungary | Won |
| BAFTA Awards | Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles | 1982 | Klaus Maria Brandauer | Nominated |
| Bambi Award | Best Actor (National) | 1983 | Won | |
| Cannes Film Festival[4] | Palme d'Or | 1981 | István Szabó | Nominated |
| Best Screenplay | Won | |||
| FIPRESCI Prize | Won | |||
| David di Donatello | Best Foreign Film | 1982 | Won | |
| Best Foreign Director | Nominated | |||
| Best Foreign Actor | Klaus Maria Brandauer | Won | ||
| German Film Award | Best Actor in a Leading Role | 1983 | Nominated | |
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Rolf Hoppe | Nominated | ||
| London Critics Circle Film Award | Foreign Language Film of the Year | 1983 | Mephisto | Won |
| National Board of Review[5] | Best Foreign Language Film | 1982 | Won |
Mephisto was the first Hungarian film to win the Foreign Language Oscar, and the only one untilSon of Saul won in 2016.[6] On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 76% based on 25 reviews, with an average score of 7.40/10.[7]
