Doctor Faustus

Richard Burton, Andreas Teuber, Elizabeth Taylor. Dr. Faustus makes a deal with the devil in the ultimate tale of morality and ambition, adapted from the famous play by Christopher Marlowe. Teuber steals the show with his entrancing performance as Mephistopheles. Directed by Burton. 1968/color/93 min/NR/widescreen.

An adaptation of the Christopher Marlowe masterpiece, Doctor Faustus allows Richard Burton (who also co-directed) to sink his teeth into one of the great theater roles, with loyal wife Elizabeth Taylor along for the ride. Now, there were a few good movies and many follies born of the epic marriage of Burton and Taylor; Faustus is one of their most curious progeny. Alas, Burton's performance is hardly scaled back from a big, bellowing stage turn, while elsewhere the film fails to work up the most rudimentary cinematic life. And Liz? She keeps appearing, wordlessly, as a sexed-up dream temptation for poor Faustus, and finally as Helen of Troy, of "Is this the face that launched a thousand ships?" fame. The only real fun to be had here is wondering whether Burton saw the project as a metaphor for his own career: a man who sold his soul in return for earthly pleasures... as embodied by Elizabeth Taylor. --Robert Horton