FAUST to Screen with Live Piano at Sierra Madre Playhouse

Sierra Madre Playhouse revisits its beginnings as a silent film movie house with a one-night-only screening of Faust, a hauntingly beautiful 1926 silent fantasy horror masterpiece directed by F.W. Murnau, on – fittingly – Friday the 13th of November, 8:00 PM.

One of the towering achievements of silent cinema, the film, packed with gothic imagery and mythic themes, comes alive once again with live piano accompaniment by Larry Garf, whose dramatical score heightens every flicker of beauty and despair.

Writer and humorist Rich Procter introduces the film and leads a post-show discussion exploring Murnau's artistry, the legacy of Expressionist cinema, and why Faust continues to fascinate a century later.

Faust is F.W. Murnau's visionary adaptation of Goethe's classic tale of ambition, temptation, and redemption. Combining the grandeur of German Expressionism with a deeply human story, the film follows the scholar Faust as he makes a fateful bargain with Mephisto, trading his soul for youth, power, and passion.

Murnau's Faust remains a visual marvel filled with sweeping camera movements, intricate set design, and striking use of light and shadow. Its imagery influenced generations of filmmakers, from Hitchcock to Bergman, and stands among the most haunting depictions of good and evil ever captured on film.