“Hungaro pic shows extraordinary period flair for the Germany of the 1920s and ‘30s, balanced acting by a multinational cast, and exemplary direction.”
During the Nazi's rise to power a German stage actor (Klaus Maria Brandauer) finds success in his performance of Mephisto in a play based on the legend of Faust. As his associates and friends flee or fall under the Nazi terror, the popularity of his character supersedes his own existence until he abandons his conscience in order to ingratiate himself with the Nazi Party and improve his social position.
Based on the novel by Klaus Mann (son of Thomas), Mephisto won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1982
