Doctor Faustus (1967)

 "Why, this is Hell, nor am I out of it".

I fear that, much though I enjoy the deliciously irreverent work of Christopher Marlowe, I've only read two of his plays (The Jew of Malta and Edward II), and until now had never seen a performance of any kind. One may certainly say that this isan odd place to start- a mostly amateur production from students at Oxford University (including one Ian Marter!), directed by a don, and somehow not only starring Richard Burton but, oddly, featuring Elizabeth Taylor as second billing despite the fact she has no lines and hardly appears.

The play is witty, delicious, but also odd- theologically deep, reflecting an age of alchemy rather than science, where the nature of academia itself was utterly alien to the modern mind. Marlowe is riffing on an existing German tale here, where the eponymous doctor sellshis soul to Lucifer for a mere four and twenty years in return for knowledge and... well, not much else. Not love, power or happiness. This is a version shorn of the comedic scenes, but both the power and irreverence of the play will speak for themselves in any production.

I'll admit this version is no classic. Burton is far too old to play the younger Faustus and his performance, while good, does not inspire. Yet the haunting music and the bizarre Hammer Horror style sort of actually work. The Seven Deadly Sins portion is well handed, with the masks echoing classical Greek theatre. And Andreas Teuber is a genuinely compelling Mephistopheles. This film isa bit mad, yes... but that's rather why I like it.

The Flintstones (1994)

“Yabba dabba doo!”

 This film may be technically set in the Stone Age, vaguely defined, but we all know it's actually set in those early years of the '60s that were very much still the '50s. It's to the credit of this '90s adaptation that, seen today, it’s very Mad Men in its ‘50s social mores, although in this case without the racism.

This is a very faithful adaptation, right up to the point of recreating variations of the original cartoon title sequence several times. It’s perfectly cast with John Goodman and a just pre-retirement Rick Moranis. It’s so well-realised, with copious dinosaur animatronics from the school of Jim Henson, that this is a rare example of a film with a rubbish script being worth seeing.  It’s rare that it’s worth polishing a turd, but here the polishing is truly magnificent.

The plot is ok- Free gets promoted, betraying Barney in the process, living a life of luxury until it turns out that he’s being set up by the villainous Cliff, a splendidly and surprisingly villainous Kyle MacLachlan. Oh, and Halle Berry is the early 1960s sexy secretary, done with just enough of a nod and a wink.

Yes, the script is pants. It really is. And this may be a rare example of an adaptation being too faithful to the source material. But the whole thing looks amazing, the casting is inspired, and the whole thing just feels right.

It’s worth watching, honest. You won’t laugh much, but you’ll feel a nice nostalgic glow.