Mephisto (1981 film)

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This article is about a 1981 German-language film. For the black and white French-language film, see Méphisto (1930 film).

Mephisto

Directed by	István Szabó
Written by	Péter Dobai Klaus Mann (novel) István Szabó
Starring	Klaus Maria Brandauer Krystyna Janda Ildikó Bánsági
Release date(s)	29 September 1981 (premiere at NYFF) 8 October 1981 22 March 1982
Running time	144 min
Language	English Hungarian German
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Mephisto is the title of a 1981 film adaptation of Klaus Mann's novel of the same name, directed by István Szabó, and starring Klaus Maria Brandauer as Hendrik Höfgen. The film was a co-production between companies in West Germany, Hungary and Austria.

The film adapts the story of Mephistopheles and Doctor Faustus by having the main character Hendrik Höfgen abandon his conscience and continue to act and ingratiate himself with the Nazi Party and so keep and improve his job and social position.

Both the film and Mann's 1936 novel mirror the career of Mann's brother-in-law, Gustaf Gründgens, who is considered by many to have supported the Nazi Party and abandoned his previous political views for personal gain rather than conscience. However, Mann's book is satirical, making Höfgen more a lampoon than a character in his own right, while the film offers a more realistic exploration of a flawed but recognisably human character.^{[citation needed]}

Mephisto was awarded the 1981 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film; the film was submitted to the Academy by Hungary.