FAUST

FAUST Petr Cepek (1994, Kino, unrated, $24.95, in English) It's not exactly ''Sledgehammer,'' but fans of Peter Gabriel's animated music videos may want to check out this cerebral riff on the Faust legend. Czech animator Jan Svankmajer (Alice) employs a dazzling mix of live action, claymation, stop-motion animation, and marionette puppetry to tell the story of a present-day Everyman (Cepek) who inadvertently sells his soul to the devil. Excerpts from Christopher Marlowe's verse translation of Goethe can be hard to follow. Still, the startling surreal moments -- brooms sweeping by themselves, a table that spouts wine -- are undeniably imaginative, even if they don't match the lurid grandeur of F.W. Murnau's 1926 version. B