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Summary: Lon Chaney will not be hindered by anything...
Review: I viewing a copy of "The Phantom of the Opera," I chose the Kino version which had part of the masque colorized. The edition also had the original trailer and an interview with an editor talking about the film. Although I did not find that specific version here, the information I learned helped me to appreciate any edition.First, this movie does not end like the book. The film was to be extravagant and the entire opera house was built by the studio. Because of this extravagance, the studio felt that the movie should have a more dramatic ending. From the interview, I learned that they filmed many different endings and you will see the one they chose. The chase scene was directed by a director of westerns since he knew how to direct horses. The final scene also has a bit of improv by Lon Chaney which really seems to work. This leads me to more on Lon Chaney. Even with this make-up on and no dialogue (it is a silent movie), he has no problem is showing you all the emotions that his character goes through. It is not just a monster terrorizing the people of the opera, but is a who really can not help himself. Even the simplest of gestures speaks volumes from Chaney. Without sound and buried in makeup, Chaney still presents us with a great movie. Even though it is a silent film, you will have no trouble in getting involved in this film.
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Summary: The Best Phantom Of The Opera Movie!!
Review: I saw the wonderful Andrew-Lloyd Webber musical on Broadway and I loved it so much I got the Lon Chaney Video, I didn't think I would like a silent movie, I thought it would be boring but I was very pleasantly surprised with how wonderful Lon Chaney was as the Phantom and how wonderful the movie was considering it was made in the 1920's. I'm very glad I bought the video and I very highly recommend it! I also think the 1925 version was much better than that horrible Phantom Of The Opera mini-series that was shown in the late 80's or early 90's they completely changed the whole story and ruined it and they turned Christine into a mamby pamby wus!
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Summary: Hey! Don't touch that mask!
Review: But that's a woman for you. First, Pandora opening a box she's been warned to keep closed, and now Mary Philbin wanting to see a face behind a mask she was told had always to be in place. The last time I saw this old silent classic was on Halloween in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, accompanied by a large and powerful organ. Wow! Silent movies at their best--and this is surely one of the best--offer a totally different kind of performance, a pantomime closely akin to dance. All you have to do is look at the way Lon Chaney moves about to notice his singular grace. If there were sound, you'd think what a hambone, but in silent form it's quite effective. The thing I like best to fixate upon are his heels--I just love to see how he puts them down and swivels around! "The Phantom of the Opera" still can scare you, so make sure you have a strong arm to cling to!
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Summary: Lon Chaney's Phantom is the definitive one!
Review: I saw this movie a long time ago on PBS during the night and i had no idea what to expect. I had not planned to see it but i did. And am i sure glad i did. This is one of the best silent movies i have ever seen and one of the best horror movies i have ever seen and it has made me a fan of Lon Chaney Sr. The story takes place in Paris in the late 19th century and it concerns a young opera singer (Mary Philbin) who is an understudy in the opera she is in and then out of nowhere she hears the voice of a mysterious man in her dressing room who promises to train her and help her so that she may become a great and famous opera singer. She does and in order to have her put in the lead role in the opera the phantom makes threats to the owners, threats which they do not heed and soon after something occurs( i won't spoil) which puts her in the spotlight. Soon after a man named Cagney( Norman Kerry) begins to suspect something and soon after she is kidnapped by the phantom and from then on the plot thickins so i won't say anymore. This is quite an effective melodrama which was adapted from Gaston Leroux's novel and it's one of the most faithful adaptations rightup until the end of the movie. At that point it changes the more subtle and quiet ending of the book to something a lot more bigger but it works. The acting may seem way over the top to audiences today but take into account that actors could not use their voices so they had to be bigger in their acting sometimes with good results and vice versa. And also this movie has no official soundtrack, it depends on the video. Lon Chaney gives one of his best performances as The Phantom. He manages to be repulsive and sympathetic at the same time. The movie maintains a creepy atmosphere throughout and also watch out for the unmasking of the phantom! And also for a two strip technicolor sequence which was very rare for it's time.
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Summary: An Old Favorite But...
Review: First off, this is one of my favorite movies. Years ago, the Blackhawk Films videotape was the first prerecorded tape I ever purchased. I also own two different LaserDiscs of this movie, and I now have the DVD. Out of all of the movie versions, this one remains the closest to the original 1911 novel. In 1943, they changed things so that Enrique (Erik) gets disfigured by acid. In 1962, the love story between The Phantom and Christine isn't there. In 1982, all of the names were changed for a made for TV movie. In the 80s, there was also an OK animated, made-for-video version. And so on... There are 9 movie versions I know about. I've seen 8 of them. The 9th is a Mexican version that seems to be lost. Most video releases are of the 1929 reissue of the movie. They added more musical segments, and I think they added a few bits of dialogue too. There appears to be no version of this with the sound in place. The man with the lantern walking around in the beginning is supposed to be giving a little prologue speech. That's why there are no printed titles for him. I don't think this affects the ability to understand the movie. Now here's what annoyed me about this release. This DVD was released by Image using Blackhawk Films' print. My Image/Blackhawk Films LaserDisc included both the 1929 version (with the Gaylord Carter organ score) and a silent copy of the true 1925 movie on a second disc. The 1925 version doesn't have the man with the lantern at the beginning, and there is a garden scene with Raoul and Christine. It's also a little longer. The 1925 print exists and was used by this same pair of companies. I don't understand why they didn't use that. New music was used for this DVD so they could have just written it for the 1925 version. However, I feel that the 1925 version doesn't get used because it only seems to exist in 16mm. The 1929 edition still exists in 35mm so the image for the DVD can be better. ...but the 1925 edition could have been an "Extra" on the DVD like it was for the LaserDisc. Except for the lack of the true 1925 version, I still find this to be a great DVD and would recommend it.
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Summary: Play some music with it
Review: This is by far the most accurate of any of The Phantom films. I hear a lot of people going on and on about how goofy and poorly acted it is, but the fact is that at the time that was how movies were done. You got to take that into account while watching this. You will need to put on some music while watching this. The silence makes it boring after a while, but if you have something on in the background (maybe Webbers POTO) then you'll find it much more entertaining. If you're a POTO fan or a horror movie fan you should get this film
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Summary: The Unmasking scene made me jump!
Review: Lenard Maltin wasn't kidding when he said the unmasking scene caused a jolt. I saw this movie late at night when KERA showed it a few days before Halloween. I cleared the seat when I jumped. It was a miracle I was able to stifle the scream in my throat. The same thing happened when I went to see the Broadway musical. I almost dropped the binoculars during the unmasking scene.I can't wait till they digitally remaster this, because I will definitely replace the VHS copy I have now because I don't care for the Rick Wakefield sound track.
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Summary: Bravo! Lon Chaney RULES!
Review: ...Doug Fairbanks was OKAY, but Lon Chaney RULES! He is/was the KING of silent cinema! His perfomance in "Phantom of the Opera" gives great insight of how the agony of society's reaction to a twisted appearance can twist one's soul. Chaney specialized in these kinds of stories. I wish more of his stuff was avaiable on VHS or DVD.
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Summary: Spectacular!
Review: This early "Phantom of the Opera" is, in a word, a masterpiece. None of the other film versions of the story come close to matching this one. It's a top notch production all the way through. As other reviewers have mentioned, the storyline (mostly the ending) of this "Phantom" has been altered and "Hollywood-ized". It is quite different from both the Gaston Leroux novel and later versions, including the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. However, it does preserve some of the best elements from the book and, on its own, is fantastic. The costumes and settings were lavish and the other production elements were strong. The Opera Garnier was faithfully reproduced, down to the angels on the roof. Even small details were accounted for: Christine's room in the Phantom's lair, although only visible in a few scenes, was meticulously designed and furnished. The two most famous scenes of the film--Erik's unmasking and the Technicolor Masked Ball--are still quite impressive. The designers made the most of the early Technicolor by costuming almost all of the Bal Masque guests in shades of green-blue, pink, white and black--colors that worked best with the two strip (red and green-blue) process. Since most of the performers wore masks, the problem of pasty skin tone was also avoided for the most part. The Phantom's appearance as the Red Death was extremely effective. In several shots, while Christine and Raoul fled to the roof, Erik's bright crimson costume was visible at the corners of the screen. Lon Chaney really gave this film life for me. Unlike his co-star, Mary Philbin (who tended to be a bit melodramatic and overact), Chaney played Erik with controlled energy and intensity. Many of the best, and most chilling moments in the film came not from the major action scenes, or from Chaney's brilliant Phantom maekup, but from Erik's subtle gestures and expressions. For instance, during the Bal Masque, Erik spots Raoul and Christine on the balcony. He slowly clenches his hand into a fist, never once letting his gaze waver. It is only a simple action, but it perfectly conveys Erik's anger and malice. Even if you are not normally a silent film fan, you'll probably enjoy this one.
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Summary: Beautiful!
Review: I had seen this movie only once before - probably 25 years ago, though I've read the book (and, yes, the story has been altered from the book - but not nearly as much as subsequent versions, e.g., Claude Rains's 1943 Phantom, a real travesty for those who believe a movie should bear a decent resemblance to the original novel) and been fascinated with the images of Lon Chaney since I first read FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND magazine in the '60's. Having seen the negative review here re: the DVD being out of focus, I was a bit hesitant to buy it ... but I'm glad I did, as my DVD looks just fine as far as focus and clarity is concerned. Someday maybe someone will do a masterful digital restoration of this to clean it up and brighten it up in places, but this is still great for a 75-year-old movie that apparently has no original prints surviving (or at least the producers of this version don't claim access to original prints), and via the magic of DVD, you can have it forever (or for as long as DVD players are made). A few scenes seem "speeded up" - e.g., the audience applauding, the conductor's baton waving, the crowd chasing Erik at the end - despite the claim that it was restored at the correct 20 fps speed. The added singing during the opera sequences is nice and unobtrusive, though it's at times funny when the person on the soundtrack is singing but the woman on-screen isn't seemingly saying/singing anything! Either a sync problem, or the "silent" actress didn't memorize all the words to the aria. Likewise, the organ music on the soundtrack could be synchronized better to go along with Erik's organ playing. Since they did add the singing, a future reissue could perhaps exhance the soundtrack to Dolby Digital 5.1 and add some unobtrusive but interesting sound effects to give a surround sound theater experience that would heighten the suspense and enjoyment. The liner notes (the essay on the inside cover) say it was originally a two-hour movie, and though some description is given about how the film was cut and rearranged based on audience reaction to its initial showings, there is no explanation for the missing 25-30 minutes. I would like to know what has been lost or left out. But ... this movie is a classic, and one to watch more than once, so buy it!
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