The Phantom of the Opera

Rating:
Summary: A Disapointment
Review: i had never seen any version of Phantom Of The Opra before, but i figured since it was about an ugly dude living beneath an opra building and falling in love with a pretty(too pretty for him)girl, then it should be good. ive got to admit---the plot was nice; the movie wasnt. i had bought a 1919 film called The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari without ever seeing it and i loved it. i had bought a 1922 film called Nosferatu without ever seeing it and loved it. so why not this 1925 "classic"? well, ill tell you why. for one, they dubbed in more sound than was in the original. they added in a new beginning, dubbed in the applause of the croud, dubbed in the the sound of the chandelier crashing, and stuck in there some laughter from a non-existant audience when something funny would happen. i cant tell you that stuff wasnt in the original for sure, but i highly doubt it. Lon Chaney is, of course, a classic actor. but this movie, even though most think highly of it, wasnt near the top of my list. another thing they did which screwed the whole movie over was a scene of color. just to signify that the Phantom was acting as some Red Death party costume guy, they had to make that scene completely color. this is a 1925 black and white silent movie; there should be no color! especially not just for ONE scene. if youve never seen this movie, dont buy it! if you have, go on your own feelings.