In The Grand Manner
Lon Chaney's 1925 THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has always been more of a popular than a critical favorite, and this may account for the fact that it has never preserved as well as one might hope. Over the years dozens of companies have released versions of the film on VHS and DVD to the home market, and some have been quite bizarre. I have encountered more than one video tape release without any score at all; a visually impressive 1993 video release by Video Treasures had an incredibly unsuitable pseudo-rock score by Rick Wakeman of the band Yes; the usually expert Kino actually includes a number of superfluous scenes added in 1929 for a semi-sound re-release. So any purchase of this film is a very hit or miss affair, and I recommend that you borrow, rent, and seek the advice of friends before you actually purchase any particular copy.
That said, the silent version of THE PHANTOM is very much in the "grand manner"--which is precisely why audiences love it and critics tend to dismiss it. Everything about the film is larger than life just a bit campy. The sets are enormous and frequently bizarre, the costumes are outrageous, and the entire cast plays in a very grand manner: Chaney is very, very broad here, and his make-up is justly famous; Mary Philbin totters improbably with horror in virtually every scene; Arthur Edmund Carewe has some of the weirdest eye make-up you'll ever see on screen. Chandeliers crash, ballerinas twirl in terror, mirrors open, lakes drain, audiences panic, horses run away with carriages, peasants riot in the street, and there's even (in a good print) a very early color photography sequence.
It is all a TREMENDOUS amount of fun, and while I wouldn't class it with the truly great Chaney films (such as X--THE UNKNOWN, to name but one) it is still the best film version of the famous story to date. Of all the films made of the Leroux novel, this one is easily the best--and, interestingly, is really closer to the novel's spirit than later adaptations, which tend to romanticize the Phantom. A must have for any fan of silent film, and well worth the hunt for a really good print.
Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer
That said, the silent version of THE PHANTOM is very much in the "grand manner"--which is precisely why audiences love it and critics tend to dismiss it. Everything about the film is larger than life just a bit campy. The sets are enormous and frequently bizarre, the costumes are outrageous, and the entire cast plays in a very grand manner: Chaney is very, very broad here, and his make-up is justly famous; Mary Philbin totters improbably with horror in virtually every scene; Arthur Edmund Carewe has some of the weirdest eye make-up you'll ever see on screen. Chandeliers crash, ballerinas twirl in terror, mirrors open, lakes drain, audiences panic, horses run away with carriages, peasants riot in the street, and there's even (in a good print) a very early color photography sequence.
It is all a TREMENDOUS amount of fun, and while I wouldn't class it with the truly great Chaney films (such as X--THE UNKNOWN, to name but one) it is still the best film version of the famous story to date. Of all the films made of the Leroux novel, this one is easily the best--and, interestingly, is really closer to the novel's spirit than later adaptations, which tend to romanticize the Phantom. A must have for any fan of silent film, and well worth the hunt for a really good print.
Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer
- gftbiloxi
- Apr 30, 2005