The Phantom of the Opera

We all know the story. The Phantom haunts the Paris Opera House. He is in love with the beautiful soprano, Christine. Because of his disfigurement, he demands to run the company, putting his "protege" in important roles. He is also in love with her. When he is unhappy, he becomes a killer. He kidnaps Christine and takes her to his place in the sewers. Of course, in 1925, his unmasking caused people to faint in the theater. It is a great moment of suspense topped off by his disfigured face. Even though the copies we have of this are not great, it is still stunning to see that famous scene. Some have criticize the change in plot from Gaston Leroux's novel, but it doesn't matter. Very well done silent masterpiece.

This 1925 silent classic is still impressive, even after seventy-nine years! Lon Chaney's performance is easily the highlight of the movie. His ghostly movements about his underground lair are haunting even by today's standards. Use all of the computer generated images you want, but there is no substitute for authentic, old-world macabre. The scene where Erik's face is revealed is still shocking. He seems as horrorified by Christine seeing his face as she is by seeing his face. He seems to feel genuinely violated by her taking his mask off, revealing his horrible visage to the last person on earth he would want to see it. The Technicolor scene of the "Bal Masque" is also quite famous. The backdrops are very effective in creating the moody, medieval atmosphere of the underground passages. All in all, an excellent version of a timeless story.