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The Phantom of the Opera is a deformed man who lives in the ruins of dungeons underneath an opera house. He is in love with an opera singer named Christine Daae, who seems enthralled by him until she sees him without his mask on. Murder and intrigue follow as the Phantom tries desperately to hold onto the woman he loves…
For a movie made in 1925, the makeup effects for the Phantom are amazing. The actor who portrayed the Phantom, Lon Chaney, was known as the man of a thousand faces and his portrayal of the Phantom demonstrates why he received such a nickname. After seeing Chaney in other roles, it’s hard to believe how different he made himself look in this movie. The atmosphere of this movie is epic. There are scenes that just look impressive even to today’s viewer. The one scene shot in color, the costume ball, is a feast for the eyes with its many colors. As well, the scene where the Phantom is perched on the top of the opera house, listening to Daae and her lover plan their escape, creates a memorable visual. In terms of characterization, the Phantom comes off as a bit strange, which works when you consider the movie as a whole. On the one hand the viewer sort of feels sorry for the Phantom because he is deformed and an outcast from society. On the other hand though, the viewer can’t condone the Phantom’s methods, which include killing anyone that stands in his way. Apparently, according to imdb.com, the original ending had the Phantom dying from a broken heart instead of being stormed and killed by an angry mob. I would have preferred the original ending, but the ending we got works too because it reinforces the Phantom’s outsider status in society. The question this movie leaves its viewers is: Is the Phantom hated because of what he did or because of the way he looks? I haven’t seen many other movie versions of the Phantom of the Opera, but I think they deal with the above question in more detail.
Another interesting fact I found when I looked up this movie on imdb.com is that Chaney’s Phantom looks the closest to what was described in the novel than any other adaptation. In other versions the Phantom usually just has some deformity on the upper half of his face. Here Chaney’s Phantom is so deformed that the mask he wears covers most of his face. The mask he wears over his deformed face looks almost like a doll’s face, giving the character an extra level of creepiness.
The tagline for this movie is, “The greatest horror film of the modern cinema.” I think just about everyone who is a fan of the horror genre may disagree with that. The Phantom of the Opera is a great classic film, but I wouldn’t say it’s the greatest of all time. The tagline may be just hyperbole that goes along with the epic feel of this movie, but if I was advertising this movie today I wouldn’t be stressing that tagline too much. Odds are though that in 1925 the tagline was probably true. My biggest problem with this movie though is that it doesn’t feel like a horror movie. It feels more like a suspense/mystery movie. In the other silent film I’ve reviewed, Nosferatu, you can tell that the vampire is supposed to be scary and menacing. The Phantom is scary looking because of his makeup, but as the movie progresses he starts to feel more like a devious mastermind rather than a full-fledged monster. And like I’ve mentioned already, any pity we feel for the Phantom is hard to maintain as he murders people.
My other complaint is the same thing I say about ever old movie I review. There are people out there who are going to hate this movie just because it’s mostly shot in black and white and is also silent. Personally, I don’t have a problem with any of this, but if you’re one of those people that I just described in my last sentence, then don’t bother watching this movie.
Phantom of the Opera is a lot of fun. It has impressive visuals and the Phantom looks cool even by today standards. I would recommend it to any horror fan, who isn’t bothered by old black and white movies.
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