dmataylor-43810 This silent adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera is very boring. The music is hypnoyizing and the lack of dialogue makes it hard to get in to. The story is good, but because the film is silent makes it boring. I can't believe people used to pay to see silent movies; they are garbage.

chrisdavartharris After seeing the musical, the Schumacher film and reading the book, I was so anxious to see this version of the film. Without a doubt the truest adaptation of the novel by far. Lon Chaney gives two terrific performances, as the terrifying murderer who sends tremors down the spines of viewers, and the lovelorn man cursed by his own face. I was half terrified, half sorry for Erik all through the film, thanks to this fantastic portrayal. Philbin is a joy to watch also, who clearly expresses her emotions and those of the character despite not uttering a single word. I understand that this had to be the norm back then, but, all in all, truly astounding. All the Gothic, dark features of the horror of the day, combined with the timeless story of the hideous man willing to go to any lengths for a drop of love. A real tear-jerker, both from fear and sorrow. Definitely worth a watch!

ethanct86 So cries the Phantom in the legendary unmasking scene in Rupert Julian's 1925 The Phantom of the Opera. This romantic-horror film about a depressed and horrifically disfigured criminal searching for love and human acceptance from an opera singer has been placed among the greatest stories on human nature. Yes, Andrew Lloyd Webber's 2004 Broadway musical-film is much more popular and seen. In fact, I have seen the musical both in stage and screen form many more times than the Phantom's kill count altogether. Even though Webber's version had the advantages of an enormous budget (over 102 times the cost of the original), he couldn't pull of the trick that Julian had done years before with this one.Unlike Webber's version, we don't see a dashing Gerald Butler with a face only made ugly by word of mouth, but instead we start with fright at Lon Chaney's skeletal Phantom, a horrible, disfigured monster. Yes, his physical hideousness plays a huge role in the plot. This despised monster has lived in the labyrinth of cellars beneath the Paris Opera House for years, tormenting and casting an eerie shadow over the Opera. But his eye is on a young Christine Daae (Mary Philbin), the understudy of the lead singer Carlotta hoping for her big break. Then, after years of planning, he casts the bait. Using his fearful reputation and homicidal talent as a tool, he gives Christine chance after chance of success and turns the ignorant Christine to love and adore him more than her fiancé, Vicomte Raoul De Chagny (the extraordinary Norman Kerry). Reeling in the unsuspecting catch, the Phantom doesn't seem to know of Raoul still desperately hoping and searching.Inherently, the films and silent films of the 20's to 40's were clean, although like Disney's animated movies, they contain some slight and easy- to-miss, suggestive dialogue. But in this Phantom, that dialogue is even fewer and subtler than known of the time. But weighing out that positive is the film's level of horror (still a PG level at the most, for frightening images). Truth be told, the most frightening scene has to be the dreadful unmasking of Lon Chaney's monster; it unexpectedly shocks the audience as much as Christine is alarmed.This Phantom is a murderer, propagandist, manipulator and a seducer. Though not seen for decades, he was the actual landlord of Opera House, collecting rent from the managers and haunting Box 5 of the theatre. As the story goes, the Phantom was an escapee from an insane prison only wishing to be loved and accepted like every other man, Erik by name. The original ending had the Phantom found at his organ, dead from a broken heart. This ending crafted the Phantom to be a more romantic and more human character, but was discarded for a climactic chase kept in the release. The version that I included here is the shorter 1996 re-release with Carl Davis' re-score. Still, the Phantom's morbid romantic fantasies stick to us along as much as Chaney's astonishing make-up tricks. So, choose a version on YouTube, switch the sound off, turn on your favorite "scary" music and watch along with your significant other.

Johan Louwet After being impressed by Lon Chaney's performance as gangster boss in The Penalty where he has to walk without legs I had to see him in this classic as well as the title role. This time he plays again convincingly a man with a handicap, a deformed face which gives him the appearance of a monster. He plays the tragic figure quite well and I had sympathy for him while I found his muse Christine quite ungrateful and shallow. But once she literally unmasks him, The Phantom suddenly becomes cold and hateful. He considers her as his possession and anyone standing in his way should fear for his life. Especially the end scenes from when Christine's lover Raoul and the detective go down the dark dungeons in attempt to save Christine from the Phantom are a real roller-coaster until the very end.