The Phantom of the Opera

Released Sep 6, 1925

1h 33m

Horror

List

90%

Tomatometer

50 Reviews

84%

Audience Score

1,000+ Ratings

In this silent horror classic, aspiring young opera singer Christine Daaé (Mary Philbin) discovers that she has a mysterious admirer intent on helping her become a lead performer. This enigmatic masked presence is Erik, also known as the Phantom (Lon Chaney), a horribly disfigured recluse who lives underneath the Paris Opera House. When the Phantom takes Christine prisoner and demands her devotion and affection, her suitor, Vicomte Raoul de Chagny (Norman Kerry), sets out to rescue her.

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Critics Consensus

Decades later, it still retains its ability to scare -- and Lon Chaney's performance remains one of the benchmarks of the horror genre.

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Keith Phipps

AV Club

The atmosphere matches Chaney's performance perfectly. His grotesque appearance is achieved with wires, cotton balls, and eye-dilating chemicals, but his character, as usual, is animated from within.

Aug 16, 2013

Full Review

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

Lon Chaney's performance as the hideous organist prowling the sewers beneath the Paris Opera is still a cornerstone of gothic horror.

Aug 16, 2013

Full Review

Ty Burr

Boston Globe

A grand, pulpy potboiler of a suspense melodrama.

Rated: 4/4

Nov 24, 2011

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

If it wasn’t quite the match of the fright fests that were being made over in Europe during this decade (Nosferatu, Haxan), it was certainly one of the most epic American undertakings this side of D.W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille.

Rated: 3.5/4

Feb 13, 2023

Full Review

Robert E. Sherwood

LIFE

[Phantom] is not nearly so magnificent in scale, nor so stirring in theme, as The Hunchback -- but as represented on the screen it is a more consistently thrilling story. It is spook melodrama at its wildest and weirdest, and it is beautifully done.

Oct 7, 2021

Full Review

María Luz Morales (Felipe Centeno)

La Vanguardia (Spain)

The audience was always interested in Lon Cheney's mysterious character. [Full Review in Spanish]

Oct 2, 2020

Full Review

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Kathy

Classic silent movie with music.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/07/24

Full Review

John T. H

I'm kind of a slow reader when it comes to silent movies. but I still really loved the visuals and the wonderful makeup work done by Lon Chaney Sr.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/12/24

Full Review

Alejandro E

A 100 años de distancia, esta película del cine mudo mantiene sus encantos; la fotografía, la música y las actuaciones, en particular la de Lon Chaney, como el trágico villano de la trama. No está de más conocerla en streaming.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/12/24

Full Review

Elvis D

Después de haberle dado vida al jorobado de Paris, Universal y Lon Chaney decidieron seguir con otra figura legendaria de la literatura francesa. The Phantom Of The Opera es la segunda entrega de la franquicia de monstruos clásicos creada por Universal. Es conocida como la primera adaptación de la novela de Gaston Leroux y que a diferencia de las demás adaptaciones, esta película es más fiel a la historia original, aunque Alemania ya había hecho una adaptación propia en 1916 que según se dice era mucho más fiel a la novela, pero actualmente esa versión es lost media. Aunque actualmente esta película no es vista como una película del género de terror, tiene los elementos que Universal utilizaría luego en las demás películas de esta franquicia que estaba naciendo. El género de terror estaba en su etapa de pañales en aquel entonces como muchos otros géneros cinematográficos. Lo que hacía que esta película inspirara temor en la audiencia de aquel entonces no era solamente la ambigüedad y el misterio que yace en el ambiente, sino la monstruosa apariencia de Erik hecha con un maquillaje que era bastante avanzado para la época. Lon Chaney logró asombrar al público como Cuasimodo usando un maquillaje que lo hacía ver como un auténtico hombre deforme. En esta película vuelve a repetir lo mismo, pero con una criatura que cumple los estándares del terror de aquella época. Tanto esta película como la anterior del jorobado, eran suficientes para que Lon Chaney se volviera uno de los primeros iconos del cine de terror. Al igual que Cuasimodo, lo fascinante de Erik es que se trata de un monstruo con un lado humano. Claramente, siente amor por Christine y eso es lo que manifiesta su lado humano que quedo enterrado por el rechazo de la gente. La película retrata a Erik como un criminal peligroso, pero hay más sobre él que es explicado en la novela o en la adaptación del 2004. La película resume bastante la novela, pero no pierde el enfoque principal de la historia. La película hace un muy buen uso de las gamas de colores como se han hecho en Das Gabinet Des Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu y The Lost World. Pero una de las cosas más memorables de esta película es la escena de la fiesta de máscaras hecha en Tecnicolor y viene con un guiño claro a The Masque Of The Red Death de Edgar Allan Poe. En conclusión, esta adaptación de The Phantom Of The Opera es otro antecedente del cine de terror que vale la pena echarle un vistazo por haber llevado a la gran pantalla otro monstruo legendario que quedo grabado en la cultura popular. Mi calificación final para esta película es un 9/10.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/14/24

Full Review

Avery R

Lon Chaney is awesome in one of the most iconic horror films of all time. The Phantom of the Opera from 1925 shows that even a classic film such as this could and will stand the test of time even centuries or decades later. The make up costumes and acting are all in perfect harmony with each other and their performances are so unique. Lon Chaney will never be forgotten for his immortal presence of the eccentric Opera Ghost, Eric. Gaston Leroux was right about everything and Universal Studios did a phenomenal job with the Technicolor masterpiece of The Masked Ball scene in the second act of the film. I'm very impressed of the success of the franchise becoming the most successful phenomenon of all time in any medium whatsoever of entertainment history thanks to Andrew Lloyd Webber for creating a musical that everyone could relate to.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/19/23

Full Review

Outer Splatter G

Coming back to this movie for the second time was really different from when I watched it the first time, it felted more engaged in it, wondering what was going to happened next was a real thrill for me. Lon Chaney performance as the phantom is amazing in this. Overall one of my favorite silent films.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/08/23

Full Review

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Rupert Julian

Director

Lon Chaney

Erik, The Phantom

Mary Philbin

Christine Daae

Norman Kerry

Vicomte Raoul de Chagny

Arthur Edmund Carewe

Ledoux

Gibson Gowland

Simon Buquet

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Synopsis

In this silent horror classic, aspiring young opera singer Christine Daaé (Mary Philbin) discovers that she has a mysterious admirer intent on helping her become a lead performer. This enigmatic masked presence is Erik, also known as the Phantom (Lon Chaney), a horribly disfigured recluse who lives underneath the Paris Opera House. When the Phantom takes Christine prisoner and demands her devotion and affection, her suitor, Vicomte Raoul de Chagny (Norman Kerry), sets out to rescue her.

Director: Rupert Julian
Producer: Carl Laemmle
Screenwriter: Gaston Leroux , Bernard McConville
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal Pictures
Genre: Horror
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 6, 1925, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 11, 2016
Runtime: 1h 33m

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