Phantom

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Phantom

1922

2h 5m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

43%

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7 Reviews

62%

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250+ Ratings

Lorenz (Alfred Abel), an office worker of meager means, lives in a tiny apartment with his mother and two siblings and harbors artistic aspirations. But when Lorenz spies the mysteriously alluring Veronika (Anton Edthofer) riding in a carriage, he begins neglecting all his responsibilities in his relentless pursuit of the unattainable beauty. He later meets Mellitta (also De Putti), a conniving woman who resembles Veronika, and she dupes him into doing her bidding, with devastating results.

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Somewhat stodgy in its seriousness, Phantom remains a secondary work by a great filmmaker.

Feb 13, 2007

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

Far from some visual notes that at times add certain dreamlike qualities, I have the impression that it is a minor piece of Murnau's early expressionist cinema. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 6/10

Jun 21, 2022

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Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

The film has its share of hand-wringing histrionics, but is also striking in mood and look.

Jan 8, 2022

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David Sterritt

Cineaste Magazine

Phantom is a fitting title for a story in which emotions are ruthless, motivations are slippery, and identity itself is dauntingly hard to pin down. This isn't exactly horror, but parts of it border on nightmare.

Nov 11, 2021

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Phil Hall

Film Threat

It's a bit of a bore.

Rated: 2/5

Nov 26, 2006

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

It's dreadfully slow-paced, overwrought and dated.

Rated: C+

Nov 15, 2006

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Audience Member

Definitely want to watch more Murnau.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

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Audience Member

skillfully directed by FW Murnau.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

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Audience Member

Overlong and rather trite.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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Audience Member

I have to say, though is by far secondary Murnau, it was still a very intersting melodrama filled with beautiful images and some groundbreaking special effects. The "Totters Day" sequence is masterful.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

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Audience Member

I wasn't impressed, interested, or put off by this film... in fact I didn't feel anything but boredom towards it. The plot sounds so promising, but the picture doesn't deliver. Even though my DVD was of poor quality, I couldn't get into this movie at all. I expected more from a film called Phantom.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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Audience Member

Not what I expected from F.W Murnau. It didn't have the beauty of SUNRISE or the mystery of NOSFERATU. And the title is a trifle misleading, in that I was expecting a ghost story of some sort. Instead, the title refers to obsessive "phantoms" of desires and dreams that haunt one's thoughts. This film resembles somewhat THE BLUE ANGEL in that a man's chance meeting with a mystery woman and his subsequent obsession of same leads to his downfall. Performances were a bit over-dramatic, but that is to be expected for 1922. And I have a hard time finding a lot of faults with silent German cinema. All in all, not a masterpiece but good enough to hold my attention for 2+ hours.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

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F.W. Murnau

Director

Alfred Abel

Lorenz Lubota

Grete Berger

Pfandleiherin Schwabe

Lil Dagover

Marie Starke

Anton Edthofer

Wigottschinski

Olga Engl

Frau Harlan

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Synopsis

Lorenz (Alfred Abel), an office worker of meager means, lives in a tiny apartment with his mother and two siblings and harbors artistic aspirations. But when Lorenz spies the mysteriously alluring Veronika (Anton Edthofer) riding in a carriage, he begins neglecting all his responsibilities in his relentless pursuit of the unattainable beauty. He later meets Mellitta (also De Putti), a conniving woman who resembles Veronika, and she dupes him into doing her bidding, with devastating results.

Director: F.W. Murnau
Producer: Erich Pommer
Screenwriter: Thea von Harbou, Hans Heinrich von Twardowski
Production Co: Uco-Film
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 2h 5m