Phantom

Play trailer

Phantom

1922

2h 5m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

43%

Tomatometer

7 Reviews

61%

Popcornmeter

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

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

Jan 8, 2022

Full Review

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

Full Review

Phil Hall

Film Threat

It's a bit of a bore.

Rated: 2/5

Nov 26, 2006

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

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

Rated: C+

Nov 15, 2006

Full Review

Read all reviews

Audience Member

Definitely want to watch more Murnau.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

skillfully directed by FW Murnau.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Overlong and rather trite.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

F.W. Murnau

Director

Alfred Abel

Lorenz Lubota

Grete Berger

Pfandleiherin Schwabe

Lil Dagover

Marie Starke

Anton Edthofer

Wigottschinski

Olga Engl

Frau Harlan

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

Foolish Wives

89%

70%

Foolish Wives

Watchlist

The Blot

100%

46%

The Blot

Watchlist

Orphans of the Storm

88%

71%

Orphans of the Storm

Watchlist

The Blue Angel

96%

86%

The Blue Angel

Watchlist

Joyless Street

67%

60%

Joyless Street

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

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