Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Phantom

Play trailer Poster for 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.

Critics Reviews

View All (7)
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 Reviews

View All (21)
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
Phantom

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All

F.W. Murnau

Director

Alfred Abel

Lorenz Lubota

Grete Berger

Pfandleiherin Schwabe

Lil Dagover

Marie Starke

Anton Edthofer

Wigottschinski

Olga Engl

Frau Harlan

More Like This

View All
Foolish Wives 89% 69% Foolish Wives Watchlist The Blot 100% 50% 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% 61% Joyless Street Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

Phantom

Phantom (1922) Phantom (1922) Phantom (1922) Phantom (1922) View more photos

Movie Info

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