The Phantom of the Opera

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The Phantom of the Opera

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1h 47m

Horror

Music

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90%

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49 Reviews

84%

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1,000+ Ratings

Aspiring young opera singer Christine Daaé discovers that she has a mysterious admirer intent on helping her become a lead performer. This masked presence is Erik, also known as the Phantom, 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, 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

08/16/2013

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.

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

08/16/2013

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

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Ty Burr

Boston Globe

11/24/2011

4/4

A grand, pulpy potboiler of a suspense melodrama.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

02/13/2023

3.5/4

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.

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Robert E. Sherwood

LIFE

10/07/2021

[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.

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María Luz Morales (Felipe Centeno)

La Vanguardia (Spain)

10/02/2020

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

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Elsie M

Sep 10

This screening was accompanied by live music and it is the best way to enjoy a classic silent film.

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Kathy

03/07/2024

Classic silent movie with music.

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Jade W

@giveemsomethingto_jade Jun 28

You want the closest thing to the book? Watch this version. It found a spot in my heart for silent films

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Von W.

@bandit999 Feb 9

Very well done especially for the time period. I really enjoyed it. The plot is clearly communicated even thought it is a silent film

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Jan 21

Success in 1 hour and 33 minutes.

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Justin T

@RT08580778 Dec 17

This is nearly as good as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) with a similar style and story. The Phantom is easier to follow but overall slightly less engaging as it’s not as complex with story and characters. I didn’t get bored and I enjoyed all the secret traps that the Phantom had set. Mary Philbin was overacting massively, even for the time. Certainly worth watching for film history fans but for the general public probably not worth it.

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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

Aspiring young opera singer Christine Daaé discovers that she has a mysterious admirer intent on helping her become a lead performer. This masked presence is Erik, also known as the Phantom, 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, 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, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 6, 1925, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 11, 2016
Runtime: 1h 47m