The Phantom of the Opera

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The Phantom of the Opera

1925

1h 33m

Horror

Music

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

90%

Tomatometer

49 Reviews

84%

Popcornmeter

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.

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

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Elsie M

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

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/10/25

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Kathy

Classic silent movie with music.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/07/24

Full Review

Isaiah Y

One of the first classic horror films

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/30/25

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Kevin P

A very iconic and influential silent romance/horror film with a large amping of passion thrown in. It's surprisingly very faithful to the original novel (minus the ending). The film has an amazing set design with the heavenly grand ballroom sitting above the dark hellish labyrinth of catacombs below where the Phantom lies in his lair of isolation. The film has a great creepy atmosphere with excellent dark lighting and contrasting shadows. The Phantom himself is played excellently with a lot of great body language and facial expressions. He's the perfect mix of sympathetic and creepy. We get a great face reveal with the legendary "man of a thousand faces" silent film actor Lon Chaney's genuinely unsettling makeup. He gets many moments to shine, from the famous grotto boat ride to his iconic organ playing, to even his delightfully petty and sassy blackmail letters that he writes to the theatre managers. There's also a really cool color sequence where the Phantom parades a masked party while wearing the red death outfit. It looks very impressive with its colors for a movie that's now a hundred years old. The film wraps up in a very exciting climax, with a great twist that adds a lot of tension to the final scenes. While the movie certainly shows its age as a silent film, it's still very impressive for the time and holds up a lot with its passionate and dedicated performances and filmmaking craft.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/24/25

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Caleb L

Some beautiful music, set design, and amazing performances prove why this film is a bonified classic. Some solid comedy as well.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/06/25

Full Review

Lau S

I love this horror movie! Damn great!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/29/25

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

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 33m

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