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Phantom Of The Opera, The
Released by: Kino Lorber
Released on: October 13th, 2015.
Director: Rupert Julian
Cast: Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry
Year: 1925/1929
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The Movie:
Based on the novel of the same name by Gaston Leroux, The Phantom Of The Opera takes place in Paris where a production of Faust is underway. The lead in the production, Carlotta (Virginia Pearson or Mary Fabian depending on which version you watch) is threatened by a mysterious person referred to as The Phantom and because of this gives up her role as Marguerite. In her place is cast her understudy, Christine Daae (Mary Philbin), who has been receiving clandestine singing lessons from an unseen man.
As it turns out, the Phantom and Christine's voice coach are one and the same (Lon Chaney) and his obsession with the beautiful chanteuse is about to turn very deadly not only for Christine, but for everyone involved in the opera both on and off stage. When Christine is forced by the Phantom to head with him to his lair deep in the catacombs below the opera house, her fiancé, Raoul De Chagny (Norman Kerry), attempts to come to her rescue.
A fantastic mix of horror and gothic romance, this silent version of The Phantom Of The Opera holds up incredibly well, even if you don't specifically have an affinity for silent films. The set design is remarkable and consistent both in its scale and in its innovation while the camera work is also technically impressive. There are some genuinely memorable set pieces here and that opera house setting makes for the perfect place to stage all of this. The performances are exaggerated as performances in silent films tend to be, but Mary Philbin is absolutely gorgeous here and wonderful in the part while Lon Chaney, clad here in his iconic Phantom makeup, is still a genuinely eerie sight to behold. The scene where Christine finally gets around to removing the Phantom's mask, without her permission of course, remains an insanely intense sequence no matter how many times you view it and the way in which Chaney, as the Phantom, reacts with an equal mix of horror, disdain and yes, some broken-heartedness as well, is fantastic.
Three versions of the movie are included on the two discs in this set. On disc one we get the 1929 running at twenty-four frames per second (seventy eight minute long) and the 1929 version running at twenty frames per second (ninety two minutes long). On disc two we get the 1925 version that clocks in at a considerably longer one hundred and fourteen minutes in length. The most obvious difference is that the 1929 version includes a 'color' version of the iconic Bal Masque scene where the Phantom appears in his red clock and death mask. Additionally the Opera House rooftop scene includes coloring to turn the robes of the Phantom red as he spies on Christine and Raoul. The pacing is also quite different, with the 1929 version moving at a better clip. There are scenes added and removed as well - the commentary included on the disc does an excellent job of dissecting the variants and explaining how and why they exist in the condition that they do.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The Phantom Of The Opera arrives on Blu-ray in very nice shape from Kino. The two versions of the 1929 version look incredibly close and would seem to stem from the same transfer. Both are presented in AVC encoded 1080p high definition. Obviously some print damage is going to be irremovable and some specific scenes look worse for wear than others but by and large this is a really nice transfer on Kino's part. The orange, green and blue tinting suits the tone of the movie nicely and the brief but memorable color sequence is impressive as are the few minutes of hand colored footage. Detail is considerably stronger than you might expect for a movie of this age and there are no noticeable problems with compression artifacts or edge enhancement. The 1925 version does look to be in noticeably rougher shape and on top of that it is a 1080i transfer, although again it uses an AVC encode, albeit an upscaled one. It's still perfectly watchable it just never reaches the same impressive levels of clarity and depth that we see on the 1929 versions.
As to the audio, we get some choices. On the twenty-four frames per second version of the 1929 cut you're given the choice of an orchestral score performed by The Alloy Orchestra or a score done entirely on an organ by Gaylord Carter. On the twenty frames per second version you get an alternate score by Gabriel Thibaudeau. Each of the three options is presented in LPCM 2.0 Stereo. The 1925 version includes a piano score by Frederick Hodges, again in LPCM format. Clarity is quite nice here across the board. Obviously the only thing we can really evaluate on silent film like this is the music and there's nice range and depth.
On disc one we get an audio commentary over the 20 frames per second version of the 1929 version from Jon Mirsalis, a pretty well regarded Lon Chaney historian. He speaks at length about Chaney's career up to and including this point in his life, talks about the makeup effects employed in this picture, discusses the different contributions of the cast and crew and points out some interesting details in the sets and the costumes. This is a pretty interesting track that also explains some of the history between the 1925 and 1929 versions of the movie and how/why they came to exist.
The rest of the extras are on the second disc, starting with fifty-four minutes of the remaining excerpts from the sound version of the movie that was made. The full version of this alternate is considered to be lost so for now this is as good as it gets. The short version of what this sound version is all about is that in 1930 Universal Studios re-released the movie with some audio discs accompanying it that included effects and music. Along with this were some newly shot dialogue scenes. With much of this material surviving as audio only, it's presented over top of the silent 1929 version, although roughly ten minutes of footage from the actual 1930 version itself was saved and is included here. This stuff is in pretty rough shape but its inclusion here is certainly both essential and commendable.
The second disc also includes the option to view the original screenplay as text in lieu of the feature itself, which is kind of interesting as it does allow you to compare the concepts to what was actually executed in a finished version of the movie. Also on hand is a ten and a half minute long interview with Gabriel Thibaudeau that was recorded in 2004 in which the composer of one of the scores included here talks about his work on the project, his feelings on the film and what it was like creating the music for this picture.
Aside from that, look for two Burton Home Travels Pictures short films (the three and a half minute long Paris From A Motor and the three and a half minute A Trip On TheSeine) as well as an original theatrical trailer. Both discs also include static menus and chapter selection.
The Final Word:
The Phantom Of The Opera remains a fascinating film in both its 1925 and 1929 versions and Kino have done a great job bringing them both to Blu-ray. The 1925 version is an inferior looking upscale but both 1929 viewing options look excellent and there are some great supplements on this one as well. A really well rounded package for fans of silent films or classic horror pictures alike.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
