Time: 107 Minutes
Age Rating: PG
Cast:
Lon Chaney as The Phantom
Mary Philbin as Christine Daaé
Norman Kerry as Vicomte Raoul de Chagny
Arthur Edmund Carewe as Ledoux
Gibson Gowland as Simon Buquet
John St. Polis as Comte Philippe de Chagny
Snitz Edwards as Florine Papillon
Bernard Siegel as Joseph Buquet
Director: Rupert Julian

Last year I managed to watch The Phantom of the Opera, the silent horror film from the 1920s. As it happened, that was my first experience of a film version of Phantom of the Opera. Less than a year later I got a chance to revisit it, albeit in the cinemas with a live band playing and that was an even better experience of an already good movie.

The Phantom of the Opera is a solid silent horror film, with an intense atmosphere throughout, and it’s not surprising that it ended up being so influential. One thing I will say is that I don’t like the ending all that much, it was a bit over the top and goofy and overall didn’t fit the rest of the movie.

One of the highlights of the film was Lon Chaney as The Phantom. He was excellent, haunting and menacing in his screentime, and his performance was only enhanced by the makeup on him.

Ruper Julian’s direction is really good. The cinematography is top notch, making great use of shadow and lighting. The costumes and sets are impressive and grand too. Of course, there’s also the excellent makeup used to transform Lon Chaney into the makeup (crafted by him, in fact), and it’s such an iconic horror look now. The score is grandiose, and does a really good job at conveying the atmosphere and tone.

The Phantom of the Opera (1925) is a creepy and well directed horror film, with a great performance from Lon Chaney, and remains a horror classic.