Though Mr. Chaney wears a more grotesque make-up than ever, the film play seems only pretty good.
Comment
10/19/08
The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
88 %
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 33
Fresh: 29
Rotten:4
Average Rating: 7.9/10
Consensus: Decades later, it still retains its ability to scare -- and Lon Chaney's performance remains one of the benchmarks of the horror genre.
Runtime: 3 hrs 28 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Synopsis: The Phantom lives deep in the recesses of the Paris Opera House, well hidden from cruel and prying eyes. But when he falls in love with the beauteous Christine Dane, he becomes aware of his intense... [More]
Starring: Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry, Snitz Edwards
Director: Rupert Julian
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Reviews for The Phantom of the Opera
Top CriticThe main inducement to watch remains Chaney's tragic, ineffably sad figure.
08/12/08
Top Critic[A] silent classic.
08/12/08
Kerry is a colorless hero, Philbin contents herself with being pretty and becoming terrorized at the Phantom, and Chaney is either behind a mask or grimacing through his fiendish makeup.
08/12/08
Top CriticLon Chaney's magnetism and the overall impact of the suspense and reveal is still impressive.
08/12/08
Spectacular set pieces and grand design form an impressive backdrop for Chaney's powerful and moving performance.
08/12/08
Top CriticThis silent film adaptation of Gaston Leroux's novel is one of the classics in the history of the horror genre.
07/23/08
Lon Chaney's performance is priceless.
07/15/08
While many chunks of the film are indeed effective (and several downright terrifying), the overall effect is unsatisfactory and bipolar.
04/26/08
No review available.
02/29/08
Rupert Julian's 1925 silent film doesn't have much going for it apart from the famous unmasking scene.
09/19/07
Top CriticA pinnacle of the Hollywood fantastic.
09/19/07
Top CriticOne of the most famous horror movies of all time, The Phantom of the Opera still manages to frighten after more than 60 years.
09/19/07
Top CriticNo review available.
07/29/07
The highs are way up there with the best in the tradition of Gothic fantasy.
06/24/06
Top CriticThe Phantom of the Opera is an ultra fantastic melodrama, an ambitious production in which there is much to marvel at in the scenic effects.
03/25/06
Top CriticIt has two elements of genius: It creates beneath the opera one of the most grotesque places in the cinema, and Chaney's performance transforms an absurd character into a haunting one.
01/20/06
Top CriticNo review available.
08/19/05
No review available.
12/03/04
It's not the best Chaney film -- it has slow, convoluted stretches -- but it occasionally bursts into life with its peculiar atmosphere.
11/01/04
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