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Rating:  -
For starters, I have only seen the flm proper (1996 Photoplay restoration of the 1929 reissue), and will only limit my review to that.
The film is absolutely PERFECT!!! The greatest of Universal's horror films. The atmosphere, color, performances, and the fact that THIS film inspired "Dracula," "Frankenstein," and all of the horor films made at the studio made in the 1930's and 40's make this an instant winner. Chaney is wonderful as the title role, and brings more depth to the character than most other performers. While Andrew Lloyd Webber kept the original ending and the emotional side to Erik, this film makes him less tragic, but more pitiful, as the death scene (combined with Carl Davis's wonderful 1996 re-score) makes anyone watching the film feel sorry for him. The way Chaney holds off the crowd with his gestures illustrates this as it perfectly shows that the Phantom knows how to manipulate people, and that he knows full well that he has sacrificed himself for Christine (I heard the 1925 version has a scene afterwards where Christine and Raoul take pity on him, which adds to the effect).
As for the restoration by Kenith Brownlow, many people point out the motion blur and the seemingly poor quality. This is not due to Milestone, as the restoration was made in 1996 (it's on the copyright and IMBd) using a wetplate process which has officially been out of style since the F.W. Murnau Stiftung decided to switch to digital for "Metropolis" in 2000. Many wetplate restorations have this problem, but this one happens to have the video transfer problem as well. The motion blur is partly caused by this, but other times, such as when Christine meets Erik and the unmasking, were MADE blurry to tone down the horror to make it palatable for 1925 moviegoers. While this may seem silly today, back then people fainted in this film and a typical horror film today would probably make people have heartattacks and have been banned and destroyed.
As for Carl Davis's music score, that is my favorite part of the entire film. I like to watch the movie JUST for this half the time. His work is wonderful, and even though I have seen another version with a surprisingly appropraite score (for a public domain video) with the actual arias from "Faust" dubbed in, this is still superior especially since Davis has been honored internationally for his work on silent film scores. Mary Fabian's sequence is wonderful, especially as the music builds up before the crash since it still follows the theme from the actual aria (as far as I can tell). Surprisingly this is actually one of Davis's more overlooked works with "The General," "The Thief of Baghdad" and "Intolerance" being more highly praised, which says a lot about the quality for THOSE scores.
Overall, I think anyone interested in owning or even just viewing the silent film version of Gaston Leroux's novel, get the Milestone Collection simply for the Photoplay Production restoraton.
Rating: -
I've been a longstanding fan of `The Phantom of the Opera'. I've seen the stage play a record ten times, even being privileged enough to see it in Boston twice and once in New York. I've seen nearly every filmed version (I say nearly because I'm not for certain I've seen every television movie made) and I even really liked the 2004 big screen adaptation despite the fact that the leading man was dreadful.
This is, by far, the best film version.
There is just something about the silent film era that suits a story like `The Phantom of the Opera'. There is a Victorian anarchy that runs supreme in the air, giving this film a sense of elegant dread; a refined chaos. The silent era cinema completely captures that, giving an authentic realism to this ghastly tale.
What I love so much about this film is that they really took the time to make Erik (the Phantom) more than just a monster. I made the statement in my review of the revered 1933 film `King Kong' that they just made a superb monster film with no real emotional connection. That is not the case with `The Phantom of the Opera'. Yes, this is a superb monster film, but beyond that, it is a beautiful film about love, loss and the power of loneliness.
Lon Chaney IS the Phantom, with sincere terror and delicious sense of lovelorn absolution. Chaney transcends the character and gives a richly memorable performance that just illuminates the screen. Mary Philbin is stunning and very in tune with the sheer trancelike terror her character is experiencing. I personally loved the light in the eyes of Emmy Rossum in 2004, and may prefer her performance (the ONLY thing she's done right in her career, thanks to that AMAZING voice) but there are not enough good things to say about Philbin. I also really loved what Norman Kerry did with the stock character of Raoul. He really gave him a life all his own.
With a beautiful fusion of horror and romance (a sick perverse romance, but romance nonetheless), `The Phantom of the Opera' is a marvelous film. Restored in 1929 with an orchestral score that adds to the feelings of the opera house, this film is a must see for any fan of the story. The restoration is not always perfect, but whether your watching scenes in a crisp sepia, murky aqua or splashed over with faded colors, the fact remains that you are watching one of the best films ever filmed; period.
Rating:  -
"PHANTOM OF THE OPERA" (1925)
With the famous line, "Feast your eyes, glut your soul on my accursed ugliness," Gaston Leroux's mystery novel, faithfully adapted by Universal Studios' in 1925, Lon Chaney unmasks the pathetic, horrifying, iconic face of Erik, the mysterious mentor of the Paris opera. Two years earlier he had starred as Quasimodo in Universal's "Hunchback of Notre Dame."
Chaney's indelible portrait of both tortured men transcended cinema and entered modern culture as emblems of humanity's damaged soul. Joining Chaney in "Phantom" was the beautiful young Mary Philbin as Christine Daae. The film was directed by journeyman Rupert Julian. Several versions of this great silent film exist on DVD, some with beautiful scores.
Finding the best transfer is the issue. And this two disc version is as good as I've seen so far.
(Not rated, full frame, 93 minutes)
Rating:  -
Note: The movie gets five stars, this Milestone edition gets three. I REALLY wanted to like this set. I really did. I still can't believe Milestone/Image allowed this to get out the door. The 1929 print is made from the best available 35mm material BUT so much computer noise reduction was used that fast movements appear blurred and jerky. Yes Virginia, there IS such a thing as over-doing the electronic "cleanup". It almost makes me motion sick at times to watch it. And that is sad beyond belief. This is easily the best restoration available of the 1929/1930 by a long shot. But what good is that if you almost need Dramamine to watch it?
Another "almost win" is the 1925 edition on the second disc. It is only available on 16mm reduction prints sold for home viewing so the picture quality is not even close to the 1929 cut. BUT you get more story detail and more effective film editing (especially in the unmasking scene) than the later version. It does tend to drag in spots though. I can understand Milestone not wanting to pour massive amounts of cash into restoring this 1925 cut, but it would have been so worth it since there are already dozens of versions of the 1929 cut available. And to add insult to injury, this version has "speed lines" due to not deinterlacing the video properly. Some pictures are available HERE:
[...]
The extras make the set worth buying, but when you have TWO compromised video editions in what should be a "Ultimate Edition" it just makes you sad that Milestone allowed sloppiness to trump quality.
Rating: -
As a big fan of old horror movies, Phantom of the Opera ranks with Dracula, Frankenstein, etc. Lon Chaney was the master, and I can still remember being scared (sleep)less at the unmasking scene when I was very young. This version of Phantom is the sharpest version I have ever seen. It's a pleasure to watch again.
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