Product Details
ASIN : B00004CX1N
Editorial Reviews
Synopsis
The classic silent film with full orchestrated score by Carl Davis. Completely restored and contains tinted and technicolour sequences.
Customer Reviews
The soundtrack in the Cleopatra edition is pop music (2008-04-20)  The music in the Cleopatra edition is pop music that is inappropriate and has very little to do with the film itself. I watched the whole thing in mute because I found the music was preventing me from enjoying film. The Special Collector's edition has a very good soundtrack by Gabriel Thibaudeau; it also includes some of the music of the opera Faust (for the scenes where Christine is performing). I just watched that version and enjoyed the film much more. Update on my review above:Another reviewer (M. D. Hart) made the same complaint about the music. He's also referring to the Cleopatra Edition.I wish Amazon would allow users to give reviews for different prints/releases of the same film. I tried to write another review specifically for the Special Collector's Edition in order to give it 5 stars, but I wasn't allowed to because I'd already written this review. So I'll just say it here: Special Collector's Edition 5 Stars.
A TRUE HORROR CLASSIC (2007-08-06)  "The Phantom of the Opera" is a tale that's been oft told, but all too often it's told poorly. The story--a grand melodrama, like much of opera itself--requires a fine balance of terror and tragedy, with perhaps a bit of camp humor to lighten the proceedings, and finding the right tone is a task which has defeated many a director and actor. But it can be done, as this first of the many film incarnations proves.For anyone needing an overview of Gaston Leroux's tale, the premise is briefly thus: during the latter decades of the Victorian Era, the great Paris Opera is troubled with whispers of a ghost--a frightening specter which visits misfortune on the company should they fail to please him. Up-and-coming singer Christine Daae (Mary Philbin), meanwhile, is more preoccupied with her singing tutor--a disembodied voice she believes to be an emissary from her dead father, who guides her to new heights but demands she put her music above all else, including and especially her handsome childhood sweetheart Raoul (Norman Kerry). Neither Phantom nor tutor is a spirit in truth, but are two different sides of the same man--a horribly disfigured, unnaturally gifted, and frighteningly passionate man, but a man nonetheless.Despite dated acting techniques and some extremely overwrought title cards ("You must save me, Raoul--oh, save me!" Christine pleads at one point), the silent film version of "Phantom" has held up remarkably well, thanks to some evocative scenes and an unforgettable turn by Lon Chaney in the title role. The moment when the Phantom, driven by his all-consuming desire for Christine, lures the girl into his home beneath the Opera is every bit as eerie and compelling as it should be. An Escher-like series of ramps descends into the earth, leading to the sort of black subterranean lake Charon would feel at home on, and an underground apartment that seems fairly normal, until you see the coffin in the master bedroom and the mirrored torture chamber adjoining.Any version of "Phantom," though, lives or dies by its title character, and Chaney does not disappoint. Even in his early scenes, where he appears almost solely as a shadow on the wall, he has a remarkable presence, his gestures expressive and elegant in silhouette. The audience first sees him in physical form as Christine first sees him--a masked and cloaked figure, disturbing yet with an aura of weary sadness about him. When that mask finally comes off in the film's landmark scene, Chaney's makeup genius is instantly in evidence. The wild-eyed, cadaverous skull remains the most frightening interpretations of the Phantom's disfigurement, and also the one which hews closest to Leroux's description. (To be fair, it's doubtful Chaney's makeup would have been practical in a sound film; the distortions of his nose and mouth would have made speaking--and singing--very difficult indeed.) The movie's greatest weakness is its ending, a chase scene (complete with the standard Angry Torch-Bearing Mob) that feels wedged in, probably because that's precisely what it is. The original ending stuck with Leroux's novel, where the Phantom, moved by Christine's compassion, releases her to marry her young suitor--but the first audiences, apparently not as empathetic for the character as his creator was, found this ending an unsatisfying one. Unfortunately, the current resolution denies the Phantom the redemption which has been a major part of his appeal to modern audiences, and one wishes that we had an opportunity to see Chaney portray it. But on the whole, this is a "Phantom" that remains head and shoulders above its many film successors.
a true horror classic. (2007-02-21) this is the film that really started the trend for horror films at universal; before "dracula," before "frankenstein," there was the original silent "phantom of the opera." just about everything associated with this film holds up remarkably well after all these years, especially the leading actor lon chaney. ever since i first saw the famous scene where his disfigurement is shown, the rather complicated make-up employed by chaney stands as one of the scariest and best that i have seen in all the horror films that i've watched. the author of the novel gaston leroux, described the phantom's face as that of "a grinning skull in which there was no light." well, that's what we have here. the interiors for "the opera house" were reproduced so as to look as close to the real thing as possible. universal did a perfect job, as i can't spot any real differences between the real mccoy and the replica. the acting of the supporting cast is slightly old-fashioned perhaps, but still good. however, it is chaney's performance that is the one to watch. unlike a lot of other productions, this particular film is genuinely frightening at times; the scenes where the phantom's shadow roams around the catacombs are creepy on their own. for a good silent film, there has to be the right musical soundtrack to accompany it and i can only think of one. that is the music that was composed for the "channel 5" video version that was released back in the late 80s. it is simply outstanding but also does justice to the film. this is one film that will remain a true classic for many years to come.
Movies to see before you die! (2006-12-04) Lon Chaney is delightfully grotesque as he haunts the "tombs of tortured men."
Superb and highly recommended (2006-08-18) This "collectors edition" version is superb with restored technicolour sequences and orchestral score interwoven with arias from Gounod's Faust. The tinted scenes are also superb. The whole transfer has been cleaned up and presented in correct ratio and running speed. Unfortunately this luxury item has been falsely reviewd by the last writer who I presume is writing of another edition which is is nothing like this one.
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