The Phantom Of The Opera - 2-Disc-Edition

Here comes the 2-Disc Ultimate Edition of the ultimate Lon Chaney movie, namely his horrifying and grotesque portrayal of Erik, better known as The Phantom of the Opera!

This 1920’s silent classic has just been released as DVD and Blu-ray, and in an all-new restoration. The edition features two versions of the film: the 1925 original (78 minutes) and the 1929 re-release (91 minutes), as well as a brand new score by The Alloy Orchestra. Gaylord Carter’s famous 1974 score, released for the first time in stereo, and Gabriel Thibaudeau’s 1990 score are also included. The infamous Bal Masque sequence, in which the Phantom makes his iconic appearance dressed as ‘The Red Death’, is shown in two-strip Technicolor, while other scenes are beautifully hand-tinted throughout.

The story of the Phantom, hideously disfigured since birth and infatuated with the beautiful and aspiring opera singer Christine Daaé, has captured the imagination of several film directors, as well as Andrew Lloyd Webber – who turned it into a lush hit musical. But no other movie version is as faithful to Gaston Leroux’s original 1910 novel ‘Le Fantome de l’Opéra’ than the Chaney version directed by Rupert Julian. Even Chaney’s phantom look closely resembles the one as described in the novel.
Often attempted but never bettered, Lon Chaney – the man of a thousand faces – created his iconic Phantom make-up with the aid of time-consuming and painful methods such as fishing wire, which he used to pull up the tip of his nose to emphasize the skull-like features of his face even more. The result was a look that not only had audience members faint upon the movie’s premiere but Universal Studios made sure that no publicity stills of Chaney’s make-up were released prior to the film’s premiere – thus making the legendary unmasking scene all the more terrifying.

As far as horror movies go, the film stands the test of time – courtesy of the clever use of shadow and silhouette images and the general eerie atmosphere of the catacombs underneath the opera house. While the first climax is the unmasking scene, the build-up depicts Raoul de Chagny (Norman Kerry) and Inspector Ledoux (A. E. Carewe) trapped in the Phantom's lair while both try to free the kidnapped Christine (Mary Philbin). The final climax sees Erik the phantom pursued and killed by a mob, but not after a breath-taking chase in which he tries to flee in a carriage, Christine inside.
The Phantom Of The Opera is one of the all-time great horror classics, and the ultimate ‘Beauty and the Beast’ story.

Extras include: Still frame gallery, original trailers, interview with Gabriel Thibaudeau, reproduction of 1925 souvenir program and script.