The Phantom of the Opera

Title: The Phantom of the Opera
Year: 1925
Country: USA
Director: Ruper Julian & Lon Chaney
Producer: Carl Laemmle
Genre: Horror 
Runtime: 91 minutes
Viewed: May 20, 2012

Review: This is actually the second time I have seen this film. The first time I watched it with a good friend, but ended up enjoying her company more than I paid attention to the film. So, I thought in order to give a proper review I had to watch it a second time. I have never seen the any of the Phantom of the Opera movies nor have I seen the play, so it was nice to start with the original. While I was not fully captivated by this movie there were a few scenes in particular that caught my attention. The first is the scene where the chandelier falls to the ground. That scene was well done for the time period it was produced in. The second scene in the film that I enjoyed was where the Phantom comes out in his red outfit. The way the movie was shot going specifically to a color sequence at this part was brilliant. Over time the mask the Phantom wears has clearly changed from the fuller face mask in this film to the half face mask used currently. It would seem with time the film has also become less horror and more romance, from my understanding. The grotesque face of the Phantom when it is revealed in itself allows this movies genre category to be horror.

Rating:
3 Shamrocks

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