New Release: The Phantom of the Opera (1925) Blu-ray

By
Laurence
– September 8, 2011Find Others: Blu-ray, Movie, New Release, NewsGet More: , , ,

Release Date: Nov. 1, 2011
Price: DVD $39.98
Studio: Image Entertainment

The Phantom of the Opera movie scene

Lon Chaney lurks beneath the Paris Opera House in the 1925 silent classic The Phantom of the Opera.

The Blu-ray debut of the 1925 classic silent film The Phantom of the Opera, starring “Man of a Thousand Faces” Lon Chaney, contains three different versions of the movie. And this disc is the first time all three have appeared together in a single release.

Produced by respected silent film preservationist David Shepard, the Phantom of the Opera Blu-ray includes the following versions:

  • new high-definition digital transfer of the 24 frames per second reissued version of 1929 film taken from the 35mm negative, with tinted sequences including the Bal Masque sequence in two-strip Technicolor. It features a new music score by Alloy Orchestra, plus Gaylord Carter’s famous theatre organ score, released for the first time in stereo.
  • new high-definitiom transfer of 20 frames per second version of the 1929 reissue with tinting, Technicolor and hand-coloring. It offers a symphonic score composed by Gabriel Thibaudeau, performed by I Musici de Montreal, conducted by Yuri Turovsky with the soprano Claudine Cote. It’s presented in stereo, along with a new full-length audio essay by Dr. Jon Mirsalis;
  • and standard-definition presentation of the original 1925 release from a 16mm tinted source copy. This version is accompanied by a new piano score by Dr. Frederick Hodges.

As in all his films, masterful silent film star Chaney designed the now signature makeup for the Phantom, employing techniques – like pinning his nose with wires – that not only expressed the outward physical pain of his characters, but also inflicted great personal discomfort on the actor himself.

The Phantom of the Opera is directed by Rupert Julian, who helmed some 30-plus movies before 1930.

The Blu-ray edition of the silent horror movie also contains the following bonus features:

  • theatrical trailer
  • photo gallery
  • complete Phantom script
  • souvenir program reproduction
Buy or Rent The Phantom of the Opera
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About Laurence

Founder and editor Laurence Lerman saw Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest when he was 13 years old and that’s all it took. He has been writing about film and video for more than a quarter of a century for magazines, anthologies, websites and most recently, Video Business magazine, where he served as the Reviews Editor for 15 years.