The Phantom of the Opera
Blu-ray Edition
Director: Rupert Julian
Screenwriters: Elliott J. Clawson, Raymond L. Schrock
Cast: Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry, Snitz Edwards, Cesare Gravina, Gibson Gowland, Arthur Edmund Carewe
Kino Classics
Not Rated | 78/92/114 Minutes
Release Date: October 13, 2015

“If I am the Phantom, it is because man’s hatred has made me so. If I shall be saved, it will be because your love redeems me.”

An adaptation of the 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux, 1925’s The Phantom of the Opera is one of the most lavish spectacles of the silent era. Directed by Rupert Julian (The Cat Creeps), the film stars Lon Chaney (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) as the Phantom, a deformed performer who haunts the Paris Opera House.

Leroux’s novel has inspired countless adaptations. There’s Universal’s 1943 film with Claude Rains and Susanna Foster; Hammer’s 1962 production with Herbert Lom and Heather Sears; and Brian De Palma’s spirited 1974 horror-musical, The Phantom of the Paradise. Hell, there’s even a 1989 version starring Robert Englund as the Phantom! Of course, the adaptation most people are familiar with these days is Joel Schumacher’s 2004 film, an adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, starring Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum.