The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

Calificación de los usuarios:

7.8/10   

Director:

Rupert Julian
(más)

Guionista:

Gaston Leroux (novel)
(más)

Release Date:

15 noviembre 1925 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror

Frase comercial:

The greatest horror film of modern cinema!

Plot:

A mad, disfigured composer seeks love with a lovely young opera singer.

Plot Keywords:

Masked Ball | Panic | Ballerina | 19th Century | 1890s

Awards:

1 win

Comentarios de los usuarios:

Only a shadow of a film.

Cast

Lon Chaney	...	Erik, The Phantom
Mary Philbin	...	Christine Daae
Norman Kerry	...	Vicomte Raoul de Chagny
Arthur Edmund Carewe	...	Ledoux
Gibson Gowland	...	Simon Buquet
John St. Polis	...	Comte Philip de Chagny (as John Sainpolis)
Snitz Edwards	...	Florine Papillon
Mary Fabian	...	Carlotta (1929 re-edited version only)
Virginia Pearson	...	Carlotta / Carlotta's mother (1929 re-edited version)
listado alfabético del resto del reparto:
Olive Ann Alcorn	...	La Sorelli (uncredited)
Joseph Belmont	...	Stage manager (uncredited)
Alexander Bevani	...	Mephistopheles (uncredited)
Edward Cecil	...	Faust (uncredited)
Ruth Clifford	...	Ballerina (uncredited)
Chester Conklin	...	Orderly (uncredited)
Roy Coulson	...	The jester (uncredited)
Bruce Covington	...	M. Moncharmin (uncredited)
Ward Crane	...	Count Ruboff (uncredited)
George Davis	...	Guard at Christine's door (uncredited)
Madame Fiorenza	...	Mame Giry, keeper of the box (uncredited)
Cesare Gravina	...	Manager (uncredited)
William Humphrey	...	M. Debienne (uncredited)
Carla Laemmle	...	Prima ballerina (uncredited)
Edward Martindel	...	Comte Philip de Chagny (1929 re-edited version) (uncredited)
Grace Marvin	...	Martha (uncredited)
John Miljan	...	Valentin (uncredited)
Rolfe Sedan	...	Undetermined role (uncredited)
Bernard Siegel	...	Joseph Buquet (uncredited)
William Tracy	...	Ratcatcher, messenger from the shadows (uncredited)
William Tyroler	...	Director of opera orchestra (uncredited)
Vola Vale	...	Ballerina (uncredited)
Anton Vaverka	...	Prompter (uncredited)
George B. Williams	...	M. Ricard (uncredited)
Edith Yorke	...	Mama Valerius (uncredited)

Dirigida por
Rupert Julian
Lon Chaney		(uncredited)
Ernst Laemmle		(uncredited)
Edward Sedgwick		(uncredited)

Créditos del guión
Gaston Leroux		(novel "Le Fantôme de l'Opera")
Walter Anthony		titles (uncredited)
Elliott J. Clawson		adaptation (uncredited)
Bernard McConville		treatment (uncredited)
Frank M. McCormack		uncredited
Tom Reed		titles (uncredited)
Raymond L. Schrock		adaptation (uncredited)
Jasper Spearing		treatment (uncredited)
Richard Wallace		additional comedy material (uncredited)

Producida por
Carl Laemmle	....	producer (uncredited)

Música original por
Roy Budd		(1993)
Carl Davis		(1996)
Gustav Hinrichs
Gabriel Thibaudeau		(1990)
Rick Wakeman		(1990)

Fotografía por
Milton Bridenbecker		(uncredited)
Virgil Miller		(uncredited)
Charles Van Enger		(uncredited)

Montaje por
Edward Curtiss		(uncredited)
Maurice Pivar		(uncredited)
Gilmore Walker		(uncredited)

Diseño de producción por
Ben Carré		(uncredited)

Dirección artística
Charles D. Hall		(uncredited)
Elmer Sheeley		(uncredited)

Decorados
Russell A. Gausman		(uncredited)

Departamento de maquillaje
Lon Chaney	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Dirección de producción
Raymond L. Schrock	....	executive production manager (uncredited)

Ayudante de dirección
Joe Pasternak	....	assistant director (uncredtied)

Art Department
Ben Carré	....	consulting artist (uncredited)
Charles A. Logue	....	scenic artist (uncredited)

Departamento de sonido
Jack Bolger	....	boom operator: sound sequences (uncredited)
Bernard B. Brown	....	adr supervisor: re-issue (uncredited)
Charles Carroll	....	adr recordist: re-issue (uncredited)
Jack Foley	....	foley artist: re-issue (uncredited)
William Hedgcock	....	dialogue recordist (uncredited)
C. Roy Hunter	....	recording supervisor: re-issue (uncredited)

Visual Effects
Trey Freeman	....	digital artist: digital restoration and color correction (restored version)
Jerome Ash	....	visual effects supervisor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Edward T. Estabrook	....	supervisor: color photography (uncredited)
Roman Freulich	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Cliff Shirpser	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Joseph Cherniavsky	....	synchronization (1929 re-release) (uncredited)

Music Department
David Broekman	....	composer: additional music (1929 re-release) (uncredited)
William Schiller	....	composer: additional music (1929 re-release) (uncredited)

Otros miembros del equipo
Carl Laemmle	....	presenter
Carl Laemmle	....	president: Universal Pictures Corp.
Ernest Belcher	....	ballet master (uncredited)
Lon Chaney	....	mask maker: his own mask (uncredited)
Edwards Davis	....	adr voice (uncredited)
Archie Hall	....	technical director (uncredited)
Fay Holderness	....	adr voice (uncredited)
Ernst Laemmle	....	director: sound sequences (uncredited)
Jack Lawton	....	title designer: notes (uncredited)
Robert Ross	....	assistant: Mr. Julian (uncredited)
Edward Sedgwick	....	supplementary director (uncredited)
Ralph Slosser	....	set production assistant (uncredited)
Phillips Smalley	....	adr voice (uncredited)
Miss Starkey	....	secretary (uncredited)
Meta Stern	....	researcher (uncredited)
William von Wymetal	....	choreographer (uncredited)
Aileen Webster	....	script supervisor (uncredited)
Max Winkler	....	cue sheet compiler (uncredited)

Thanks
Kevin Phelan	....	special thanks: FilmTel supervisor (1999 restoration)

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures (Jewel)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1925) (USA) (theatrical)
• Kino Video (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• Navarre Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Delta Expedition (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Milestone Film & Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (VHS)
• Sunrise Silents (2004) (worldwide) (DVD)
• SBP (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• SBP (2006) (Argentina) (VHS) (re-release)
• Catcom Home Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Channel 4 Television Corporation (1987) (UK) (TV)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Kartes Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Photoplay Productions (????) (USA) (TV)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)

También conocida como:

Fantasma de la ópera, El (Spain) [es]

Duración:

93 min | Canada:106 min (Ontario) | USA:107 min (DVD version) | 95 min (1929 re-release) | UK:101 min (original release) | USA:92 min (1995 version)

País:

USA

Color:

Black and White | Color (2-strip Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sonido:

Mono (talking sequences, musical score and sound effects) (1929 re-release) | Silent

Clasificación:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivialidades:

Lon Chaney devised his own make-up.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Raoul and Ledoux are approaching the Phantom's lair. Ledoux makes a drop through a trapdoor about 10 or 12 feet down, clearly out of arms length to the opening above. However, Raoul in the next shot above merely hands down his lantern as if Ledoux is merely a couple of feet away.

Quotes:

Erik: She is singing to bring down the chandelier!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas (1996) (TV)

Only a shadow of a film.

The current copy of the Universal production of "The Phantom of the Opera" (1925) is only a shadow of what was once a great film.

Originally, the way the film was shot, it stayed quite close to the book. Many people have complaints about the film straying from the novel, but key sequences like the Graveyard at Perros and the alternate ending where Erik dies of Christine's kiss were shot, then scrapped, then reshot, and then re-scrapped. Eventually, they were just rewritten or disacknowledged altogether.

The original cut was shown in Los Angeles on January 7 and 26, 1925. This was the cut that used the most footage from what was shot starting on October-December 1924. Due to poor reviews, the January release was pulled, and Rupert Julian was told to reshoot most of the picture. Already having become a difficult director and egocentric over the fact that he was the star director ever since he replaced Erich Von Stroheim on THE MERRY-GO-ROUND (1924), he walked out on the studio.

Edward Sedgewick (later director of Keaton's THE CAMERAMAN), who was working for Universal at the time, was asked by Carl Laemmele to reshoot and redirect a bulk of the movie. Raymond L. Schrock, who along with Elliot Clawson, was the screenwriter for the film, re-wrote new scenes to add into the film by the request of Sedgewick. Most of these scenes were added subplots, with Chester Conklin and Vola Vale as comedic partners to the heroes and Ward Crane as the Russian, "Count Ruboff" dueling for Christine's affection. This cut premiered in San Fransico on April 26, 1925 and also failed miserably with reviews.

The final cut had to be made, so Maurice Pivar and Lois Weber re-wrote the final draft script, which was edited to the final nine reels, which debuted on September 6, 1925 at the Astor Theater in New York City, and October 17, 1925 in Hollywood. This cut only exists in 16mm Show-At-Home prints made by Universal for home movie use. These prints are not top quality, but watchable, and even the most complete existing version of this print today is incomplete from years of splicing. These 16mm prints sometimes make it to the underground video market and are best to watch for story, but not for quality.

If you think about all of the mishandling in between, you realize how much has been tampered with the film so far. To add insult to injury, most prints circulating today, including Kino's and the Kevin Brownlow restoration, are actually from a re-release in 1929. When sound came around, Universal immediately redubbed Phantom in sound and re-shot about 40% of the film (whatever Lon Chaney was not in, since he was unavailable). The only quality 35mm print today is a copy made in 1950 for Eastman House in Rochester, NY of the silent cut of the sound re-release to distribute to theaters that didn't have sound systems.

So as you can see, it is really almost impossible to truly critique THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925). It is a semi-lost film.