Review – The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

All these years later – and all the technical innovations that weren’t available in the silent era – and this still holds up as one of the best horror movies ever made. To be sure, it isn’t without a problem or two. But Lon Chaney’s brilliant make-up more than makes up for the rough spots. To this day I find myself urging Mary Pickford not to yank his mask off, and yet she still does it every time. This picture is visually excellent and emotionally rich in ways that few if any subsequent movie versions of Gaston Leroux’s novel even vaguely approach. The version showing on TCM also includes restoration of the color Bal Masque footage. Buy the disc (or watch it on TCM as the case may be)