The Phantom of the Opera (Dual Format Edition)

BFI Video proudly presents this definitive three-disc Dual Format Edition of this celebrated classics of silent film and horror cinema.Lon Chaney, 'the man of a thousand faces', gives his most famous performance in this first version of the oft-filmed tale. Based on Gaston Leroux's novel, Chaney stars as the 'Phantom', living in the catacombs beneath the Paris Opera, who falls in love with the voice of a young opera singer. Infatuated, he kidnaps her, dragging her to the depths below where she will sing only for him.Directed by Rupert Julian, this lavish 1925 production launched the Hollywood Gothic style - which would become the trademark of Universal horror films.Original prints of the film were fully tinted, with some sequences in Technicolor, and a rooftop scene using a special process that enabled the Phantom's cloak to show red against the blue night sky. This Photoplay restoration carefully re-instates all these effects, and is accompanied by Carl Davis' celebrated score which draws heavily on Gounod's Faust, which is the opera being performed in the film.Contents:Presented in both High Definition and Standard DefinitionNewly restored presentation of the tinted and toned 1929 version, with Carl Davis scoreHigh Definition presentation of the 1925 version, with newly-commissioned piano accompanimentOriginal trailers for the 1925 and 1929 versionsThe 'Man with the Lantern' sequenceSequences from the sound versionLon Chaney: A Thousand Faces (2000, Kevin Brownlow, 86 mins, DVD only): Kevin Brownlow's definitive documentaryFully illustrated booklet with essays, film notes and creditsCast and Crew: Starring Lon Chaney.Directed by Rupert Julian