I was scrolling through Tubi and had some time to spare. I hadn't seen this movie, and I was ready to dive into the classic. The only way I'll summarize the plot is a phantom is trying to control an opera house, and when things don't go his way, he takes action.
First, I want to add the caveat that since this is a silent film, it was going to be something of a struggle for me. The one I put on didn't even have random music in the background (I found out later there's a 1929 version that adds music), so it had some marks against it. I'm a person that needs noise, so watching this was hard to begin with.
The next thing I want to address is the choice to make this movie during this particular time. It was in 1927 when The Jazz Singer came out with limited sound sequences. I believe there's a difference between making a silent film about Dracula and one based in an opera. I watched a dancing scene and a couple operatic scenes, but since I couldn't hear anything, they were strange. Had they waited a few years, I think it could have been more interesting.
Next is Christine. She's very dramatic and changes her mind often. She agreed to go with her "master" but then immediately freaked out. I have to admit, his mask was probably worse than his face (the flappy thing over his mouth was so weird), but she's the one who went back there of her own free will.
I sat there for an hour a bit bored. And then all heck broke loose. The Phantom had some great traps in his catacombs, and he was totally prepared for someone coming in via the river(?). The very end was completely weird. I laughed when Christine jumped out of the carriage. The end of The Phantom was weird. "I'm going to threaten people to keep them away and then show them I was kidding." Great plan.
Ok, so this one has me on the fence. Silent films are hard for me, and I struggled through the dancing and "singing" for that first hour. When it got crazy, I was having a blast. Was it enough to salvage the movie for me? I'm not sure.
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