The Phantom of the Opera is one of the most famous stories of all time. Gaston Leroux’s gothic romance has been in circulation for over 100 years now, constantly being re-told and re-imagined. I’d wager the next 100 years will be more of the same. At this point the most famous of those adaptations is likely Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, however, the oldest remaining adaptation dates back to 1925 when Universal released their silent take on the material starring Lon Chaney. Unfortunately what remains may not be the actual cut of the original film.

Universal’s first stab at the Phantom suffered from a bit of a copyright snafu and was not renewed in the 50’s, thus causing the film to fall into the public domain. As a result we’ve seen a number of home video releases on multiple formats all with varying degrees of quality. The biggest issue that virtually every release has faced is trying to determine what is the best and most accurate cut. The problem here is that The Phantom of the Opera had a very troubled production and multiple re-shoots were done and new cuts made. Given that this all took place nearly one hundred years ago it’s quite understandable that pieces this all back together has been such a task. So if you’re looking to get a good release of the Phantom on Blu-ray you’re best bet is to go with something that offers multiple cuts.

That’s where Kino Lorber steps in.

Kino Lorber certainly isn’t the first company to release The Phantom of the Opera on Blu-ray with multiple cuts, but they are the most recent. I can’t compare the Kino Lorber release to any of the previous releases, because I have yet to see those, but I can say this is an improvement over some of the DVDs I’ve seen in the past. A huge improvement actually.

This release from Kino Lorber offers two cuts of the film with a variety of different score options, spread across two discs. You can watch the 1929 theatrical release at two historically-accurate projection speeds. This very comes from the 35mm film elements that were restored by Film Preservation Associates and includes the Technicolor Bal Masqué sequence. This version comes with three different scores to choose from – one composed and performed by the Alloy Orchestra, a theatre organ score by Gaylord Carter and finally a music composed by Gabriel Thibaudeau. The other cut you have the option is the 1925 release with music performed by Frederick Hodges.

How close either of these cuts truly are to the releases from their respective years, I can’t really say and I’m not sure anyone can. As I mentioned earlier the production for The Phantom of the Opera had a variety of issues. Universal purchased the rights with the sole intent of making it a vehicle for Lon Chaney to star. Apparently Chaney didn’t have the best relationship with director Rupert Julian. After the first cut screened in January of 1925, Chaney and Universal order Julian to make some changes and do re-shoots. Eventually Edward Sedgwick was brought into re-shoot a good chunk of the film, but before you know it new editors came in and removed most of what Sedgwick had done. The whole thing sounds like a mess and it’s remarkable that a film with all these issues would go on to have this lasting impact.

Regardless of how close these cuts are to whatever it is Universal was intending to do I watched both and enjoyed both. The work done by Film Preservation Associates is pretty stunning. Obviously the film shows age and in some parts it’s rather rough, but considering it’s 90+ years old, I’d say it looks pretty fantastic. The Bal Masqué scene in particular is a thing of beauty. The Phantom’s costume looks incredible.

As far as the actual film itself, I think it’s a story that really holds up. While the movie itself isn’t something that I would say is “scary,” at least not in the sense that it is going to frighten you or make you jump out of your seat, it is a wonderful gothic tale that is heartbreaking and pretty relatable, and I think especially relatable to horror fans.

I won’t go too far into plot specifics because I’m assuming most people know it, but here’s a quick rundown: the Phantom (Chaney) lives in the opera house, he loves Christine (Mary Philbin) a young opera singer, Christine loves Raoul (Norman Kerry) and thus a bizarre love triangle begins. It’s more complex than that but that’s the basic idea at least.

At the heart of the story the Phantom is an outsider. He doesn’t want to be, he has gifts and talents he wants to share with the world, but he can’t because of the way he looks and that’s pretty shitty. Everyone is afraid of him and they don’t even know why. At the beginning of the movie most people haven’t even seen him, he’s consider a myth by many. And yet everyone is still scared of him.

Admittedly the Phantom turns out to not be the best of guys, but he’s not all bad. He’s pushed into doing some of the terrible things he does, but even then he pulls back at the end. He just wants to be loved and accepted. He gets close at times, but things never quite work out. So then he tries to kill people. We’ve all been there, haven’t we?

One of the coolest things about this adaptation is how well the makeup holds up. Chaney was able to do the makeup on his own and what he came up with is brilliant. The first reveal of the Phantom’s face is the one part of the film I’d say is still scary today. The sunken eyes, the droopy, almost stretched face. He basically looks like a skeleton with skin, which I know doesn’t make sense because that’s what people are but that’s the best way I can describe it. The scene where leans into Christine and points is one of the creepiest and most iconic in the history of horror. That’s a moment that sticks with you. Nobody how many other movies you see that one scene from this version of The Phantom of the Opera will be forever lasting.

Aside from the different cuts of the film, Kino Lorber also loaded their two-disc release up more bonus content. From a couple of short films, to lengthy excerpts from the 1930 sound release of the film, the content will keep you busy for hours. To top things off Kino used great artwork. Sure, most of us know what the Phantom looks like by now, but at least Kino Lorber did a wise job of keeping that reveal secret on their cover. That’s a little detail, but I appreciate it.

The Phantom of the Opera is a classic tale that will forever last with us. Years and years from now people will continue to re-tell the story. Something tells me they’ll continue to screen the original Universal release as well.

The Phantom of the Opera is now available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.