Phantom of the Opera
1943 Directed by Arthur Lubin
Synopsis
The screen's classic of terror!
Pit violinist Claudin hopelessly loves rising operatic soprano Christine Dubois (as do baritone Anatole and police inspector Raoul) and secretly aids her career. But Claudin loses both his touch and his job, murders a rascally music publisher in a fit of madness, and has his face etched with acid. Soon, mysterious crimes plague the Paris Opera House, blamed on a legendary "phantom".
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It is perhaps a little odd to see the 1943 adaptation of Phantom of the Opera in Universal studio’s recent Monsters boxset as the film is neither a classic nor much of a horror (it is even debatable whether the Phantom is much of a monster too). It is a shame Lon Chaney’s version of the classic story wasn’t the one added to the set, particularly as it is still the definitive screen interpretation.
Arthur Lubin’s adaptation takes great liberties with Gaston Leroux’s novel, none for the better, but it is still reasonably enjoyable as a lavish Technicolor melodrama with occasional flourishes of horror. In fact, the film features more musical sequences than it does moments of terror. Enjoyment of…
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One of the best onscreen adaptations of Phantom, this one loses a lot of the original story's sadness and subtlety but plays as a strong thriller (albeit one with exceptionally lavish production design!). Even the comic relief (often a painful element of older films) is still very funny indeed and Claude Rains is brilliant, playing perhaps the most malevolent Phantom of them all.
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Claude Rains is Erique Claudin, a failed composer who thinks his masterpiece is being stolen from him. After a confrontation with the publisher, Claudin gets doused in acid and takes refuge in the sewers below the Paris Opera House. Now stalking and killing off those who always ridiculed him, Claudin as the Phantom of the Opera will try to kidnap the woman he loves so that he can play her his composition and live his life the only way he now knows how.
Arthur Lubin's adaptation of the Phantom now takes the character as a normal man who becomes disfigured rather than being disfigured from birth. Filmed in Technicolor, this version focuses on the colourful spectacle that is the opera…
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Horroctober 2012They've poisoned your mind against me. That's why you're afraid.
-Enrique ClaudinWhile it lacks the tone and impact of the original 1925 version, it's still an amazingly well made film with incredible production value for the time. It was also in Technicolor!!
The cast of the film is actually perfect. Claude Rains was the perfect choice for the Phantom and 19 year old Susanna Foster does an amazing job as the leading lady. What sabotages both their performances is the subplot of their father/daughter relationship being cut out of the film because the studio thought it might come off as a bit insestious.
If that subplot would have remained, some other scenes would have had…
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This can't really hope to compete with the Lon Chaney version. Claude Rains, as good as he is, doesn't have the haunted eyes or the benefit of Chaney's dessicated corpse make-up, so his phantom lacks presence. He does have some nice cape work to fall back on though, swooshing and flapping it like a pro.
I was dubious to begin with but I think the whole thing clicked for me when I realised that Edgar Barrier is playing Inspector Daubert as Alec Baldwin in 30 Rock. That was pretty much the key that unlocked the whole thing and let me settle back and enjoy it on its own terms. While it doesn't have the sly wit of the classic James Whale monster movies, the elements of humour and general lightness of touch give this version of the story enough of a boost to make it fun to watch.
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Lavish production of the classic story that makes a few plot changes in order to amp up the action a little.
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44.
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Quite a dull version of the story, especially when compared to the silent Lon Chaney version. Nicely if pedestrianly shot in technicolor with Claude Rains as a rather subdued phantom and a typically wooden (when he's not singing) performance from Nelson Eddy.
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Despite, disappointingly, being in Technicolor, this might be my favourite Phantom adaptation. There's very little sympathy extended to the Phantom once he turns murderous, there's no romance between him and Christine, and most of the focus is on her suitors, Anatole and Raoul. It occasionally seems to want to become a slapstick comedy, and the resolution of the love triangle is fantastic.
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One of the best onscreen adaptations of Phantom, this one loses a lot of the original story's sadness and subtlety but plays as a strong thriller (albeit one with exceptionally lavish production design!). Even the comic relief (often a painful element of older films) is still very funny indeed and Claude Rains is brilliant, playing perhaps the most malevolent Phantom of them all.
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Really enjoyed this one! Great Technocolor, well acted (Claude Rains is always a favorite), music is good, picture quality on the new Universal Monsters Set is really great.
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It is perhaps a little odd to see the 1943 adaptation of Phantom of the Opera in Universal studio’s recent Monsters boxset as the film is neither a classic nor much of a horror (it is even debatable whether the Phantom is much of a monster too). It is a shame Lon Chaney’s version of the classic story wasn’t the one added to the set, particularly as it is still the definitive screen interpretation.
Arthur Lubin’s adaptation takes great liberties with Gaston Leroux’s novel, none for the better, but it is still reasonably enjoyable as a lavish Technicolor melodrama with occasional flourishes of horror. In fact, the film features more musical sequences than it does moments of terror. Enjoyment of…
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Claude Rains is the best thing in it; impeccable and truly affecting in the role despite the insubstantial material on offer.
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My least favourite of the 'Universal Monster' classics. The technicolour is beautiful but it didn't hold my interest in the film for very long.