Popular reviews

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  Review by Edgar Cochran ★★★★★ 20

  Robert Beksinski's #9 Film Selection for Edgar

  For starters, Sjöström disguised himself as a poor man and spent time in the slums of Stockholm in order to prepare for this movie. As questionable as that may seem from a health point of view, that strongly talks about the dedication of an artist.

  Secondly, the overwhelming and abundant supernatural content of The Phantom Carriage was enough to be immediately banned by the censors in the 1920s; however, the board censors decided to leave the film intact, opting to avoid a dispute with the Swedish romantic nationalist writer Selma Lagerlöf.

  Thirdly, Ingmar Bergman refers to The Phantom Carriage as "the film of all films" and as one of the main influences on…

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  Review by Sally Jane Black 3

  This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

  CW: allusions to abuse, sexism, moralizing

  Why do I weep for this man? His redemption is costly and inadequate. His life was lived at the expense of women; the saddest moment in this is not the moment of death but the moment Sister Edit blames herself for this man's sins. His sins were never hers; her interest in his redemption (and her love for him) is a cruelty done to her (by the storyteller). If he returns to his wife, that is an affliction on wife and child. Yet I weep for him, because he weeps.

  October count: 12/31

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  Review by jing ★★★★½ 9

  What better way to begin the new year than by watching a film set on New Year’s Eve and released exactly 100 years ago? I decided to travel back in time for my first watch of 2021, and although The Phantom Carriage is classified as horror, I—even as an avid avoider of horror—was pleasantly surprised by its narrative, score and performances. 

  Tantalizing, spellbinding, imaginative and ahead of its time, The Phantom Carriage is an enticing ride opening with a simple setting: A dying woman wishes to speak to David Holm, a man who is an unknown to us when his name is first mentioned, but who becomes the central figure over the course of the film. As we follow his journey,…

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  Review by san ★★★★½ 1

  This reminded me a lot like It’s a Wonderful Life, except it’s much more sinister and depressing. Everything has a nice modern feel to it; in particular, the performances and the score haven’t aged one bit. I’m not quite sure if it has intentional jump scares, but one scene made me jump out of my seat as it suddenly shifted its tone without any clear warning. That being said, the score may give you trust issues — but it’s one of the best scores I’ve heard from the 1920s, so the anxiety is worth it. All in all, The Phantom Carriage is a somber silent film that is full of sorrow and despair, but ultimately it fulfills this emotional journey to be worthwhile in the end.

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  Review by Wood ★★★

  Someone murder me exactly on New Years I want to drive The Phantom Carriage it seems like a fun gig.

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  Review by DirkH ★★★★★ 11

  Film #54 of Make me watch your favourite. Recommended by Trevor May.

  I love watching silent films as they always instill in me a sense of history. Placing a piece of art in time often means it is judged for what it represents, not what it is. The resounding and undeniable infuence Sjöström's masterpiece has had on cinema and a couple of its greatest directors does not merely lie in its innovative nature, but also in its intrinsic qualities that easily stand up to modern films.

  In essence a melodramatic morality tale, The Phantom Carriage recounts a Dickensian ghost story that is extraordinarily atmospheric and extremely bleak. It has a fractured narrative which surprised me somewhat, pleasantly that is. The…

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  Review by Paul Elliott ★★★★★ 2

  The Phantom Carriage is a Swedish silent film from 1921, and it's an absolute classic. Directed by Victor Sjöström, it's steeped in atmosphere, masterfully utilising its chiaroscuro lighting to create a dreamlike world that's brimming with emotion. The story follows a deathbed promise made to help free a man of his sins, and is filled with both pathos and hope. This spiritual journey speaks deeply to the human condition, and the sentimentality that accompanies death. Despite being made nearly a century ago, The Phantom Carriage still holds up today and is an absolute must-see. The visuals are stunning and the acting range is impressive, especially considering the lack of dialogue. This film is not only a masterpiece of the silent film era, but of film overall. Highly recommended.

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  Review by Robert Beksinski ★★★★★ 2

  "Lord, please let my soul come to maturity before it is reaped."
  - A New Year's prayer for all to dwell on as quoted by Death

  It is difficult to begin to describe Victor Sjostrom's film in which is one of the very few films that deserves the title "masterpiece". Singularly one could use words in its description such as influential, important, or innovative. And in other words one could describe the film as one of the greatest morality tales ever told. The Phantom Carriage is also comparable to Dickens "A Christmas Carol" in many ways. Just switch the holiday to New Years and the similar Dickensian ghost story unfolds with a moral lesson to be learned while looking back…

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  Review by Lara Pop ★★★★½ 10

  Silent films have so much more to say (feel the irony?) and reveal so much more about human nature than today's shallow entertainment-oriented Hollywood garbage that I often feel like an outsider among people my age. Seriously, guys, watch The Phantom Carriage, City Lights, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages and some others.

  Believe me, you'll be inifinitely richer.

  Cheers from a 19-year old cinephile feeling lost in today's world.

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  Review by 20oldboy03 ★★★★½ 16

  Horroroktober die Achtzehnte (18/2)

  Feat. DuBFaL-Horrorweeks 2021

  
  Und Gott sprach: es werde die Fotographie …

  Und Joseph Nicéphore Niépce erschuf und nannte es „Blick aus dem Arbeitszimmer“

  
  Gott sah, dass die Fotographie gut war, doch zweiundsechzig Jahre unvollkommen ihrer Leblosigkeit …

  Als dann wurde dank Louis Le Prince aus dem gebannten Bild das bewegte; er nannte es „Roundhay Garden Scene“

  
  Gott sah, dass das bewegte Bild gut war, und ließ es in den Händen von Künstlern gedeihen …

  Buster Keaton und Charlie Chaplin wurden mit Werken wie: „Der General“ und „Der Tramp“ zu Größen der Stummfilmzeit.

  Stan Laurel und Oliver Hardy erschufen wohl das bekannteste Filmpaar der Filmgeschichte.

  Und das bewegte Bild zog seine Kreise, reiste auf den Paketböden der…

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  Review by Terése Flynn ★★★★½ 12

  I went really ambitious on this one, spending almost all of yesterday in the company of Selma Lagerlöf's amazing novel and then moving on to watching this, almost equally, amazing adaptation for the first time in my life. Why have I waited so long? And why oh why have I not read Lagerlöf since my school years?

  The story of The Phantom Carriage have been present in my entire life. My grandfather is not only an old boxer and butcher but also a bookworm and a great storyteller. He has more than often quoted the novel that this movie is based upon, and I couldn't help thinking of him constantly during yesterday's indulgement in The Phantom Carriage. Just as I…

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  Review by Mike D'Angelo ★★★½ 2

  62/100

  Got really excited early on when it looked as if this might be a full-bore tale of the uncanny, as Sjöström (whose The Wind is one of my two or three favorite silents) excels at expressionism. And the sequences involving the titular carriage are truly fantastic, in both senses of the word—never imagined I'd see double exposure used so evocatively, especially in the stunning interlude that finds the first coachman collecting the body of a drowned man by driving straight into the ocean. Nested flashback structure is also impressive (especially for 1921), and Sjöström isn't afraid to be thoroughly despicable as the story's lost soul. Ultimately, though, the didactic source material overpowers the artistry. According to Wikipedia, Thy Soul…