Now, I was due a couple more films in the last couple of days - and I fully intend to catch up on them. Next up in the list was Phantom of the Opera, from 1925, with Lon Chaney - available, again, on the Internet Archive. Sounded like a properly scary version..
So, tonight - not feeling too tired yet, and with yet another lull in tv programmes - I started it off. Slightly scratchy version, but perfectly watchable. I don't watch that many silent films, and it's interesting to see the differences (apart from the obvious) - facial expressions are exaggerated, and in Christine's case in particular, so are gestures! The poor woman spends much of the film contorted into extreme positions, intended to convey horror. The lack of speaking roles does allow for a fantastic, sweeping classical score, though.
The look of these scenes is also crucial - lighting, in particular. So, the Phantom's dungeon is suitably gloomy, whereas Christine's first appearance on stage shows her in a blaze of light. The Phantom's mask is interesting - quite cute, really.. and yes, when she finally removes it, Lon Chaney is suitably horrific underneath. The "man of a thousand faces", indeed.
Overall, there's little chance of a modern audience finding it scary - mainly, what I took from it was, as I say, the terrific score. And some memorable images - Lon Chaney's face will probably stay with me, and the masked ball is beautifully done. There are touches of comedy, brilliantly expressed by gesture and expression. Worth preserving, certainly, and worth seeing if you're a fan of any version of the Phantom story.
And after that, there's Jallikattu, in which an Indian village appears to go berserk after a buffalo gets loose. Hey-ho! On Amazon Prime, this one.
Dunno whether I'll get it watched before tomorrow, when I'm back with London Social Detours, for a talk about Percy Shelley and his wife, Mary..
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