Few things off the cinematic thrill of a silent movie with live music.
VTIFF and Main Street Landing offer this salute to silent movies, featuring an immortal performance by the great Lon Chaney, who anchors this fright-fest about a horribly deformed man who lives in the sewers of Paris and makes plans to wreak vengeance on those who have wronged him. Filmed with opulence and great attention to detail by Rupert Julian, Phantom is a pleasure on many levels, but Chaney dominates the proceedings, humanizing his character without ever detracting from his menace. His now-iconic makeup was kept secret until the movie’s release to maximize the scare quotient.
This film is accompanied by a brand-new score to be performed live by composer Randall Pierce, along with percussion by Colin Henkel. Pierce has previously created new scores for the silent films Metropolis, Berlin: Symphony of a Great City, Nosferatu, and a program of short films by Georges Méliès.