Litquake Year-Round 2020

The oldest surviving film version of Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel stars Lon Chaney—the Man of a Thousand Faces—in his most celebrated role, the disfigured, cloaked “phantom” who haunts the Paris Opera House and will do anything for his beloved Christine (Mary Philbin). Universal’s opulent set design replicates the palatial interior of the actual Paris Opera and the Phantom’s residence—the subterranean catacombs beneath the Opera—have inspired generations of horror sets. The print features the original tints and Technicolor of the 1929 theatrical version, restored by Film Preservation Associates, as well as the meticulously hand-colored sequences that reproduce the Handschiegl Color Process. Chaney’s self-designed make-up was kept a studio secret until the film’s premiere in 1925. The famous unmasking scene when Christine unfastens the Phantom’s mask, revealing his grotesque disfigurement remains one of the most shocking moments in cinema history.

Live musical accompaniment by Berklee Silent Film Orchestra