100th Anniversary Screening: Phantom of the Opera (1925) with live score

Few films still have the power to entertain and enthral audiences after a century like The Phantom of the Opera, the classic horror melodrama starring Lon Chaney and a cast of thousands. 

Based on the mystery thriller novel by Gaston Leroux, this original silent production of Phantom of the Opera remains the truest in adaptation to the original book, giving audiences the original story of Christine Daaé, Raoul de Chagny, Erik the Opera Ghost, and the Paris Opera House that has inspired so many other countless versions, including the world famous musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber. 

Produced by Carl Laemmle's Universal Studios as a follow-up to their smash hit adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the film was produced on a massive scale involving the creation of huge intricate sets replicating the famous Palais Garnier in Paris, from its grand staircase to its auditorium chandelier and down to its underground lake and the Phantom's lair. New and experimental filmmaking techniques such as 2-strip Technicolor were employed as no expense was spared in creating a cinematic spectacle. And yet nothing remains as impressive and memorable as the make-up created by star Lon Chaney, the Man of a Thousand Faces, to physically transform himself into Leroux's Phantom: a skull-like visage created by Chaney using padding, wires, and paints in an era before latex and foam. 

As a film, Phantom of the Opera, went through numerous versions, revisions, and re-edits under the hands of four different directors and innumerable editors, including a re-edit and re-release in 1929 that forms the basis for the Photoplay restoration used for Calgary Cinematheque's presentation. We are delighted to invite you to enjoy this enduring picture with a new musical score from Chris Maric performing on the National Music Centre's Allen theatre organ! This live performance on a digital representation of a historic theatre organ, the most advanced ever built, will help to transport you back one hundred years to the glory days of silent cinema!

This is a special opportunity to step back in time to the early twentieth century, a golden age of cinema, when silent films captivated audiences with their visual storytelling. Before the invention of "talkies" — films with synchronized dialogue, sound effects, and scores — the theatre organ reigned supreme, providing the rich, dynamic soundscapes that brought these films to life.

Series Films