mastering monochrome

I need him like the ax needs the turkey.

I don’t need anything in the world, darling, but you and a toothbrush.

When producer Carl Laemmle first read Gaston Leroux’s classic gothic mystery, his vision of Universal’s next extravagant horror success was instantaneous—it was said that he had known instantly who would be his Phantom. Character actor Lon Chaney, by then renowned for dramatic and demanding physical transformations, was given total creative control over his make-up for the Phantom, and personally dictated that any previews of his work be withheld from the press until the film’s release. The final cut of The Phantom of the Opera premiered September 6th, 1925—and throughout its run, audience members were alleged to have screamed and even fainted at the startling moment when Christine seizes the mask of the Phantom, revealing Erik’s monstrous visage to the world. As with many films of its time, any original prints of Chaney’s iconic silent horror are long lost; because of its superior quality, an assemblage of outtakes and alternate angles is the Phantom of the Opera most familiar to audiences today. Less often seen, a fuzzy, badly damaged reconstruction is all that remains of the theatrical release which thrilled and terrified audiences a century ago.

Mary Philbin as Christine Daaé and Lon Chaney as Erik, the Phantom

Dream sequence designed by Salvador Dalí

And thus, as history has proved, love is eternal. It has been the strongest motivation for human actions throughout centuries. Love is stronger than life. It reaches beyond the dark shadow of death.