The Phantom of the Opera

Dir: Rupert Julian | USA | 1925 | 78 mins | Cert. PG

Beneath the sewers of the Paris Opera House dwells a masked figure. He is the Phantom, a hideously disfigured composer whose dream is to turn chorus singer Christine into a diva. Lon Chaney, the “Man of a Thousand Faces”, dominates this classic adaptation of the 1910 novel, now in 2025 celebrating the centenary of its first release. Chaney’s ghastly make-up and outrageous performance made The Phantom of the Opera one of the great classics of American silent film.

Film critic Roger Ebert said in 2004 that “it has always been a question whether The Phantom of the Opera is a great film, or only a great spectacle.” Either way, to see this film in 1925 was a truly shocking experience. Fast-moving and exciting, the film is a dramatic tale of obsession, kidnap, murder and revenge, beautifully tinted throughout and featuring an impressive sequence of early Technicolor as the Phantom appears at a masked ball.

This is the original film version of Phantom which inspired numerous remakes. It was a critical and commercial success upon release, as these press quotes from the time contest: an “ultra fantastic melodrama” (New York Times); “produced on a stupendous scale” (Moving Picture World); “probably the greatest inducement to nightmare that has yet been screened” (Variety)

Formed in 2006, Minima are a Bristol-based four-piece band specialising in live accompaniment to screenings of classic silent films. Their instrumentation includes cello, double bass, guitars, dulcimer, mandolin, synthesiser and drum kit, creating a bold and unique live sound. Minima’s original scores strike up a thrilling relationship with the images and narratives of some of the most iconic silent films of 1920s, creating a truly immersive audio-visual experience. Minima specialise in the gothic horrors and thrillers of the era, performing to Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Phantom of the Opera and Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lodger.

Minima’s electrifying original score for The Phantom of the Opera captures the horror of the story, following the Phantom down into his subterranean nightmare world, but also finds pathos, romance and humour.

Images of the band and the film can be found on our Flickr site.

“Minima are one of the leading bands accompanying silent film in Europe.” (Barbican Centre, London)
“Minima’s spine-tingling music clung to each twist of the movie… spellbinding accompaniment.” (The Guardian)
“Minima turned the 1925 Phantom of the Opera into an immersive and gripping emotional experience.” (Swansea International Festival)