A timeless masterpiece of silent cinema, The Phantom of the Opera is a compelling intertwining of mystery, romance, and horror—an enduring symbol of the narrative power of silent film that continues to enchant generations of viewers. Set in the darkest corners of the Paris Opera House, the story revolves around the enigmatic figure of a tormented musical genius, whose disfigured face is concealed behind a mask that also hides a soul profoundly marked by pain. His love, intense and obsessive, is directed toward the young and talented singer Christine Daaé, gradually transforming into an unsettling passion.
An immersive gothic atmosphere, full of tension, transports the audience into a universe where loneliness and desire intertwine with fear and dreams. The Phantom operates in the shadows to shape Christine’s fate, causing her to oscillate between dreams of stardom on the stage and suffocating nightmares deep within the Opera, trapping her in an emotional vortex that tests her willpower. Christine finds herself caught between reverent fear and growing compassion, involved in a dramatic love triangle that also includes Raoul, a young man whose purity starkly contrasts with the darkness surrounding the Phantom.
Sequences characterized by refined aesthetics and skillful use of light and shadow, which heighten tension and mystery in every shot, along with silent but expressive performances by the actors and meticulous attention to set details, transport viewers into a world suspended between reality and nightmare. With a gradual emotional crescendo, the ending reveals the complexity of a tormented soul capable of deep, overwhelming love, but also of inescapable despair.

Director: Rupert Julian. Story: Based on the novel of the same name by Gaston Leroux. Screenplay by Elliot J. Clawson (adapted by Raymond L. Schrock and Charles Kenyon). Cinematography: Milton Bridenbecker, Virgil Miller, Charles Van Enger. Editing: Maurice Pivar, Edward Cahn. Production Design: Charles D. Hall. Costume Design: Vera West. Makeup Design: Lon Chaney. Cast: Lon Chaney (Erik, the Phantom), Mary Philbin (Christine Daaé), Norman Kerry (Viscount Raoul de Chagny), Arthur Edmund Carewe (Ledoux), Gibson Gowland (Simon Buquet), John St. Polis (Count Philippe de Chagny), Snitz Edwards (Florine Papillon), Virginia Pearson (Carlotta's Mother/Carlotta in 1929), Bernard Siegel (Joseph Buquet).
Production: Carl Laemmle (for Universal Pictures).
Distribution: Universal Pictures.
Year: 1925. Running time: 105 minutes

With live musical accompaniment by the ParlaPiano Ensemble (new production by The Brass Group and La Zattera dell’Arte for the Messina Opera Film Festival)