For Halloween, I am celebrating with “The Phantom of the Opera,” the silent film classic horror film from Universal Studios starring Lon Chaney. One of its most famous scenes is when the heroine, played by Mary Philbin, fails to heed the Phantom’s warning and unwisely removes his mask. Oops.
The Bal Masque sequence of the movie was filmed in two strip Technicolor and still survives today. While the process didn’t record the full spectrum of colors, it was a wise choice for this particular sequence.
Recently I had the pleasure of seeing this movie on the big screen at the Balboa Theatre in downtown San Diego.
Cameras were not allowed inside, so my cellphone had to do.
Organist Russ Peck was on hand with a period appropriate musical accompaniment. It was like being transported back to 1925!
Although the film is almost one hundred years old, it is still being celebrated for Chaney’s incredible makeup and performance as well as its spectacular sets and special effects. The Sideshow Toy company released a Premium Format Phantom figure in 1:4 scale:
They also released a smaller version in 1:4 scale; not quite as detailed but still packs a punch!
A separate figure represents Chaney in the Bal Masque sequence:
While some of the acting appears a bit dated and overly dramatic, the movie is definitely worth watching.
See more Phantom of the Opera action figure photos at my main website.
3 comments:
Nice spread on "The Phantom". I saw it in a theatre eons ago.
It should be noted, prior to Technicolor's 3-strip, 3-color System #4, it was preceded by three, two-color systems - (#'s 1-3, naturally) all utilizing a single strip of film, the (2) colors recorded sequentially utilizing a beam-splitter. Technicolor's 2-Color systems never used "2-strips" of film. The 'two-strip' name, although often cited, is incorrect.
This version of The Phantom of the Opera (1925) utilized Technicolor System #2 - A [very] simplified explanation being... Using subtractive color, with the [silent] camera running at approximately 32fps - recording 16-pairs of red and blue-green records. Two separate prints are made on half thickness matrix film stock from the red & blue-green negatives. Following application of the color dyes, the prints were then cemented back-to-back to form the finished release print. Unlike System #1, it was capable of running on standard projectors.
Hi Nanook - thanks for the great background info on two-color/2-strip color films! Much appreciated!
The Long Forgotten website detailed the influence of Chaney's films on the Marc Davis designs for Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion. Look at the Phantom unmasked photo, then check out the four pop-up spooks Davis devised for the HM. One of them is a near ringer for Erik! Especially in the Colin Campbell illustration for page one of The Story and Song From The Haunted Mansion booklet; and Campbell was scrupulously following the Davis originals.
A belated Happy Halloween, and thanks for this ghoulish delight.
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