Matinee: The Phantom of the Opera

(Rupert Julian, US 1925, 93 min., DCP)

One of cinema's early horror classics, this expressionistic silent film tells the melodramatic tale of Erik (Lon Chaney), the deformed outsider who dwells in the murky cellars beneath the Paris Opera House, haunting the theatre's patrons. Offering him another choice make-up job, Chaney's riveting portrayal of the phantom proved once again the deservedness of his well-known moniker "The Man of a Thousand Faces." The spectacle of his final unmasking remains one of the most frightening moments in movie history.

Live piano accompaniment by Dr. Philip Carli.