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Image Press Release: The Phantom of the Opera (Lon Chaney) (Blu-ray)

post #1 of 19
9/8/11 at 5:20pm
Thread Starter 

phantom bd cover email.jpg

 


“If I am the Phantom, it is because man's hatred has made me so... If I shall be saved, it will be because your love redeems me.”

 

IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT PROUDLY ANNOUNCES THE HIGH-DEFINITION DEBUT OF

LON CHANEY’S SILENT MASTERPIECE!

 

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

 

Featuring Three Versions Presented Together for the First Time;

Coming November 1st

 

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CHATSWORTH, CA -- He was the “Man of a Thousand Faces.” Generations of filmgoers the world over have been thrilled by his portrayals that showcased – and more often than not, empathized with – the shadows of human nature. And now the makeup artistry of a true cinematic pioneer can be seen in high definition! On November 1st, Image Entertainment releases the Lon Chaney classic Phantom of the Opera for the first time on Blu-ray™! The Blu-ray™ features 3 versions of the film – assembled together for the first time in a single release -- including a brand-new high definition digital transfer from the 35mm negative, plus Gaylord Carter's famous theatre organ score, released for the first time as recorded in stereo! MSRP is $39.98, and pre-book is October 4th.   

 

Produced by renowned silent film authority and preservationist David Shepard, the Phantom of the Opera Blu-ray™ includes the following versions:

 

  • Brand-new HD digital transfer of the 24fps version of 1929 reissue (Academy Aspect Ratio; 16x9 pillar-boxed) from the 35mm negative, with tinted sequences including the Bal Masque sequence in two-strip Technicolor. Featuring a brand new music score by Alloy Orchestra, plus Gaylord Carter’s famous theatre organ score, released for the first time in stereo;
  • Brand-new HD transfer of 20fps version of 1929 reissue with tinting, Technicolor and hand-coloring. Symphonic score composed by Gabriel Thibaudeau, performed by I Musici de Montreal, conducted by Yuri Turovsky with Claudine Cote, soprano presented in stereo, along with a new full-length audio essay by Dr. Jon Mirsalis;
  • Standard definition presentation of the original 1925 release from a 16mm tinted source copy. Accompanied by a new piano score by Dr. Frederick Hodges.

Chaney stars as Erik, the “Phantom” who lives deep within the twisting catacombs and dungeons beneath the 19th century Paris Opera House.  The singers all speak of a ghost who walks the halls, yet no one has ever seen him. But when Erik falls in love with the beautiful aspiring singer Christine, rumor becomes reality when he kidnaps her and holds her hostage in his lair. Hoping, praying that she might see beyond the mask and the disfigurement hiding under it...

 

As in all his films, Chaney designed the now signature makeup for the Phantom, employing techniques – like pining his nose with wires – that not only expressed the outward physical pain of the characters, but inflicted great personal discomfort on the actor bringing them to life.

 

The Phantom of the Opera Blu-ray™ also contains the following bonus features:

  • Theatrical trailer
  • Photo Gallery
  • The complete Phantom Script
  • Phantom Souvenir Program Reproduction

The Phantom of the Opera is an allegory of desire, featuring Chaney’s tour-de-force performance. Love and hate; violence and obsession; shame and honor:  all are combined to create one of the greatest characters in cinematic history...and a must-have Blu-ray™!

 

ABOUT IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT

Image Entertainment, Inc. is a leading independent licensee and distributor of entertainment programming in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 340 exclusive CD titles in domestic release and more than 450 programs internationally via sublicense agreements. For many of its titles, the Company has exclusive audio and broadcast rights, as well as digital download rights to over 2,100 video programs and approximately 400 audio titles containing more than 6,000 individual tracks. The Company is headquartered in Chatsworth, California. For more information about Image Entertainment, Inc., please go towww.image-entertainment.com. 

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The Phantom of the Opera Blu-ray™

Genre:             Horror, Mystery/Suspense, Silent, Feature Film, Based on Stage Play

Rating:            Not Rated

Languages:      English, Silent 

Audio:             PCM Stereo

Subtitles:         N/A

Year:               1925

SRP:                $39.98

Street Date:     November 1, 2011

Pre-Book:        October 4, 2011

Length:            362 minutes

UPC:               014381754254

Cat#:               ID7542DSBD

 

 
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Phantom of the Opera (1925) (Silent) [Blu-ray]
post #2 of 19
9/9/11 at 10:07am
I'm confused at the fact that apparently they're releasing another edition in 2012 that could include dvd extras like the audio commentary by Scott McQueen.
Which edition to buy?
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post #3 of 19
9/9/11 at 10:10am

Is that the ultimate Big Face cover "art", or what?

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post #4 of 19
9/10/11 at 4:38pm
I'm not a fan of this cover at ALL. It looks like some cheapo DVD release...which this isn't at all. And I know it's a moot point in many ways, but it spoils the "fright" of Chaney's big reveal.

As an alternative, here's the cover art (still tbc) for the UK's Park Circus Blu-ray and DVD editions, coming soon (presumably taken from the same restoration)...

700
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post #5 of 19
9/11/11 at 12:29am
was there ever a modern (1950's on up) monsterkid who had any interest in this film before being spoiled by Lon Chaney's visage in still in magazines, books, or model kits?
I'm not a fan of Big Head jacket designs, but in this case anyway, I actually like it. Looking forward to getting it- but it might end up being a while as I don't see this being discounted greatly anytime soon.
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post #6 of 19
9/11/11 at 7:05am

My feeling is that even if showing Chaney's unmasked face isn't literally a spoiler for most people these days, it still makes no sense aesthetically to have it as the cover "art" when you can show something a little more classy or mysterious -- such as, heaven forfend, the masked face -- or in this particular case, the Red Death costume scene pictured above, which I find just about perfect.  Why must the cover be plastered with the frickin' punch line?  This rhetorical question applies to any film, of course.

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post #7 of 19
10/19/11 at 7:35pm
David Shepard posted on Nitrateville that this disc has been recalled from the few initial shipments and will be re-pressed due to defects discovered in the final pressings. Apparently one of the issues were stereo music tracks that were encoded in mono. New release date is unconfirmed.
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post #8 of 19
2/6/12 at 8:50am

Just as an FYI I received my replacement copy on Saturday.  I haven't had a chance to view it yet but at least the replacement discs are shipping.

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post #9 of 19
2/6/12 at 2:23pm

How does one take advantage of the replacement discs? I never knew there was problem. I got this on a pre-order but haven't gotten around to it.

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post #10 of 19
2/6/12 at 3:24pm

I sent an email to Michele Johnson (mjohnson@image-entertainment.com) at Image back in December.

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post #11 of 19
2/7/12 at 12:33pm

Thanks John, I fired off an email.

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post #12 of 19
2/7/12 at 11:49pm

Received my replacement disc also. I'm in Norway and am very pleased Image honoured the replacement program even abroad, something I've heard Universal don't. Excellent customer service from Image!

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post #13 of 19
2/8/12 at 1:39am

The British Film Institute also does the same. Even if you can't buy direct from them too. Columbia push you off to one's local office which knows nought about the US company programs and does  not want to know. 

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post #14 of 19
4/2/12 at 10:12am

Can anyone help with the following?

 

Which score on which version of the film was the one incorrectly pressed in mono?

Is there a way to visually identify either the first disc or the corrected one?

 

Many thanks!

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post #15 of 19
4/2/12 at 10:20am

I'm not sure which version, but I have both the corrected disc and the screwed up disc at home (they never asked for it back). If no one beats me too it I'll have a look at each and let you know.

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post #16 of 19
4/2/12 at 8:20pm

Comparing the two, there's no way to tell that I can see. They both have the same UPC codes and ID number on the disc. I'm not sure what else to look for. 

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post #17 of 19
4/2/12 at 8:50pm

Interesting.  Thanks for checking!

 

The reason I asked is that I, too, have two copies, and I can't detect a difference between them.  My suspicion is that I actually have two of the "corrected" ones, since I'd read comments on Amazon or elsewhere about Image making an improvement to the menu labeling, and I believe I have that improvement.  (Earliest copies had the user selecting the score, while failing to identify the version of the film.  These are clearly labeled for both, even if that's still a bit awkwardly executed.)  

 

One of the orchestral soundtracks sounds like mono (on headphones), and the other is stereo, though not widely separated or exaggerated stereo.  I don't want to keep going back to the well on this, since Image has already been exceedingly generous in providing replacements without asking for the disc to be returned.

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post #18 of 19
4/3/12 at 11:05am
Anyone know if it's likely that if this disc is ordered now from Amazon that it will be the "corrected" version. I've been holding off...
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post #19 of 19
4/4/12 at 5:53am

If I'm right in thinking I already had the corrected version when I asked for the replacement from Image, then yes, Amazon has been shipping them for at least a couple of months.

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Phantom of the Opera (1925) (Silent) [Blu-ray]
Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Blu-ray, DVD, Streaming Video and Digital Downloads › Blu-ray › Image Press Release: The Phantom of the Opera (Lon Chaney) (Blu-ray)