"Actor: Mary Philbin"

• The Man Who Laughs (Masters of Cinema) Blu-ray | Blu Ray | (17/08/2020) from £14.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  One of the most visually striking of all the later silent films, The Man Who Laughs reunites German Expressionism director Paul Leni and cinematographer Gilbert Warrenton from their horror hit the previous year, The Cat and the Canary (1927). Both films are often considered to be among the earliest works of legendary horror classics from Universal Studios, yet the undeniably eerie The Man Who Laughs is more accurately described as a Gothic melodrama. However, its influence on the genre and the intensity of the imageryart director Charles Hall and makeup genius Jack Pierce would go on to define the look of those 1930s Universal horror landmarkshave redefined it as an early horror classic, bolstered by one of the most memorable performances of the period. Adapted from the Victor Hugo novel, The Man Who Laughs is Gwynplaine (an extraordinary Conrad Veidt), a carnival sideshow performer in 17th-century England, his face mutilated into a permanent, ghoulish grin by his executed father's royal court enemies. Gwynplaine struggles through life with the blind Dea (Phantom of the Opera's Mary Philbin) as his companion though she is unable to see it, his disfigurement still causes Gwynplaine to believe he is unworthy of her love. But when his proper royal lineage becomes known by Queen Anne, Gwynplaine must choose between regaining a life of privilege, or embracing a new life of freedom with Dea. The startling makeup on Veidt was the acknowledged direct inspiration for The Joker in the 1940 Batman comic that introduced the character, and film versions of The Joker have been even more specific in their references to Leni's film. While The Man Who Laughs contains powerful elements of tragedy, doomed romance, and even swashbuckling swordplay, its influence on horror cinema is most pronounced. Leni died suddenly at the age of 44 a year after this film (with Veidt also unexpectedly passing away too soon in 1943), and The Man Who Laughs endures as one of the most haunting and stylish American silent films, made just as that era was coming to a close. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present the film on home video for the first time ever in the UK. Special Features: LIMITED EDITION O CARD (2000 UNITS) 1080p presentation on Blu-ray from Universal's 4K restoration Uncompressed LPCM 2.0 (stereo) score by the Berklee School of Music Uncompressed LPCM 2.0 (mono) 1928 movietone score A brand new interview with author and horror expert Kim Newman A brand new video essay by David Cairns Paul Leni and The Man Who Laughs featurette on the production of the film Rare stills gallery A collector's booklet featuring new writing by Travis Crawford, and Richard Combs

• The Phantom Of The Opera | DVD | (22/07/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The original version of Gaston Leroux's legendary book 'The Phantom Of The Opera' is an awesome monument to the Golden Age of Hollywood starring ""The Man of a Thousand Faces"" Lon Chaney. In the film Chaney is Erik the horribly disfigured Phantom who leads a menacing existence in the catacombs and dungeons beneath the Paris Opera. When Erik falls in love with a beautiful prima donna (Mary Philbin) he kidnaps her and holds her hostage in his lair where he is destined to have a

• Phantom of the Opera | DVD | (12/12/2011) from £17.98   |  Saving you £1.00 (6.67%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Directed by Rupert Julian, and based on a novel by Gaston Leroux, classic horror masterpiece The Phantom of the Opera stars Lon Chaney, in one of his most grotesque performances as the crazed man without a face, who lives in the catacombs beneath the Paris Opera, and falls in love with the voice of a young opera singer. Infatuated, he kidnaps her, dragging her to the depths below where she will sing only for him. This 2-disc Ultimate Edition includes an all-new restoration of the film, with the Bal Masque sequence in two-strip Technicolor and other scenes hand tinted, and features both the 1925 and 1929 versions. It also includes a brand new score by The Alloy Orchestra, in addition to Gaylord Carter’s famous 1974 score – released for the very first time in stereo – and Gabriel Thibaudeau’s 1990 score. Together with new audio commentary by Dr. Jon Mirsalis, this edition features the following extras: * Still Frame Gallery *Original Trailers * Interview with Gabriel Thibaudeau * Reproduction of the 1925 Souvenir Programme and Script

• The Phantom Of The Opera | DVD | (07/03/2005) from £12.32   |  Saving you £-2.33 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The original and best version of Gaston Leroux's legendary book The Phantom Of The Opera is an awesome monument to the Golden Age of Hollywood starring ""The Man of a Thousand Faces"" Lon Chaney. In the film Chaney is Erik the horribly disfigured Phantom who leads a menacing existence in the catacombs and dungeons beneath the Paris Opera. When Erik falls in love with a beautiful prima donna (Mary Philbin) he kidnaps her and holds her hostage in his lair where he is destined to have

• Chiller Theatre Features | DVD | (03/02/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  It's difficult sometimes to fathom how compilers think. This Chiller Theatre threesome consists of two classic silent horror films, plus a low-budget B-movie from the early 1960s. The connection? You decide! Yet these are films that belong in any self-respecting collection, and this package is a good way of acquiring them. Of those featuring Lon Chaney, it's the original 1923 The Hunchback of Notre Dame that comes across best. Chaney's grotesquerie is shot-through with pathos, and Patsy Ruth Miller's Esmeralda has enduring freshness. Wallace Worsley handles crowd scenes and cathedral stunts with aplomb, and there's an atmospheric "posthumous" soundtrack, though anyone looking for accuracy in the depiction of medieval French society is in for a shock. 1925's The Phantom of the Opera is slow-moving and uneventful by comparison, with Rupert Julian's direction never escaping the narrow Gothic trappings of the novel. Chaney cranks (or is that camps?) up his range of gestures to the limit, and Mary Philbin is an eye-catching heroine, but the denouement in the Paris sewers seems endless--with looped extracts of Schubert and Brahms as a hardly appropriate soundtrack. Cut to 1962, and The Carnival of Souls--made in Kansas for under $100,000--is an undeniable cult classic. Herk Harvey sustains the increasingly surreal narrative with ease, Candace Hilligoss is striking (if a tad gauche) as the young organist caught on the cusp of this world and the next, and Gene Moore's organ soundtrack is a masterly backdrop for the motley assemblage of ghouls who pursue her around the seaside pier in a memorable closing sequence. On the DVD: Chiller Theatre is very acceptably remastered--with 1.33:1 aspect ratio and 12 chapter headings per film--and decently if minimally packaged. --Richard Whitehouse

• The Phantom Of The Opera | DVD | (29/05/2001) from £18.74   |  Saving you £-5.75 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Please Note: The studio has not sealed this disc in shrinkwrapped plastic. Please rest assured you that these discs are new. This early version of The Phantom Of The Opera is regarded by many as the first great horror film and certainly the best of the silent era. Lon Chaney is Erik the horribly disfigured Phantom who leads a menacing existence in the catacombs and dungeons beneath the Paris Opera. When Erik falls in love with a beautiful primadonna he kidnaps her and

• The Phantom Of The Opera | DVD | (11/11/2002) from £17.53   |  Saving you £-4.54 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  From the moment of original release in 1925, The Phantom of the Opera has been considered among the classic movies of all time. The extreme, expressive acting and state of the art character make-up of Lon Chaney, the multitude of cuts, remade endings and restorations, the fantastic sets and filming techniques, all coalesce to create the mysterious aura that will forever fuel this masterpiece. While several versions of Phantom exist, this is perhaps the most unique and relevant to the darkwave...

• Phantom of the Opera | DVD | (23/11/2009) from £12.13   |  Saving you £-2.14 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  At the Opera of Paris a mysterious phantom threatens a famous lyric singer Carlotta and thus forces her to give up her role (Marguerite in Faust) for unknown Christine Daae. Christine meets this phantom (a masked man) in the catacombs where he lives. What's his goal? What's his secret?