Rotten Tomatoes
Suggestions will appear as you start typing. Submit search Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

The Phantom of the Opera

Play trailer Poster for The Phantom of the Opera 1925 1h 47m Horror Music Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
91% Tomatometer 47 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Aspiring young opera singer Christine Daaé discovers that she has a mysterious admirer intent on helping her become a lead performer. This masked presence is Erik, also known as the Phantom, a horribly disfigured recluse who lives underneath the Paris Opera House. When the Phantom takes Christine prisoner and demands her devotion and affection, her suitor, Vicomte Raoul de Chagny, sets out to rescue her.

Where to Watch

The Phantom of the Opera

The Phantom of the Opera

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Decades later, it still retains its ability to scare -- and Lon Chaney's performance remains one of the benchmarks of the horror genre.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More
Keith Phipps AV Club Aug 16, 2013
The atmosphere matches Chaney's performance perfectly. His grotesque appearance is achieved with wires, cotton balls, and eye-dilating chemicals, but his character, as usual, is animated from within. Go to Full Review J. R. Jones Chicago Reader Aug 16, 2013
Lon Chaney's performance as the hideous organist prowling the sewers beneath the Paris Opera is still a cornerstone of gothic horror. Go to Full Review Ty Burr Boston Globe Nov 24, 2011
4/4
A grand, pulpy potboiler of a suspense melodrama. Go to Full Review Chance Solem-Pfeifer Willamette Week 4 days ago
Lon Chaney’s Phantom is still arresting by today’s standards because it dares to be genuinely upsetting. Go to Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Feb 13, 2023
3.5/4
If it wasn’t quite the match of the fright fests that were being made over in Europe during this decade (Nosferatu, Haxan), it was certainly one of the most epic American undertakings this side of D.W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille. Go to Full Review Robert E. Sherwood LIFE Oct 7, 2021
[Phantom] is not nearly so magnificent in scale, nor so stirring in theme, as The Hunchback -- but as represented on the screen it is a more consistently thrilling story. It is spook melodrama at its wildest and weirdest, and it is beautifully done. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Elsie M Sep 10, 2025 This screening was accompanied by live music and it is the best way to enjoy a classic silent film. See more Kathy Mar 7, 2024 Classic silent movie with music. See more DanTheMan 2 @DanTheMan2150AD Oct 22, 2026 A hauntingly eerie mix of poetry, gothic melodrama, and a surreal Feuillade-style serial, The Phantom of the Opera is high-camp Hollywood hokum at its wildest and weirdest. A grand, pulpy potboiler of a landmark when it comes to silent horror, over-the-top with wonderfully theatrical flourishes and elevated almost entirely by Lon Chaney’s unforgettable performance as the disfigured Phantom. Over a hundred years on, he still unsettles; Chaney is phenomenal, with his makeup reveal rightfully achieving legendary status, but what makes the performance so effective is everything he does before and after it. Behind the mask is a man desperate to be loved, but his desperation has curdled into possession and violence. His face has become the film's defining image, but his physical performance does just as much of the heavy lifting. As an essential piece of film history, The Phantom of the Opera helped establish the very language and faces of cinematic horror. See more Joaquin U @Joaquin1 Aug 10, 2026 Entertaining. Chaney is amazing as usual. The movie itself isn’t that strong—the script is okayish, and the direction is serviceable but dull. Still, it’s a classic for several reasons: the makeup, the clever insane‑genius gadgets and traps, many of them used here for the first time in cinema. It inspired plenty of later works, especially the Broadway play, and it delivered one of the greatest monsters of all time. Almost an obligatory pleasure for fans of the genre. See more Steve D @RT35616104 Jul 22, 2026 A classic for a reason. Haunting for its time. See more Jade W @giveemsomethingto_jade Jun 28, 2026 You want the closest thing to the book? Watch this version. It found a spot in my heart for silent films See more Read all reviews
The Phantom of the Opera

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING

Cast & Crew

View All

Rupert Julian

Director

Lon Chaney

Erik, The Phantom

Mary Philbin

Christine Daae

Norman Kerry

Vicomte Raoul de Chagny

Arthur Edmund Carewe

Ledoux

Gibson Gowland

Simon Buquet

More Like This

View All
Phantom of the Opera 83% 77% Phantom of the Opera Watchlist Dracula 96% 82% Dracula Watchlist Murders in the Rue Morgue 79% 48% Murders in the Rue Morgue Watchlist The Mummy 88% 71% The Mummy Watchlist Frankenstein 94% 87% Frankenstein Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Related Movie News

View All
View All

The Phantom of the Opera

The Phantom of the Opera (1925) The Phantom of the Opera (1925) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Aspiring young opera singer Christine Daaé discovers that she has a mysterious admirer intent on helping her become a lead performer. This masked presence is Erik, also known as the Phantom, a horribly disfigured recluse who lives underneath the Paris Opera House. When the Phantom takes Christine prisoner and demands her devotion and affection, her suitor, Vicomte Raoul de Chagny, sets out to rescue her.
Director
Rupert Julian
Producer
Carl Laemmle
Screenwriter
Gaston Leroux, Bernard McConville
Distributor
Universal Pictures
Production Co
Universal Pictures
Genre
Horror, Music
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 6, 1925, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 11, 2016
Runtime
1h 47m
Join The Newsletter Join The Newsletter Cookie Settings