Sunday 29 March 2009

1923

THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME 1923 DVD
Lon Chaney, the man of a thousand faces, was best known for playing Quasimodo and the Phantom of the Opera (SEE ABOVE). But the former role was clearly the most ambitious of his illustrious career, full of such longing and anguish. It's as though his entire being was consumed by this ugly outcast with a heart as big and beautiful as Notre Dame itself. And the makeup is still astonishing. The rest of this unrequited love story is pretty effective as well, with the re-creation of medieval Paris a standout for its lavishness. Like all great silent films, it delivers a poetry of life that is abstract and tangible at the same time.

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