Kino Classics will release on Blu-ray Rupert Julian's The Phantom of the Opera (1925/1929), starring Lon Chaney and Mary Philbin. The two-disc set will be available for purchase on October 13.
Synopsis: Regarded by many as the first great horror film, and certainly the best of the silent era, the earliest version of The Phantom of the Opera stars Lon Chaney, the man of a thousand faces. Chaney is Erik, the horribly disfigured Phantom who leads a menacing existence in the catacombs and dungeons beneath the Pairs Opera. When Erik falls in love with a beautiful prima donna, he kidnaps her and holds her hostage in his lair, where he is destined to have a showdown with her fiance and the secret police.
DISC ONE:
24 frames-per-second version (78 Min.) 1920 x 1080 (1.33:1 pillarbox)
Music composed and performed by Alloy Orchestra (2.0 Stereo)
Theatre organ score arranged and performed by Gaylord Carter (2.0 Mono)
20 frames-per-second version (92 Min.) 1920 x 1080 (1.33:1 pillarbox)
Musical setting composed by Gabriel Thibaudeau (2.0 Stereo). Performed by I Musici de Montréal. Conducted by Yuri Turovsky. Claudine Côté, Soprano
Audio commentary by film historian Jon Mirsalis (2.0 Mono)
DISC TWO:
1925 Version (114 Min.) Standard Definition (4x3)
Musical Setting Arranged and Performed by Frederick Hodges (2.0 Mono)
SUPPLEMENTAL FEATURES:
Original Screenplay (91 Min. video scroll)
Montage of Stills (13 Min.)
Interview with composer Gabriel Thibaudeau (9 Min.)
Two travelogues by Burton Holmes, depicting Paris in 1925:
Paris from a Motor (3 1/2 min).
A Trip on the Seine (3 1/2 min).
http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=17289