The original ending...screenshots?

the case for my DVD has what i think is a screen shot right on the front cover

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I thoroughly recommend the Philip J Riley book.

Hello! You're welcome for the link, but I've since learned a LOT more about what was officially released as the 1925 version of Phantom of the Opera. Now the good news for you is that the final 1925 version HAS been released (see the link at the bottom)! But the bad news is that that scene is NOT in the final 1925 version.

In a nutshell, that specific screenshot was from the first screening shown in L.A. in January 1925 and was never used in the final 1925 release.

If you're short on time and/or that's all you needed to know, then you may want to stop reading right now.

OTHERWISE, if you'd like to learn more, then read on and I'll elaborate; I think you might enjoy this.

The film where that exact screenshot comes from is believed to be lost. To me it's very sad, as the ending of the first film screening in L.A. was more loyal to Gaston Leroux's novel where the Phantom dies of a broken but "redeemed" heart after Christine kisses him. Erik goes to the organ, now dying, says what he's playing is both Christine's wedding march and his requiem. "All I ever wanted, Daroga, was to be loved." were his final words before he dies at the organ (as you saw in the screenshot). If you remember, he's often seen clutching at his chest earlier in the film - well, that was to be a hint that he had a heart problem, which is followed through nicely with THIS ending.

But reportedly the L.A. audience didn't like it. They thought it was unrealistic that the Phantom would've become a changed man after just one compassionate kiss. Instead, they thought he deserved to die in violent punishment. So it was hacked up and re-shot. A second screening was shown a few months later in San Francisco with new stupid and irrelevant comedic scenes AND what we have now as the ending with the Phantom hunted down and beaten to death by the mob. But SanFran didn't like that either (good for them). So after even more re-writes and hacking, the official 1925 film was released in New York that fall.

HOWEVER...

What most people today have seen as the silent "Phantom" movie with poor film quality on old VHS tapes, tv "horror movie" shows, and most DVD's is NOT the 1925 version but one yet again RE-HACKED for 1929 - and taken from sub-par copies at that! And don't get me started on the awful soundtrack they later added - grr... But not too terribly long ago, a much more pristine copy of the final 1925 film was found and thank goodness for that!!

Where did I get all this information? Well, I went to Amazon dot com and got these two wonderful items (which they also offer together in a package but I went the cheaper route and bought used copies separately).

(1) The 2-DVD set of "Phantom of the Opera" from The Milestone Collection (released by Image Entertainment). It has BOTH the 1925 AND the 1929 final versions. Even without the book-based ending, I think the 1925 version tells a MUCH better and complete story, while the film quality of the 1929 version is better (but compare the two and you'll see how they totally chopped up the '25 version in the '29 version). There's also a LOT of extras, some never before seen: more rare photos, interviews, narration, etc.!

Plus right from the start, parts of the movie had always been intended to be shot and lit for technicolor (like the Masquerade sequence), but they also shot a full version lit for black & white. A great example of this is the unmasking scene. What you're seeing in the 1929 version is the technicolor lighting converted to b&w. Lon Chaney himself rejected the scene's technicolor footage as the lighting was too hot for his makeup and a facial prosthetic to stay in place. But compare it to the 1925 version with the scene lit for b&w and you'll see a difference - I think the b&w lighting makes it look even creepier. The 1925 technicolor scenes didn't survive but were later restored in the 1929 version.

http://www.amazon.com/Phantom-Opera-Ultimate-Original-Restored/dp/B000 0AKY58/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1311464470&sr=1- 1

(2) The book "The Phantom of the Opera 1925 (Hollywood Archives Series)(v. 1)" by Philip Riley is so far probably THE most complete book on the silent version(s) of POTO (and I think it's even endorsed by the Chaney family). It's loaded with tons of info, some of which I don't think's ever been seen before. There are many screenshots from all the versions (including the one from the first link I gave you), other rare photos, recollections from people involved with the movie during and long after all production was complete (including Mary Philbin and Lon Chaney), a full shooting script, VERY revealing behind-the-scenes stories and trivia, and probably most all of what you'd ever want to know about the film.

http://www.amazon.com/Phantom-Opera-Hollywood-Archives-v/dp/1882127331 /ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311464359&sr=1-1

OK, I'm FINALLY done.

Thanks if you read all this; it's hard for me to resist talking in detail about it. Can you tell I love the Phantom of the Opera, Lon Chaney style?? ;-)

Best wishes,
Missy

"Now, bring me that horizon." --Captain Jack Sparrow