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By CHIP KAUFMANN
For those of you who only
know Lon Chaney as the Phantom or Quasimodo, and
for those who don't know him at all, this 2-disc
DVD collection is the ideal introduction to one of
the most gifted artists to ever step in front of a
camera.
Start first with "A Thousand Faces," the British
documentary on Chaney narrated by Kenneth Branagh
to give yourself some background. Then the first
movie to watch is "Laugh, Clown, Laugh"
(reportedly Chaney's favorite among his films)
which ably demonstrates his ability to convey
deeply felt emotions by the use of his body
language and without heavy make-up, although he
does wear clown make-up at the end. Also the
15-year-old Loretta Young is remarkable in her
feature film debut. Follow that with "The Ace of
Hearts," which is the weakest of the three but
still a pretty good film that allows Chaney the
opportunity to shine in a fascinating storyline
that is still of interest today. Save Tod
Browning's "The Unknown" for last as it is truly a
one of a kind film that will stay with you long
after it's over: Chaney plays an armless knife
thrower who isn't really armless while a young
Joan Crawford has a phobia about being touched. It
is even more bizarre than it sounds, with vivid
performances and an astonishing visual
composition.
Each movie was taken from the best available
source material and comes with a newly recorded
score composed specifically for each film. View
the other supplements whenever you choose to get a
fully rounded picture of this incredible talent --
they include an audio commentary by Chaney
biographer Michael F. Blake, still and memorabilia
galleries, an introduction by Turner Classic
Movies host Robert Osborne, and "London After
Midnight," Rick Schmidlin's photo reconstruction
of the lost 1927 film.
All in all a remarkable set at a good price. Like
"The Phantom of the Opera" and "Metropolis" DVDs
released earlier this year, this is how it should
be done. Hopefully Warner Home Video can now turn
its attention to the other classic MGM silents
("Ben Hur," "Greed," "The Big Parade," "The Wind")
and release them as well. For the next deluxe
package how about "The Greta Garbo Collection"?
Thanks to efforts like this, the art of the silent
film is alive and well and being passed on to a
new generation of film lovers. |
