The Phantom of the Opera (1962, Region B)

(Terence Fisher, 1962)
Release date: 26 February 2024
Standard Edition Blu-ray

Herbert Lom (Mysterious Island), Heather Sears (Room at the Top), and Michael Gough (Dracula) star in The Phantom of the Opera, Hammer’s acclaimed adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s celebrated novel.

A new production at the London Opera House by Lord Ambrose (Gough) is cancelled following a series of grisly murders. Ambrose attempts to restage the show with novice singer Christine (Sears), who finds herself whisked deep underground by the masked Phantom (Lom), who is hellbent on vengeance against the man who wronged him.

From Hammer's greatest director Terence Fisher (The Revenge of Frankenstein), The Phantom of the Opera is an opulent retelling of Leroux’s Gothic classic.

INDICATOR STANDARD EDITION SPECIAL FEATURES

• 2K restoration
• Optional 1.66:1 and 1.85:1 presentations of the original theatrical version (85 mins)
• Alternative TV cut (99 mins): extended version with unique scenes, presented open matte in Standard Definition
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with author Steve Haberman and film historian Constantine Nasr (2020)
• Audio commentary with film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson (2020)
• Down in the Sewers (2020, 6 mins): special effects artist Brian Johnson fondly recalls the production
• Hammer’s Women: Liane Aukin (2021, 7 mins): profile of the actor, writer and director by the academic Rachel Knightley
• Kim Newman Introduces ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ (2021, 13 mins): appreciation by the critic and author
• The Men Who Made Hammer: Anthony Hinds (2020, 28 mins): Richard Klemensen, editor and publisher of Little Shoppe of Horrors journal, revisits the career of one of Hammer’s most renowned screenwriters and producers
• Phantom Triumphant: Edwin Astley and Hammer’s Horror Opera (2020, 16 mins): David Huckvale, author of Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde, dissects the classic score
• Herbert Lom: The Soul Behind the Mask (2020, 16 mins): film historian and screenwriter C Courtney Joyner shares personal memories of time spent with the legendary actor
• Making of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ (2014, 31 mins): documentary presented by actor Edward de Souza, including interviews with film historian Richard Golen, sound recordist Alan Lavender, and de Souza himself
• Original theatrical trailers
• Brian Trenchard-Smith trailer commentary (2013, 3 mins): short critical appreciation
• Image galleries: promotional and publicity material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing