The Hunchback Of Notre Dame
OUT now on Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment, The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a very odd film.
It's a fascinating production that usually gets lumped in with the Universal cycle of monster movies that followed in its wake, but such casual dismissal does director Wallace Worsley's silent 1923 epic a definite disservice.
A lavishly produced million dollar interpretation of Victor Hugo's famous novel, this is actually a beautiful love story and curiously bloodless historical adventure. Bizarrely, despite its reputation, it bares only the scantest of horror movie trimmings.
Its place in fantasy film lore will forever be assured though by the central performance given by the great Lon Chaney as Quasimodo, the much mocked bell ringer of Notre Dame Cathedral. This is the film that made the actor a true superstar of cinema and his performance, under a ton of oppressive make up, is genuinely astonishing. Heart wrenching and soulful, he's a magnetic presence throughout.
Set in the 1480s, it's a simple story delivered with considerable style and panache, but Chaney's creation of the deaf and almost blind figure at its core steals the show effortlessly from the first moment he appears on screen.
When the vulnerable bell ringer is cajoled into kidnapping a beautiful young dancer called Esmeralda (Patsy Ruth Miller), he winds up abandoned and publicly lashed for his trouble. When Esmeralda reaches out to help him, he develops feelings for her despite the fact she has fallen for the suave Captain Phoebus (Norman Kerry). When the dancing girl is subsequently accused of murder Quasimodo steps in to defend her and whisks her into the cathedral as the city below is subsumed by violence as the workers rise up against their rich masters.
A big budget production on every front – a detailed replica of Notre Dame was constructed on the studio lot by craftsmen who'd been sent to Paris to study the building and surrounding streets – it looks astonishing.
Given the fact that the film is pushing 100 years old, it still holds a remarkable power to impress both visually and in terms of the melodrama that unfolds on screen. For a silent movie experience it's long admittedly (clocking in at almost two hours) but there's plenty to hold your attention as the story unfolds slowly before your eyes.
Eureka have pushed the boat out for this first time Blu-ray release as well. For those that may struggle with the thought of a silent movie playing out on screen for two whole hours there's a very welcome audio commentary with critics Stephen Jones and Kim Newman that fills in a lot of background history and trivia on the film and its genesis.
Alongside the beautiful 4K restoration that leaves the stark black and white imagery jumping from the screen, there are other impressive extras to help lure you into opening your wallet. Among these are excellent stand-alone interviews with Newman and fellow movie historian Jonathan Rigby that help put this important film into the historical context it deserves.
Bold, daring and truly iconic The Hunchback of Notre Dame is back swinging in the big time.
