Film Review
Carl Laemmle's lavish 1923 production of
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is, to
this day, the most famous adaptation of Victor Hugo's celebrated novel,
and many would argue that it is by far the best.
Universal Pictures had such confidence in the film that it was granted a whopping
one and a quarter million dollar budget, most of which was
swallowed up in an elaborate full-scale recreation of the lower portion
of the titular cathedral. The film proved to be every bit as
successful as anticipated, Grossing over three million dollars,
it was one of Universal's biggest successes. Significantly, it
was the popularity of this film which encouraged the studio to make
more movies featuring deformed monstrosities, leading to its long and
highly profitable run of classic Gothic horror films in the
1930s. Victor Hugo has a lot to answer for.
Today, Lon Chaney must appear an obvious choice for the part of the
hunchback Quasimodo, but at the time this was not the case.
Chaney had not yet established himself as the man of a thousand faces
and he was considered a straight character actor, although George Loane
Tucker's
The Miracle Man
(1919) had shown what he could do with a bit of make-up.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame was to
change the direction of Chaney's career massively, diverting him to the
kind of roles that would earn him immortality, roles such as the
vampire-like fiend that stalks Paris in
The Phantom of the Opera (1925).
Quasimodo must have been a dream part for Chaney. Not only did it
allow him to create a distinctive, unforgettable screen persona through
a combination of inventive make-up and expressive (some would say
hammy) acting, but it also allowed him to put his acrobatic talents to
good use. His portrayal is a near-perfect actualisation of the tortured deformity in
Hugo's novel - Quasimodo's horrific outward appearance belies a soul of
exquisite beauty and sensitivity which no could ever appreciate,
a mockery of mankind's propensity for judging only by what is on the surface.
The pathos that Chaney brings to the part, particularly in his scenes
with Emeralda, is genuine and heart-wrenching, and leaves you in no
doubt that he was one of true greats of the silent era of cinema.
The film's epic visual impact (achieved through impressive art design
and some highly ambitious crowd sequences) goes some way to make up for
Wallace Worsley's unadventurous workmanlike direction. The latter, together
with some lacklustre performances, prevents the film from being an
out-and-out masterpiece, but the essential humanity and poetry of Hugo's novel is retained
(in spite of a few diversions) to give a film that is both spectacular
and poignant. Also, thanks to lax censorship in Hollywood at the time, the film
is surprisingly accurate in its grim depiction of life in the Middle Ages,
even showing medieval torture in all its ugly brutality.
Now for the bad news. In common with the majority of films made
in the silent era,
all of the
original 33 mm prints of this film have long since been lost (either
decomposed or destroyed). Fortunately, Universal authorised the
distribution of 16 mm prints of the film in the 1920s and 30s for home
viewing, but these prints are all that remain. To date, virtually
all VHS and DVD issues of the film have been taken from these poor
quality prints with no enhancement, and are hence virtually
unwatchable. In 2007, Image Entertainment issued a DVD release
from a recently restored print; the picture quality is far from perfect
but the sheer visual artistry of the film, bolstered by Chaney's tour
de force performance, more than compensates for this, allowing us
to enjoy a triumph of early silent cinema.
© James Travers 2010
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
Paris in the 1480s. From his vantage point atop Notre Dame
Cathedral, a deformed hunchback named Quasimodo watches the poor people
celebrate their annual Festival of Fools. His eye is caught
by the gypsy girl Esmeralda who dances for the pleasure of the
crowds. Esmeralda also draws the attention of Jehan, the
wicked brother of Dom Claude Frollo, the cathedral's kindly
priest. Jehan coerces Quasimodo into kidnapping the gypsy girl,
but the attempt is thwarted by Phoebus, a young guard captain to King
Louis XI. As the hunchback is taken away to be punished, Phoebus
opens his heart to Esmeralda, not knowing that she has loved him for
some time, with an ardent passion. Esmeralda's guardian, the
beggar king Clopin, is incensed when he learns of Phoebus's intentions
to marry his adopted daughter. Driven by his deadly hatred for all
aristocrats, Clopin snatches Esmeralda from Phoebus and later stabs
him. The gypsy girl is immediately blamed for the attack on
Phoebus and is sentenced to be hanged. Remembering that
Esmeralda brought him water when he was being tortured, Quasimodo comes
to her rescue and takes her into the cathedral, where she is protected by
the right of sanctuary. Clopin raises an army amongst the
Parisian underworld and prepares to storm the Cathedral to free his
daughter, unaware of the lengths that Quasimodo will go to to protect the
woman he has fallen in love with...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.