Rent The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)

3.6 of 5 from 67 ratings
1h 40min
Rent The Hunchback of Notre Dame Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
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Synopsis:
Lon Chaney stars as Quasimodo, the mocked and vilified bell-ringer of Notre Dame who selflessly protects the starcrossed street performer Esmerelda (Patsy Ruth Miller), who is in an ill-fated love affair with the dashing Captain Phoebus (Norman Kerry).
Actors:
, Patsy Ruth Miller, , , Winifred Bryson, , , , , Harry von Meter, , , , Roy Laidlaw, Ray Myers, William Parke, , John Cossar, Edwin Wallock,
Directors:
Producers:
Carl Laemmle, Irving Thalberg
Writers:
Victor Hugo, Perley Poore Sheehan, Edward T. Lowe Jr., Chester L. Roberts
Studio:
Elstree Hill Entertainment
Genres:
Classics, Drama, Horror, Romance
Collections:
100 Years of German Expressionism, Film History, Horror, inema Paradiso's 2023 Centenary Club: Part 2, Kings and Queens of Scream, The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to William Wyler, Top Horror Franchise Films
BBFC:
Release Date:
25/10/2004
Run Time:
102 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono, Silent
Subtitles:
None
DVD Regions:
Region 0 (All)
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Full Screen 1.33:1 / 4:3
Colour:
B & W
BBFC:
Release Date:
17/10/2022
Run Time:
100 minutes
Languages:
English LPCM Stereo, Silent
Subtitles:
None
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Full Screen 1.33:1 / 4:3
Colour:
B & W
BLU-RAY Regions:
B
Bonus:
  • Music by Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum and Laura Karpman
  • Brand new audio commentary with author Stephen Jones and author/critic Kim Newman
  • Brand new interview with author/critic Kim Newman on the many adaptations of Victor Hugo's novel
  • Brand new interview with film historian Jonathan Rigby

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Reviews (1) of The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Silent Classic. - The Hunchback of Notre Dame review by Steve

Spoiler Alert
Updated 24/08/2021

This lavish adaptation of Victor Hugo's historical melodrama was Universal studio's most lucrative hit of the 1920s. It is set in 1482 and focuses on the romance of a gypsy, Esmerelda, with a nobleman in a socially polarised Paris; of the arrogant, brutal aristocracy and the persecuted poor.

Patsy Ruth Miller is histrionic and lacks appeal as the untamed dancing girl. What everyone remembers the film for is the grotesquery of Lon Chaney's portrayal of the title character, Quasimodo, the ringer of the bells. It's Chaney who makes this a horror film at all, not just for his legendary make-up effects, the deformity and gymnastics, but for the strange, primal enigma of his character.

Worsley's film is pretty early cinema and it doesn't have the visual expressionism of some of the later silent horrors, but what it does abundantly present is spectacle with the magnificent sets, particularly of the medieval cathedral, with its huge cast of extras in period costume.

This is the film where the great Lon Chaney became a big a star around the world and his Quasimodo remains definitive. The spectacle of the film, whether Chaney's demonic aura or the convincing recreation of fifteenth century Paris makes the first Hunchback of Notre-Dame the earliest Hollywood horror classic.

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