The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

By Jonathan Goodsell

Whenever anyone hears the word Phantom of the Opera, they immediately think of the daunting organ theme from Andrew Lloyd Weber’s musical. However, long before Weber wrote the classic adaptation, The Phantom of the Opera was a famous old, silent, black and white film. Made in 1925, The Phantom of the Opera starred the famous Lon Chaney as the Phantom himself. For those that have seen the musical, this film had a very similar plot. For those that don’t know the classic story, the Phantom lives in the cellars of the Paris opera house and haunts it. He takes on a young singer as his student and, in his attempt to bring her to stardom, raises chaos like never before at the opera house.

            Now it may be hard to imagine The Phantom of the Opera without any music, because that’s how everyone knows it. But it almost surprisingly made a stunning film to watch without hearing the infamous organ music. The thing that made this film enjoyable was all the body language. Since there was no speaking, the actors had to be able to portray what they were saying without saying it. It was kind of like watching a bunch of professional charade players. Granted at times it would get a little cheesy due to some over expressiveness, but it was all still really enjoyable and easily understandable.

            Though the film was black and white; they did an excellent job with the lighting. I know, that’s probably sounds a little weird, but here’s what I mean. This movie used a lot of shadows throughout the film instead of always showing the characters. For the first half of the film, you only saw the Phantom’s shadow. But even that had a way of making it that much more creepy. I must say that the thing I loved the most of this film was the makeup work though. The job Lon Chaney did to the Phantom was spectacular. He made the Phantom extremely creepy. I can imagine whole theaters in 1925 jumping in fear from his face. 

            For those that have never seen a silent black and white film, this would be great one to start with. It is extremely enjoyable and it’s a story anyone can fall in love with. Even if you’ve seen the musical, this is still a great new look at the beloved story of The Phantom of the Opera.

Gone With The Wind

By Jonathan Goodsell

Through one of the darkest periods in American history comes the most frustratingly beautiful romance story in Hollywood history. Gone with the Wind is the Academy Award winning Civil War chick-flick that won the hearts of a nation and still holds the overall box office record, if adjusted for inflation of course. Starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh, Gone with the Wind tells the emotional and romantic life of Scarlett O’Hara (Leigh) and her love affair with Rhett Butler (Gable) as they live through the Civil War and fight for what they believe in and for what they love. As Scarlett O’Hara famously says, “As God is my witness, I will never go hungry again”.

This film had a very unique and almost charismatic screen play. It’s riddled with humorous phrases and remarks that keep the story flowing. My personal favorites are Scarlett’s use of phrases like “fiddle-dee-dee” and “great balls of fire”. The lighting and use of silhouettes was rather well done. The final shot with Scarlett standing silhouetted against the tree at Terra was, in my opinion, the perfect way to end the film has it set this conclusive mood that everything was complete. 

The charismatic Rhett Butler was rather enjoyable to watch. His carefree look upon life even during the war was what made me really love him. But the thing that really drove the movie was the chemistry between Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. Their romantic tension was perfect. Granted you wanted to slap Scarlett for all her blunders and immature actions, it all worked out. The only problem I had was that when the movie ended, it seemed like something was missing. The story appeared to be going one direction and ended going another, and which direction I’ll leave unsaid so as not to spoil it. But I guess that’s how the story goes and that’s how the director chose to do the film, so I can respect it.

            Overall, this was a very enjoyable film. Filled with humor, drama, romance, and even some action, it’s a film anyone can enjoy. It’s a film that, even though the life and time portrayed has gone with the wind, the story will last for generations to come.

The Vow

The Vow- PG-13

By Jonathan Goodsell

The Vow is a heartwarming film starring Channing Tatum as Leo and Rachel McAdams as Paige. One night one their way home from the movies, Leo and his wife Paige get in a major car crash and Paige gets thrown from the car. When she wakes from a brief coma, Leo finds that she has amnesia and doesn't remember him. He then has to fight to get her to fall in love with him instead of turning back to life she remembers, a life without him. Based off a true story, this film is down to earth and portrays the feeling of true love and the heartbreak that can come with it.

I really enjoyed this movie. My friends like to mock me because I'm one of those rare guys that actually enjoys chick flicks. But this one was really enjoyable, it had enough humor and other elements so that most guys could enjoy it. Anyways, what I loved most was the story line. It was heartwarming at parts, heart wrenching at others. It kept you watching. But more importantly, it pulled you in and you really felt for the characters. Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams both once again pull of great acting jobs and they both made the movie really enjoyable. A lot of the movie was really fast and it jumped around a little, but it was still fun to watch.

This movie was as appropriate as you could expect from a chick flick. There are some brief inappropriate scenes. The language is mild at most. The only violence is when Leo punches a guy for trying to steal Paige as she's trying to rediscover her life after the crash. Compared to some other chick flicks I've seen, this wasn't that bad.

Girls, if your ever going to get your guy to watch a chick flick with you, it may be this one. So in my reviewer opinion, The Vow earned itself a respectable 6.5/10