The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923): the 100th Anniversary
The Blind Eternities forum
Posted on June 26, 2023, 8:15 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
This year is the 100th anniversary of the 1923 film adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which was the first feature-length film adaptation of the novel (as there previously was a 26-minute adaptation released in 1911), which is a milestone that most certainly should be celebrated. The film was grand and epic in scale, proving to be a major technical challenge for Universal studios, as the American film industry was still in its early days when they produced that film. The studio recreated the street of Paris during the 1480's, the novel’s setting, for the film, which was no minor undertaking, and hired large crowds of extras to help bring the story to life.
The film starred legendary actor Lon Chaney in the titular role, in which he once against demonstrated his amazing talent for changing his appearance, which earned him the nickname "man of a thousand faces;" although Chaney's best-known role remains that of the titular character in Phantom of the Opera, released two years later, this film is still one of his greatest achievements, being one of numerous instances in which he played a character who was physically "deformed," but also sympathetic in his love for a beautiful woman.
The film did make several changes from the original novel, such as the character of archdeacon Claude Frollo going from being the main antagonist of the story to a pious and saintly member of the clergy, while "promoting" Claude's younger brother, Jehan, to the role of main antagonist, likely because the filmmakers did not wish to portray a member of the clergy as a villain, a change that was retained in the later 1939 version, although the 1996 adaptation restores Claude Frollo as the main antagonist, while completely eliminating the character of Jehan in the process. Another very major departure from the book was that Esmeralda survives, where she died in the original work, a change that was evidently very influential, since she survives in both the 1939 and 1996 adaptations, as well.
Unfortunately, as is the case with many films of its age, very few original copies of this film survive, and those that do survive are showing signs of wear and tear; in fact, no 35mm copies of this film are known to still exist, meaning that all existing copies are sourced from 16mm film stock, which is adequate, but it is unfortunate that higher-quality prints cannot be found, although I suppose that audiences today should be glad that the film still exists, at all, unlike, for example, _London After Midnight,+ another film that features Lon Chaney, of which no copies are known to survive.
What does everyone else say about this? How do you feel about this year being the 100th anniversary of the 1923 version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame?
DemonDragonJ says... #3
MichalP, the movie is in the public domain, but I recommend asking a moderator, to be certain.
MichalP says... #2
Hi, on the YT channel Cinema Classics Revisited you can find renewed and edited version with new music written for this movie. I can provide the link but I am not sure if it is allowed here.
July 8, 2023 2:31 p.m.