Those who love witnessing the beautifully grotesque on film owe a debt of gratitude to the silent films of yore. At least, those who have an affinity for the classic Universal monster movies should thank the great Lon Chaney for his obsession with bringing The Hunchback of Notre Dame to the silver screen. While not a monster movie in the traditional sense, the feature based on Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel of the same name allowed the experienced character actor to use his skills to contort his body into unsettling shapes to bring a hideous, iconic character to life. Those who only know the lovable Disney animated version of Quasimodo are in for quite a shock as they see how practical effects brought terror to the hearts and minds in the audiences back in the day. And the audience was sizable to say the least; the film was the most successful silent film Universal ever released, and their love of the monstrous gave the studio the confidence to take on some of the classic monsters we know and love today only a few years later. This was a monumental film in many respects.
This silent adaptation does not stray too far away from the source material. The film is set in 1482 at the famous Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. Chaney brings to life Quasimodo, the deaf, half-blind bell-ringer of the cathedral who faces derision from the commoners. The sheer dedication that Chaney put forth is astounding as he binds his back with a hidden harness to stay in a permanent state of crouching. The makeup that he supervised himself gives him one dead eye and another barely viewable underneath a huge cluster of boils. His tongue hangs over his rotten teeth and his torso is matted with fur. It is truly one of the most unsettling transformations the screen has ever seen even after nearly 100 years. In this version, archdeacon Dom Claude Frollo is a saintly figure instead of the villain he is known to be thanks to a policy that did not allow the Roman Catholic clergy to be shown in a negative light. Instead, Quasimodo’s master is Frollo’s evil brother Jehan, who urges Quasimodo to kidnap the dancing gypsy girl Esmeralda. This obviously causes a fair amount of problems.
The reason to watch this feature is to see Chaney give his entire self to this performance. It is quite striking to see him hamming it up as he taunts the crowds and climbs across the facade of the massive building or swings from the bells. Patsy Ruth Miller likewise puts in a strong performance as Esmeralda, even if you do not completely buy the romance she has with Captain Phoebus, played with a bit too much gusto by Norman Kerry. This is another aspect of the novel that is changed, as there is a considerably happier ending for some of the characters than Hugo dared to allow in his novel. Many of the supporting performers are prone to overacting in quite a dramatic fashion in a way that does not work, but it is not such a detriment as to sink the film. The other reason to spend some time with this one is the grand built-to-scale facade of the French cathedral that was constructed with impeccable care by Universal. Chaney gave everything he had as the creative visionary behind this film, and the results are apparent on screen. Even by today’s standards, you can appreciate the scope that this feature is covering in this epic tale.
Video Quality
The Hunchback of Notre Dame makes its way to Blu-Ray thanks to Kino Classics with a lovely transfer from a 4K restoration completed by Universal. For a film that is fast approaching 100 years of age, this is a truly wonderful presentation. There was a previous Blu-Ray from Flicker Alley that I have never viewed nor do I have in my possession, but just judging from screenshots this appears to be a pretty decent upgrade. The transfer shows off a great amount of depth and enhanced detail within the film’s composition. Black levels present with some decent depth with no overwhelming occurrence of black crush or compression artifacts. The gorgeous color-tinted photography shines in high definition with natural grain intact. There is a fair amount of detail present with nice textures on the clothing and within the setting. The contrast is mostly well defined, but the transfer has an ever-present light rain of nicks and scratches throughout the runtime. You get used to this ongoing occurrence of minor damage as you focus on other aspects such as the depth of field and detail. Kino Classics has done as well as could be expected given the lack of existing materials in better shape.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray presents the film with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that sounds pretty wonderful. The film is graced with an original score composed and performed by Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum and Laura Karpman that is quite beautiful and occasionally haunting. As this is a silent film, the music is the only element to contend with in this track, and it sounds bright and lovely with no clipping or age related wear and tear. Classic film fans should be beyond pleased with the sound quality of this track, as the new piece seems to complement the visuals perfectly.
Special Features
The Kino Classics Blu-Ray of The Hunchback of Notre Dame includes a booklet featuring the essay “The Birth Of An Epic: The Hunchback of Notre Dame” by author Michael F. Blake. This essay provides a great amount of context for this production and the role that Lon Chaney played in getting it produced along with his transformation. The on-disc special features are as follows:
- Audio Commentary: Film Historian Farran Smith Nehme provides a really worthwhile commentary track in which she discusses the original source material, how it impacted the real-life Notre Dame, the process of bringing the material to the screen and how it was tweaked to fit Hollywood sensibilities, the amazingly athletic performance from Lon Chaney, the aesthetic of the film, myths around Lon Chaney’s death and much more.
- Life In Hollywood Newsreel: A nine-minute archival newsreel which shows behind-the-scenes of some Universal Pictures productions including The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
- 16mm Home Movie Footage Of Lon Chaney: A 13-minute archival piece in which you get to see Lon Chaney and his family at their house as they prepare to welcome guests to a party. This was provided by the Film and Video Collection at the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.
- Publicity Materials And Correspondence Slideshow: A series of images in which you can see some material used to promote the film.
- Official Program Book Slideshow: A series of images in which you can see the program book of the film including cast descriptions and excerpts of sheet music.
- Production Stills Slideshow: A collection of behind-the-scenes stills from the film.
Final Thoughts
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a truly impressive accomplishment even nearly a century later. The performance from Lon Chaney as Quasimodo still astounds, and the level of care put towards bringing this world to life is evident in every frame. This particular adaptation is a mostly faithful take on the material that does not falter when it does institute a few changes. Kino Classics has released a new Blu-Ray featuring a strong 4K restoration that looks and sounds as well as you can hope given the state of the source material. This disc also includes a nice array of special features that fans should have fun digging into. If you are a fan of the film or just classic films in general, this release should not disappoint. Recommended
The Hunchback of Notre Dame will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray on September 28, 2021.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Lorber has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
