The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Kylie B

  
  To be honest I was expecting to like this a lot more than I did. I'm especially disappointed that adaptation decay existed even in the very early pictures, and I wasn't really able to get over how sanitised elements of it were from the novel.

• First L

  
  "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" is possibly the earliest film adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel and features some of the most iconic film visuals of the 20th century. Lon Chaney is a legend of the silver screen, most famous for his amazing make-up techniques and his… More
  "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" is possibly the earliest film adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel and features some of the most iconic film visuals of the 20th century. Lon Chaney is a legend of the silver screen, most famous for his amazing make-up techniques and his willingness to throw himself into his part (perhaps he was cinema's first "method actor"?). However, while Chaney seems only capable of two facial expressions, he brings a wide array of subtle ticks (constantly flicking his tongue out of his mouth, for instance) and broad physical movements to the role. The film itself suffers from a lack of editing, it takes alot of time for a little to happen. Watching a great silent film can be like watching a painting come to life, like watching the angels dance in the Sistine chapel, but watching a bad one can be like watching the paint dry. This film falls somewhere in the middle, saved mainly by the last act, where the true sadness of Quasimodo's life and character is seen. I'm looking forward to seeing Charles Laughton's performance of the title role.

• Tim S

  
  Beautiful film. Very well acted.

• Veronique K

  
  silent "the hunchback of notre dame" is the primary stage of this classic adaption from victor hugo's masterpiece, compared with the later 40s production with charles laughten and mareen o'hara, the silent version is more sheerly simplified without the sarcastic… More
  silent "the hunchback of notre dame" is the primary stage of this classic adaption from victor hugo's masterpiece, compared with the later 40s production with charles laughten and mareen o'hara, the silent version is more sheerly simplified without the sarcastic romantic undertone of beauty and beast, here the beast is actually deformed human with a heart of salvaging saint. the message beneath this fable is the condemnation upon human's vain judgements upon the outward looks. hunchback is mercilessly scorned and harshly bashed by the heartless citizens as some stirring public sensationalism while they witness hunchback as the king of the fools as well as some exhibition for their simmering cruelty. the preacher who frames the gypsy beauty is also another disguise of evil menace hidden beneath christian piety. the gypsy girl would be prime example of inner kindness reflected upon the beauty, and her chaste virginity is another stereotyped consecration of madonna/whore complex which inspires the gallantry from the handsome aristocratic general as her prince charming that delineates an archetyped picture of ideal coupling. lon chaney's hunchback is sexless without any covet for our beauty here, and the presence of the ghetto poet as well as the boiling tumult of mob violence is diluted to construct a less disturbing set without the sexual suppression and the fanatic acid of hatred in charles laughten's version, so the 20s "hunchback of notre dame" is more of an idealistic picture to elucidate the virtue behind a disfigured shell as well as the innocent romance of angelical beauty and dashing nobleman.

• Henrik S

  
  A very impressive and intense silent epic from 1923. The overall tone of the movie is surprisingly grim and brutal, which only adds the the quality, as it is true to the book it is based upon: Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dammen. The movie is about a deformed outcast who… More
  A very impressive and intense silent epic from 1923. The overall tone of the movie is surprisingly grim and brutal, which only adds the the quality, as it is true to the book it is based upon: Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dammen. The movie is about a deformed outcast who lives in the Parisian catherdral Norte-Damm. He gets involuntarily mingled up in an intruige over the love of a Gypsy Woman, named Esmeralda. As stated above, a few scenes of the movie are very drastic considering the time it was released. The whipping of Quasimodo, the Hunchback, sent shivers down my spine. Second, there is a scene where Esmeralda gets tortured (questioned, as the inquisition used to phonycall it) with a spanish boot. Another scene, where a guard wooes Esmeralde is even quite raunchy, for he pulls down her skirt, blanking her shoulder to hint a sexual intension. The most important thing however is Lon Chaney, who is not as well known as the trinity of monster actors, Karloff, Lee and Lugosi, but unlinke Karloff for example Chaney was very well able to act very intense under masks, see Karloffs good but obviously "undead" performances in Frankenstein and The Mummy. Just like in "Phantom of the Opera" Chaney's eyes glow with the agony of a heartbroken monster. Furthermore, his portrait of the hunchback is, oddly enough considering the nature of his role, very artistic. He jumps and strolls, expressing his feelings. Chaney wore braces to make his legs look deformed, which actually gave him injuries for the rest of his life. His makeup should also be complimented. The rest of the cast is rather unshiny. The two leads, both male and female, the antagonist villain are very standard and, like in many silent movies, you can clearly see the lack of camera training the artists had in those days, still exaggerating their emotions and outrageous to an distorted extent.