Phantom

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Phantom

1922,

2h 5m,

Drama

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Watchlist

Watchlist

43%

7 Reviews

Tomatometer

62%

250+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

43%

Tomatometer

7 Reviews

62%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

Lorenz (Alfred Abel), an office worker of meager means, lives in a tiny apartment with his mother and two siblings and harbors artistic aspirations. But when Lorenz spies the mysteriously alluring Veronika (Anton Edthofer) riding in a carriage, he begins neglecting all his responsibilities in his relentless pursuit of the unattainable beauty. He later meets Mellitta (also De Putti), a conniving woman who resembles Veronika, and she dupes him into doing her bidding, with devastating results.

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Feb 13, 2007

Somewhat stodgy in its seriousness, Phantom remains a secondary work by a great filmmaker.

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

Jun 21, 2022

6/10

Far from some visual notes that at times add certain dreamlike qualities, I have the impression that it is a minor piece of Murnau's early expressionist cinema. [Full review in Spanish]

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Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

Jan 8, 2022

The film has its share of hand-wringing histrionics, but is also striking in mood and look.

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David Sterritt

Cineaste Magazine

Nov 11, 2021

Phantom is a fitting title for a story in which emotions are ruthless, motivations are slippery, and identity itself is dauntingly hard to pin down. This isn't exactly horror, but parts of it border on nightmare.

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Phil Hall

Film Threat

Nov 26, 2006

2/5

It's a bit of a bore.

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Nov 15, 2006

C+

It's dreadfully slow-paced, overwrought and dated.

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Finn R

Oct 2, 2017

I don't understand the frustration of critics about this movie. It's a solid piece of work by Murnau, dream-like and interesting. Sure it's not as haunting as his later works but it is still a nice example of his craftsmanship. It tells the story of man's obsession and uncontrollable instincts - quite a familiar theme for German expressionism, isn't it. The man is haunted by the phantom vision of a girl he, probably, once saw driving a carriage that knocked him down. Ever since he is obsessed with finding this girl and begins his slow moral and physical descent into the abyss of various vices. He passes all phases of transformation: desire, decay, despair, crime, submission, atonement and ultimate redemption.

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F.W. Murnau

Director

Alfred Abel

Lorenz Lubota

Grete Berger

Pfandleiherin Schwabe

Lil Dagover

Marie Starke

Anton Edthofer

Wigottschinski

Olga Engl

Frau Harlan

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Synopsis

Lorenz (Alfred Abel), an office worker of meager means, lives in a tiny apartment with his mother and two siblings and harbors artistic aspirations. But when Lorenz spies the mysteriously alluring Veronika (Anton Edthofer) riding in a carriage, he begins neglecting all his responsibilities in his relentless pursuit of the unattainable beauty. He later meets Mellitta (also De Putti), a conniving woman who resembles Veronika, and she dupes him into doing her bidding, with devastating results.

Director: F.W. Murnau
Producer: Erich Pommer
Screenwriter: Thea von Harbou, Hans Heinrich von Twardowski
Production Co: Uco-Film
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 2h 5m

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