Phantom (1922): South West Silents

Overshadowed by Murnau’s previous film, Nosferatu (1922), Phantom is a tale of obsession and paints a portrait of the corrupting influence of money, the conformity of societal norms and the redemptive power of family. A film ripe to be rediscovered. 

An aspiring poet on the verge of what he takes for a big break experiences a chance encounter with a beautiful woman in the street and falls headlong into love and fantasy. With debts piling up and his promised literary celebrity failing to materialise. A forgotten gem of a film that stands as an early precursor of Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958).

Thought lost for many years, this screening of Phantom will include the recent restoration by Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung, Wiesbaden and a brand new score by Bath based pianist Dominic Irving.

Phantom is part of South West Silents and Bristol Ideas’ 2022 series Modernism1922 which explores the worlds of film, literature, music, politics and more 100 years ago. It is run as a tribute to Kevin Jackson. His book, Constellation of Genius: 1922: Modernism and All That Jazz, tells the story of that remarkable year.

Phantom (1922)

Director: F. W. Murnau

Starring:  Alfred Abel, Frieda Richard, Aud Egede-Nissen, Grete Berger, 

PG / Germany / 119mins

Live piano accompaniment by Dominic Irving