On a basic level, The Phantom Carriage shares so much in common with Charles Dickens' Christmas Carolthat it's almost distracting. Both take place during the holidays; both are movies about men who have lost touch with human decency - in Dickens, it's due to greed, while Carriage focuses instead on alcoholism - and their families; both feature the men getting a visit from unearthly spirits; both feature near-death experiences and spiritual reawakenings of a sort. But while Dickens focused on Christmas spirit, The Phantom Carriage instead brings Death into the story as a literal, physical presence; moreover, the film's treatment of his alcoholism is horrific (if melodramatic) - and those two changes combine to make the tale feel more different than a summary might suggest. For all of that, though, what people always remember from The Phantom Carriage are the visuals, and it's not hard to see why - with its double-exposure phantoms, its shadowy recesses, and its generally haunting atmosphere, Phantom Carriage is a marvel of mood and visual storytelling. As an actual story, it's fine enough; while it's well told, it's nothing incredibly special or memorable, really, and it left me respecting it more than enjoying it. But as a visual innovation and as a demonstration of just how a silent film could convey everything simply through it's visuals, it's great viewing.
- Josh Mauthe
- Josh Mauthe
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