Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

thinbeach As were not uncommon in the silent era, The Phantom Carriage is a morality tale, meaning its whole purpose is to condemn the characters it has written, and use every frame to bring about their judgement, act God. The last person to die before midnight on New Years Eve attains the unenviable position of 'phantom carriage' driver for the next year - a ghostly horse drawn carriage that stops at the door of the newly deceased and takes them away. David is the character who suffers this misfortune here, though as things play out, it seems less like fortune and more like fate - the punishment handed to him for a life of drunkenness and immorality. While this is not a pretty rap sheet, I'm sure there were many did worse throughout the year, who had worse karma coming them, and were more deserving of the position, but hey, lets not let logic get in the way of fantasy. Throw in a melodramatic love story, and we see a film determined to live up to the definition of its genre in every way possible. The double exposures that achieve the ghostly carriage does make for a neat visual effect, but there is not a lot else going for it. It moves far too slowly, and could have been told in half the time.

Jamie Ward When it comes to silent cinema, it's often relayed by newcomers that getting past the sound (or lack thereof) barrier is one that is difficult or near-impossible to do. Indeed, I remember my first venture into the silent realm and well, let's just say I wasn't convinced and moved away for near-on a decade. It goes without saying that, now with more than a handful of silent films (many now among my all-time favourite movies) under my belt, it's probably best to appreciate that some of cinema's forgotten treasures are easier to digest in a modern world than others. Or, at least for the uninitiated. The Phantom Carriage, I'd like to think, is one of those that crosses the barrier with ease. Whether through its imaginative storytelling, compelling visual effects that even a CGI-laden teenager might decree as "impressive", or the mere pace at which the film moves along; Victor Sjöström's 1921 classic is surely a film with no limitations set merely by its year of production. Firstly there's the plot which, although has been beaten to death on screens for the past 90 or so years, is one that is readily engaging and compelling to this day. Echoing more famous films made later down the line such as It's A Wonderful Life or Scrooge among many others, Sjöström's adaptation of Nobel prize-winning author Selma Lagerlöf's 'Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness!' (the fourth adaptation of Lagerlöf's novels by Sjöström and A-B Svenska Biografteatern) is a wonderfully- told moralistic epic that swoons, sways, crashes and burns as each of the film's characters play out their parts in what is, for the most part, a very grim and starkly depressing story. It's also a tale steeped in mysticism and fantasy, and while I'm usually rather prickly when it comes to such works, when done as well as it is here you can't help but be whisked along quite willingly for 100 minutes or so. It had some small hurdles in getting green-lit back in the day because of certain touchy belief-systems, but eventually the studio decided it would better served facing the wrath of an omniscient deity than Selma Lagerlöf. A wise choice indeed.As a direct result of the plot's reliance on the supernatural and occult, Phantom Carriage also boasts visual effects that far-exceeded anything else on screens at the time in terms of realism and clarity. Even on the newly-released Criterion blu-ray the scenes involving ghostly phantoms look stunning, even though the HD format has a tendency to do the exact opposite, often drawing attention to the primitive techniques used at certain points in history. On the flip side of the coin however, Lagerlöf's story isn't merely about ghosts in the literal sense; in fact, it probably spends more time developing and exposing the emotional phantoms that haunt its characters during their waking lives. Sjöström excels here also, blending powerful but natural performances from his more than capable cast (which includes himself in the lead role) with the detailed and strikingly-lit photography of Julius Jaenzon to cast light and shadows upon the characters' emotive faces, and most importantly, their conflicted hearts. Cinematographers were doing great work already across many studios at the time, and while The Phantom Carriage stands out as one of the very best, it's the realistic and very-seldom melodramatic performances led by Sjöström himself that break the standard for 1921 more than anything else.Rounding out the package on the restored Criterion release are two soundtracks, one of which I haven't heard at this time. The first is a fantastic chamber orchestra score penned by Matti Bye in 1998. It's not your typical silent-movie score by any means; often it will delve into bizarre interludes and stanzas that mirror the action well, but never distract from the film. The second, which I haven't gotten around to yet, is an experimental piece by KTL recorded for a Tartan DVD release in 2008. From what I've read elsewhere it's even better than Matti Bye's, and if it furthers Phantom Carriage's already strong ability to step out of its 95-year-old history and appeal to modern audiences, then by all means. Overall, I cannot recommend this one enough. Compelling and highly emotive character fantasy-drama, start to finish.

Leofwine_draca THE PHANTOM CARRIAGE is another classic slice of Scandinavian horror and a follow-up for me after watching HAXAN: WITCHCRAFT THROUGH THE AGES. By comparison, this film's an entirely fictional production about the legend of a phantom carriage that trundles the globe, picking up the souls of the dead wherever it goes.A troup of main characters interact with this legend in a tale of debauchery, drunkenness, and eternal condemnation. The film is heavy on the melodrama but in its story of human relationships and depiction of the human condition it hasn't really aged all that much. Still, the slim narrative comes second to the extraordinarily spooky visuals, as this is a film all about the cinematography. Creepy tinting, bombastic music, and above all the wonderful double exposure effects of the ghostly carriage and its occupants are what you take away from this, and they're wonderfully spooky in the best Halloween tradition.

Sergeant_Tibbs It's undeniable that The Phantom Carriage's influence precedes itself. From its iconography of the grim reaper, it's Christmas Carol-esque tale of repentance, to echoes of Jack Nicholson chopping down the door in The Shining. If The Phantom Carriage is known for anything, it's for being Ingmar Bergman's source of inspiration for what his films would later muse upon. He would later recruit director and star Victor Sjostrom to lead on of his most acclaimed films Wild Strawberries. Of course, we already know how profound these concepts are nearly 100 years later and their importance is still imbedded in the film. It's fascinating to watch inventive techniques of translucence portrayed on screen too, though admittedly the prior year's Caligari is more impressive. Its real problem is undisciplined structure and its resulting poor pacing, but these are archaic issues of silent cinema that required a few years of trial and error. Nevertheless, the atmosphere is palpable, the ideas are timeless and it oozes with passion from Sjostrom, if not as nightmare worthy as the next year's Nosferatu.8/10