Hunchback of Notre Dame 100th Anniversary

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the original Hunchback of Notre Dame from Universal Studios! It premiered at the Astor Theatre in NYC on September 2,1923, but its main release was September 6th. It’s not that often when you get to celebrate the 100th anniversary of a film, so lets talk about this Lon Chaney classic that arguably kicked off the Universal Monster movies.
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[@DanGamingFan2846]

I grew up with the Disney version which, as a kid, I already thought was intense. So when I eventually watched the silent version, it blew my mind. It's impact on filmmaking cannot be overstated.

[@watershipup7101]

My experience exactly.

[@pinebarrenpatriot8289]

Please don't give the woke crackpots at Disney any ideas before they do a remake with recasting of every white male character to a minority😆

[@jaxxh6529]

the disney film is awesome and its 1 of the darkest movies from the 90s

[@HellOnWheel]

Frollo's incel song 😳

[@KirbyJason210]

The Disney version is a cult classic indeed.

[@JohnnyBurnes]

I love that James covers classics. They're often overlooked, and James has a simple, but great way of showcasing them.

[@opaljk4835]

It’s part of keeping the legacy alive. This film has a cool history, but I’m not sure it’s overlooked in the slightest.

[@MSorge13]

You can never go wrong hearing James discuss film history. He was made for this!

[@niltonbalbi8139]

My thoughts exactly..... what an expert in making us fall in love with cinema's history

[@allanolivas9814]

Whenever he talks about something he is passionate about it, he does great .

[@MSorge13]

@@allanolivas9814 I definitely agree!

[@DaveDurango]

lol you're insane

[@MSorge13]

@@DaveDurango Huh?

[@powerglover2021]

James Rolfe talking about horror history is my comfort food.

[@ComicGladiator]

Careful of that poison tooth while eating!

[@Cheerios4u98]

I think even more than AVGN, these types of videos have become my favorite videos James makes over the years. I could watch this stuff for hours.

[@joecascetti8375]

Come for the AVGN, stay (for the next 15 years) for the informative film videos. His passion for film is truly special.

[@ShouAlias-io7ud]

James has a fondness and respect for these films that makes listening to him a joy.

[@ir3mix3d]

Its a fun back and forth between film and retro tv games

[@gripesreality2126]

I have always loved these videos of his because he does it a natural way that you feel like he's talking to in person

[@SuperPhunThyme9]

Board James is still the best

[@jebprendergast101]

Remember: Quasimodo is the doctor, not the monster.

[@wastedtalent666]

Wrong but I get the joke 😂

[@CustomsByOrangeH]

"I concur!" - John Q. Anime

[@straywhistler]

Pssssh tell that to your self that

[@user-ig9vo1pq4d]

You know Quasimodo predicted all this.

[@jebprendergast101]

@@user-ig9vo1pq4d What, you never pondered this? The ‘back’ thing and Notre Dame?

[@DarkOverlord96]

Ok, now I REALLY wanna watch James' version of the movie with the FFVI soundtrack.

[@brettreynolds1976]

I second this! 👍

[@JohnnyBurnes]

​@@brettreynolds1976 Going by Final Fantasy math, I 6th this!

[@Vulpas]

We need to pester him until he uploads it.

[@nunsnmoses]

Give us Final Hunchback of Fantasy Dame 😊

[@MailmanTheShopKeep]

RELEASE THE ROLFE CUT

[@ajford3973]

This is the movie that introduced me to silent cinema. I was a little kid in the hospital (can’t remember why) but my recovery room had a TV and for whatever reason it was playing Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 (this was in 2005-2006) and I was kinda stunned at the fact I was watching something THIS old. I was fascinated. I ended up buying a DVD of it.

[@solidskullz5736]

The hunchback of Norte dame is a legendary story, and you can’t go wrong with the classics

[@adamuzumaki98]

Precisely, it was Disney’s 34th full-length animated feature film from 1996. Tom Hulce auditioned as Quasimodo, the Hunchback. Enter Claude Frollo, the antagonist in the movie, played by the late British actor, Tony Jay. It was a nice Disney movie from 1996.

[@utrock5067]

You can't? Disney's like: "hold my bud light".

[@theunknowncommenter725]

​@@utrock5067 back in the 90s Disney made the classic story new different kind of classic for themselves. And it worked. In current-day, they would definitely ruin it.

[@tim3172]

@@utrock5067 Wow, I didn't expect a chud to be crying over Bud Light in a... Hunchback of Notre Dame video... but here we are!

[@jjstraka1982]

​@@tim3172they will inject it into literally any conversion. Can't help themselves.

[@alexwells9948]

The Notre Dame Cathedral was the site where Disney animators drew their inspiration of the cathedral, the animated version of the Hunchback of the Notre Dame was a success at the box office

[@tayloredwards4968]

Wow this film's 100 years old that's incredible

[@langbo9999]

Beautiful movie masterpiece. Most movie to day with never be remembered as a masterpiece and probably will be forgotten.

[@speake7777777]

My favorite scene was when Esmeralda demands of her father Clopin, “Have you so little misery that you must create more!?”

[@moonstoneuniverse8516]

Another 100 years another amazing review/retrospective from James. He was born for this.

[@TouchedByGodsGrace777]

Can't believe so many movies are 100 years old

[@user-gi8pk9uc7q]

Lon Chaney, the man of a thousand faces, Hollywood shall never see his like again!

[@citizenyarn]

@user-gi8pk9uc7q He truly was one of a kind.

[@Vegeton]

Hope we get some old school styled Monster Madness next month! :)

[@Dejahthoris22]

🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@TheImaginator972]

I love Victor Hugo's The Hunchback Of Notre Dame novel and I loved the Disney animated masterpiece, I wish I could see more adaptations like this 100th anniversary film.

[@johnlawful2272]

Disney canceled the live action Bob Iger hates the animated film

[@Jim-Mc]

One of the most underrated Disney movies

[@utrock5067]

Not in these days. Not from 2023. Remember "little dark skinned mermaid"? Have you heard of "snow woke"? The best thing that disney can do now is butcher their own ( and not only their own ) franchises.

[@unluckyone1655]

Not to mention, the soundtrack is just epic, and the songs are just beautiful. Hellfire still gives me the creeps

[@tim3172]

@@utrock5067What does "woke" mean? People can't seem to describe it without it sounding like a positive thing.

[@gamingintrospection]

It's always fun hearing James talk cinema, you can tell just from his knowledge base that this is his truest passion and element. I hope this is a prelude to another round of Monster Madness reviews! I had no idea about the original Hunchback movie and how enduring its legacy has been, so thanks a lot for sharing!

[@DaveDurango]

you mean wikipedia?

[@circle1552]

I could listen to James talk about movies for hours. He talks and sounds like a professor.

[@random22026]

7:03 Universal's back lot is actually North Hollywood/Toluca Lake. For Burbank, the back lots belonged to Warner Brothers and Columbia.

[@genesis4322]

I remember watching this a year or two ago. It was a very interesting movie to me because of how much it varies from the Disney story.

[@PieManZXY]

Same! I was caught off guard. I know Disney will 'Disney-fy' stories with their adaptations, but the differences between the two here was surprising even with that knowledge.

[@cadenpolen001]

Wow the history of this movie is pretty fascinating! I had no idea that Universal Studios had been around that long, either... 😮

[@azohundred1353]

The 1923 and 1939 Hunchback adaptations are both masterpieces. Lon Chaney Sr. and Charles Laughton gave tour de force performances in their versions.

[@jean-lucpicard5510]

Cheney died a mere 7 years later aged 47.

[@EvanJosephAldridge]

Your passion for film history is infectious. I've watched and re-watched your Monster Madness series and nearly all of the individual movie reviews and recommend them to anyone who is interested in horror and film. Keep it up, I know you will and I'll be there to watch it.

[@Andrew_Thannen]

Who could've guessed horror (and horror-adjacent) films would be crucial to a studio's exponential success? Paramount built itself off Friday the 13th, New Line Cinema built itself off Nightmare on Elm Street, Universal built itself off of... well, the Universal Monsters.

[@adewilson132]

Paramount had been a successful studio since the 1930s by distributing Popeye cartoons and Betty book and other Fleischer studios cartoons.

[@RealWarnerus]

2 years left before it's the phantom's turn

[@KelBShobra]

When are we gonna get a review of dr claws dump and pump? Thats the game review weve all been waiting for

[@bheemabachus5179]

I've been wanting you to review this movie since 2009. 14 years later and I finally get my wish.

[@linkfan160]

The Disney version of this story is my favourite Disney Movie. It's so dark and the music is INCREDIBLE. It's one of the few Disney films that feels like it was made primarily for adults. I'd love to hear you talk about it.

[@lapearl521]

These are my comfort videos. What a great way to end September.

[@TrentonBlessWrestlemania489]

Lon Chaney is my favorite actor of the silent era. From his wonderful makeup work to the way he can just act with only his hands, is incredible.

[@kakazi2170]

The only exposure of the Hunchback that I saw (aside from the disney film) was a monster encyclopedia which astonished me to see that he would even be considered a monster.

[@joshkennedy2868]

It did come out in 1923. I mean they would keep mentally handicapped people locked in attics and stuff. If they keep them at all

[@jlev1028]

Blame media like Hotel Transylvania for that.

[@majinmarkus968]

i wonder how many years that cap has. So oldschool.. its artifact!

[@Lukethefox]

Its really amazing how they had hundreds of extras there so it must have been very easy to be one in those days. I think I had a great Aunt somewhere in my family Tree who was an extra. I was told she was in 1936's Things to Come.

[@Jared_Wignall]

One of the best films ever made, Lon Chaney truly showed how great of an actor he was in all the characters he played. It’s a shame he passed away when he did, I’m curious as to how his career would have been into the sound era beyond one film and had he done Dracula.

[@citizenyarn]

@Jared_Wignall One of the biggest "what ifs" from film history in my opinion. He was phenomenal.

[@alexkrajci]

R.I.P. Lon Chaney (1883-1930)

[@TheBigJBag]

The Snake Pit needs the venom, James. Put down the VCR remote, pick up your guitar, and let's ROCK! the Venom Heads need to feel the BITE! Hiss! Hiss!🐍🤘🎸

[@NIN1]

Praying for OG monster madness next month

[@dennisjansson6239]

A great review, but i wish that James mentioned the Disney version of Hunchback of Notre Dame too. Its 1 of the BEST Disney movies ever. 💙

[@Jacob-nu4nd]

We need monster madness this year

[@mathieuleader8601]

Always loved the Hunch! musical gag from the Critic

[@big-bag]

Love these movie/ history type videos, reminds me of that video you made about that historic cave used in so many movies, great stuff man.

[@princebloodgrave8097]

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari had it's 100th anniversary, back in 2019, I believe.

[@majingazetto4146]

Nice one James. Always a pleasure to see you doing what you love. It shows.

[@wonkeycong1956]

Mortal Komhat

[@ruiner101]

"You know, Quasimodo predicted this whole thing." Bobby Bacala

[@riofanl3638]

I'm gotta guess in 2025 he'll do a 100 anniversary video on phantom of the opera

[@noremorseproductions]

YES! I love this kind of videos!

[@atreyuflames]

I love when James is being a huge movie nerd. ❤

[@dwaynemenzies8824]

James, your excitement for these films is great, and it made me get into them as well as Godzilla. I bought The Cabinet Of Doctor Caligari. It's one of my favorites.

[@cillianwebster4886]

Great vid James & co. Looking forward to the 100th anniversary review of 'Phantom of the Opera' in 2 years.

[@jasonz7788]

Awesome thanks 👍👍

[@tremorsfan]

This movie is an early example of home rental. Universal used to rent out 16 mm copies for home viewing. Most surviving prints are this.

[@jowi_24seven43]

Great review. Thank you

[@Chaos89P]

How is Notre Dame's reconstruction going? Last I heard, Ubisoft released some measurements for the builders to aid in its reconstruction, but that was a couple years ago.

[@SuperArtie]

I WAS LON CHANEY’S LOVER

[@chrisa.2323]

I cannot wait to celebrate the classic Universal monster movies 100th anniversary in a decade or so!

[@frankzappa9148]

Well done, James

[@JeffreyDeCristofaro]

I can't wait for your centennial celebration review of Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS in 2027!

[@jamesgumm2281]

These are my favorite type of videos James does, can't wait to watch later!

[@Demux84]

Same here, could listen to him talk about classics all day.

[@greenobeeno1]

This was amazing, please keep this up as more silent cinema turns 100. A lot of great reflections I think for the 20's sci-fi and horror films coming up!

[@stitch9677]

Nostradamus and notredame are two completely different things

[@batfreeze56]

These are my favorite videos.

[@mattgrandich3977]

Wow, I’ve totally missed this Lon Chaney classic, I must check it out!

[@RIPAlien]

Yesss. This guy is the reason I feel in love with Golden Age Horror

[@IMP3TIGO]

Really love your cinema and game retrospectives. They are really fun and the personal connection makes it even compelling. You may be famous for the avgn, but this is where you shine mate!

[@bionicfuzz5091]

Foreseeing where the conversation goes regarding a Hunchback you know James is going to talk about Castlevania at some point 😂

[@user-se3df9xf2b]

Man, James seems like the coolest dude to talk about movies with

[@chanic4621]

Hope we get a lot of horror movie stuff this year. Huge monster madness fan

[@Fantax92]

Movies that are over 100 years old, everyone you see in them are long dead. So weird to think about. Impressive too how great the sets are for 1923, WW1 had just ended, WW2 is still over 15 years away

[@gregor1O1]

I really love these reviews of classic films by James. Always a pleasure to watch and very informative to boot. 👍

[@islandplace7235]

If it wasn't for James it's a film I probably never would have seen same with so many monster movies

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

PBS showed this way back in the 1970s and it was one of the earliest times I watched a silent movie. Glad to see you covering the real classics.

[@dade-murphy]

I was just thinking that i hopes to see more content like this. Keep doing these videos, your love really shows through in them.

[@ShHeMiLeRe]

James called it "Notre Dame" instead of "Notre Deeeeym"? What's happening?

[@artemisarrow179]

It's amazing there are 100 year old movies

[@dangershgol3298]

1939 version is perfection. Been a fan since childhood. Watched it constantly.

[@BugVlogs]

I would love to see a video about The Night of the Hunter, it’s one of my favorite films ever

[@vorca8442]

Some people might not like this but I kinda miss Mike Matai videos with avgn days. It's almost like not having other joe in an angry joe . Kinda . Ok what I am saying is I miss this channel the way it used to be a few years ago or more

[@Tadicuslegion78]

I look at that makeup and go, imagine what Lon Chaney could have created if he had access to 2023 techniques

[@RyanRumbles434]

Lon Chaney was the man of a hundred or thousand faces. I want London after Midnight!

[@LuxBellator92]

This was such an awesome video! I loved this just as much as your Nosferatu and Cabinet of Dr Caligari anniversary reviews. It's so cool to hear your genuine passion as you discuss these classic and influential films. You help keep this Silent era alive 😊

[@sonofmovienerdking7230]

I have little doubt that the biggest 100th anniversary video James does will be King Kong.

[@jtukko]

I absolutely love it that someone with millionss of followers appreciates classic films like this! GJ James!

[@leannerose6181]

Yes,I was hoping you'd do the 100th of this movie😎looking forward to the 100th anniversary of the phantom of the Opera in two years

[@santrow1]

Do you have the FFIII score you did for the film available? I would really love to hear it, it sounds epic!

[@TheDukeofMadness]

Thank you, uncle Carl.

[@ericseitzler81]

I really don't care about this movie but i like to watch james talk about them bc you can tell how much he loves these films and is very sincere and passionate about them.

[@Only1Noodle]

I like these reviews, it gives insight of films that none of us have heard or seen. I'm glad you tell us about films like these. You know what? I'll give it a watch, as a film major, I owe it to myself.

[@Mirokuofnite]

I wish you did more movie reviews, James. It really is your element.

[@bralph82]

Love your videos. Your passion shines through which makes you so fun to watch and your opinions so worthy of respect.

[@mathewbouse1105]

You can't just drop a bombshell like that James, now you HAVE to drop the Final Fantasy VI cut

[@thedarksidejesterandfriend8469]

Awesome movie 🍿 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[@hectormontalvo5565]

Awesome review James!👉😃👈

[@Jays_dead_cat]

I own the Victor Hugo book at home and still haven't read it. I must get into it

[@balloondood444]

I'm still embarrassed I haven't seen this film but ill make sure to see it.

[@zacharyagler3007]

Enjoy these 100 year film videos

[@Shou_Han]

This question goes out to you @cinemassacre and James since he is huge into Mandela effect stuff. There was a popular video out about video game Mandela Effects one of which being able to play the NES without pushing down on the cartridge has that always been a thing i figure you guys could test it since you have the hardware to do it for us?

[@unclesporkums]

Just watched it last night. Truly masterful filmmaking and Chaney again shows what a astoundingly talented performer and makeup artist he was! I also find it amazing how Dracula and Frankenstein are almost 100 themselves!

[@davidaamaya1]

Will you be doing a review of The grinning man and the man who laughs

[@r3n3gad33]

Much like other dark books such as Alice in Wonderland and Pinocchio, it's amazing how a piece of gothic literature in the same league as any Dracula or Frankenstein, became associated with family fairy tales even so far as Qussi himself appearing in Shrek Super Slam