Universal's successful adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" features some excellent sets, including a reconstruction of the Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris. In a star-turning role, Lon Chaney is grotesque as the hunchback Quasimodo, although he is more of a supporting character here, which concentrates mostly on the character of Esmeralda and the various love triangles that form around her--one of which includes Quasimodo, who, at first, attacks her and, later, after she pays him a kindness, rescues her twice. There are also many extras. The beginning focuses a lot on showing off the great sets and great-many characters and extras. The first 20-plus minutes are devoted to character introduction and yet more characters are added even after that.
The film would've benefited from eliminating some of these characters and subplots. The predictable anti-Roma narrative about a mother whose daughter was stolen by Gypsies, for instance, is pointless here and doesn't go much of anywhere. King Louis XI is introduced early and, then, disappears for the rest of the narrative, although his name and his supposed justice is continually badmouthed throughout. Don Claudio is a cardboard-cutout villain. The romance between Esmeralda and Phoebus is just boring. And the story's ending is turned into a mess. Clopin and his gang of peasantry are supposedly attacking Notre Dame, the sanctuary where Esmeralda is held up to avoid the "King's justice," to rescue her, and Quasimodo gleefully attacks them from atop the Cathedral also in the name of rescuing her. Then, Quasimodo cheers on the soldiers who attack the peasantry, despite the soldiers presumably working for the King and his justice, for which the film leaves open the question of whether Esmeralda will still be hanged for the charge of stabbing Phoebus.
The film would've benefited from eliminating some of these characters and subplots. The predictable anti-Roma narrative about a mother whose daughter was stolen by Gypsies, for instance, is pointless here and doesn't go much of anywhere. King Louis XI is introduced early and, then, disappears for the rest of the narrative, although his name and his supposed justice is continually badmouthed throughout. Don Claudio is a cardboard-cutout villain. The romance between Esmeralda and Phoebus is just boring. And the story's ending is turned into a mess. Clopin and his gang of peasantry are supposedly attacking Notre Dame, the sanctuary where Esmeralda is held up to avoid the "King's justice," to rescue her, and Quasimodo gleefully attacks them from atop the Cathedral also in the name of rescuing her. Then, Quasimodo cheers on the soldiers who attack the peasantry, despite the soldiers presumably working for the King and his justice, for which the film leaves open the question of whether Esmeralda will still be hanged for the charge of stabbing Phoebus.