The Man Who Laughs

OUT OF PRINT BLU-RAY / DVD DUAL-FORMAT EDITION Flicker Alley, in partnership with Universal Pictures, are proud to present Universal Pictures’ new 4K restoration of the 1928 silent classic, The Man Who Laughs, accompanied by a newly recorded orchestral score by the Berklee Silent Film Orchestra. The composers, in reel order, are Phil Carlson, Benjamin Knorr, Marcelle Simpson, Sonia Coronado, Daniel Tauber, Emi Nishida, and Dai Haraguchi. Based on the novel by Victor Hugo, the story centers on the extraordinary adventures of Gwynplaine (Conrad Veidt), whose wide and mirthless grin inspired DC Comics’ legendary Batman villain, the Joker. Veidt's character has become well known to most cinephiles. Orphaned as a child, Gwynplaine is punished by the king for his father’s transgressions by having his face carved into a hideous grin. Disfigured and alone, Gwynplaine rescues a blind girl named Dea (Mary Philbin), and both end up starring in a sideshow where they fall in love. Because she canno