Overview
A disfigured man struggles with love and acceptance in a cruel world.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- grotesque
- melancholic
- theatrical
- classic cinema night
- gothic film marathon
What critics said
Modern critics broadly regard the film as an influential and visually masterful late silent Expressionist romance, though some earlier critics found its morbidity and stylized settings excessive.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Paul Leni’s elaborate carnival and palace imagery, stark compositions, and grotesque design define the film’s visual identity.
Gwynplaine hides his permanently disfigured face because he believes Dea cannot love him, while aristocratic society treats him as an object of fascination.
The film’s performances, facial makeup, intertitles, and visual excess belong to the final period of major silent-era spectacle.
Gwynplaine’s life with Ursus places his unusual appearance inside a traveling performance world where suffering and spectacle overlap.
Films like The Man Who Laughs, and why
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
shared German Expressionist visual design, silent-era melodrama, and grotesque romantic outsider
The Phantom of the Opera
shared Universal Gothic horror atmosphere, stylized sets, and tragic outsider romance
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
shared silent cinema spectacle, romantic melodrama, and socially marginalized protagonist
Movie Details
- Director
- Paul Leni
- Release Date
- 1928-11-04
- Runtime
- 110 min
- Rating
- 7.3 / 10 (231)
Cast
- Conrad Veidt
- Mary Philbin
- Cesare Gravina
- Brandon Hurst
- Olga Baclanova
- Sam De Grasse
- Stuart Holmes
- Josephine Crowell
- Julius Molnar
- Károly Huszár
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- FlixFling
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Man Who Laughs about?
- A disfigured carnival performer navigates forbidden desire, aristocratic intrigue, and the hope of being loved beyond his grotesque smile.
- What is The Man Who Laughs like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Man Who Laughs as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Man Who Laughs violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Man Who Laughs as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Man Who Laughs?
- Modern critics broadly regard the film as an influential and visually masterful late silent Expressionist romance, though some earlier critics found its morbidity and stylized settings excessive.
- Which films are like The Man Who Laughs?
- Films with a similar feel include The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
- How long is The Man Who Laughs?
- The Man Who Laughs runs 110 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Man Who Laughs?
- In United States, The Man Who Laughs streams on FlixFling.
