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Editorial Reviews
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Although it's not as bold as Oscar darling Chicago, The Phantom of the Opera continues the resuscitation of the movie musical with a faithful adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's blockbuster stage musical Emmy Rossum glows in a breakout role as opera ingénue Christine Daae, and if phantom Gerard Butler isn't Rossum's match vocally, he does convey menace and sensuality in such numbers as "The Music of the Night." The most experienced musical theater veteran in the cast, romantic lead Patrick Wilson, sings sweetly but seems wooden. The biggest name in the cast, Minnie Driver, hams it up as diva Carlotta, and she's the only principal whose voice was dubbed (though she does sing the closing-credit number, "Learn to Be Lonely," which is also the only new song).
Director Joel Schumacher, no stranger to visual spectacle, seems to have found a good match in Lloyd Webber's larger-than-life vision of Gaston LeRoux's Gothic horror-romance. His weakness is cuing too many audience-reaction shots and showing too much of the lurking Phantom, but when he calms down and lets Rossum sings "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" alone in a silent graveyard, it's exquisite.
Those who consider the stage musical shallow and overblown probably won't have their minds changed by the movie, and devotees will forever rue that the movie took the better part of two decades to develop, which prevented the casting of original principals Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman. Still, The Phantom of the Opera is a welcome exception to the long line of ill-conceived Broadway-to-movie travesties. --David Horiuchi
More on The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (Special Extended Edition Soundtrack) (CD) |
The Phantom of the Opera (2004 Movie Soundtrack) (CD) |
The Phantom of the Opera (Original 1986 London Cast) (CD) |
Evita (DVD) |
Andrew Lloyd Weber: The Royal Albert Hall Celebration (DVD) |
Andrew Lloyd Webber's the Phantom of the Opera Companion (Book) |
Customer Reviews
The closest we will come to the Play for many of us (2008-05-04)  The Paris Opera House is being sold to a couple of junk... oops scrap metal dealers. They inherit along with the opera and Opera Company but also an unwanted guest. Yes it is the Opera Ghost or Phantom. The ghost falls in love with a voice and before the story of a love triangle is over we see that genius has turned to madness. Loosely base on a story written by Gaston Leroux in 1911 "LE Fantôme de l'Opéra" (with many improvements) and more than 10 movie adaptations, "Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera" is brought to film with only scenes and sights and full orchestral music at can only bee seen and heard on film (best in Blu-ray). As with many movie adoptions this film pails compared to the famous stage productions. Yet is much better than the stage version I watched locally. We also are treated of insights, which even though lack the mystery of stage, from flashbacks to carriage chase scenes. The costuming and sets are impeccable and spectacular. Of course even for the time Patrick Wilson could stand to have a haircut. Most of the actors, of course not the stage actors, were well chosen especially Minnie Driver as Carlotta. Emmy Rossum as Christine is cute as a button and could have been a Disney hereon. The only downside is that with all the choices of singers thy chose a lead Gerard Butler as The Phantom who is not a professional singer and you can hear it. Ignore the fact that you can hear Evita creeping in many of the tunes and prepare to be wrapped in the story. The Blu-ray DVD has a great back story of the Making of the Phantom that almost rivals the movie.
Possibly the best musical ever put on the screen (2007-08-26) My husband and I often disagree on the what is good and wha it not, but we agreed completely on this major motion picture that will just blow you away. As he has said, I fell in love with the music of "Phantom" when i bought my 1st Sarah Brightman cassete many years ago. I have waited these many years for the play to make it to film and at long last it has.There will be many who grumble that "Webber" deliberatly delayed the making of this film to deny "Brightman" her film immortality in a movie adaptation of the greatest play and greatest music she has had or ever will have in her astonishing career. There is truth somewhere here a lingering bitterness of their failed marriage or what ever. I too would have liked to have seen the original Broadway cast reprise their roles on the big screen, but for whatever reason that window was closed forever.However, that being said it in no way lessens the visual & audio impact of this new movie. Gerald Butler captures the essence of the troubled and lonely Phantom and his vocals of "music of the Night" and indeed throught out the movie leave nothing to be desired. Emmy Rossum is young , fresh and the perfect Christine. Her voice is true and crisp and she need never feel she failed to raise to the challange left her by Brightman, she met that challange head on and matched it beautifully. Her rendition of "wishing you were here" performed in the grey mist of a cemetary will reach down deep in anyone who loves good music well performed. Her duet with Patrick Wilson "say you'll love me" well it just dosen't get any better then that.If you don't have your copy BUY IT you will never regret the purchase price. However, one cavet of advice buy it it "wide screen" NOT full screen for the sheer grandeur of the visual aspects of the film. ------Sadie Thompson---Canada/London-
Less "operatic" than the stage version, but overall a great success! (2007-03-30) Well, I only recently saw PotO in London's West End, and I was fairly disappointed. The voices were TOO strongtly operatic, conveying little raw emotion. The Phantom was not sympathetic, but looney straight through. Raoul was completely flat, and Cristine, though a beautiful actress, was too harsh a soprano to carry the role of a young, innocent girl coming of age on stage. A terrible disappointment.The film, on the other hand, is raw, romantic, sensual, and terribly moving. Gerard Butler is both sexy and scary as the demented, yet tortured Phantom, and Emmy Rossum is perfect in the role of Cristine. Though Butler's voice is not a strong theatre/opera voice, the power he exudes while belting out those tunes is unwavering - he draws you in with every movement of his eyes, hands, body ... his voice is raw - more like a rockstar than a theatre performer - and as such, delivers a much stronger, more sympathetic, vastly superior performance to what I saw on stage. He may not have the vocal training, but he more than makes up for it with actual acting ability and emotional resonance. By the end, the audience loves him, empathizes with his pain, fears for him, and maybe even sheds a tear or two for his plight. At the same time, one cannot help but breathe a sigh of relief for Cristine and her happy ending.The only performance that falls a bit flat is Patrick Wilson as Raoul, and perhaps that is not so much Wilson's fault (after all, his voice is a perfect match to Rossum's and they are a solid romantic pair) as the fault of ALW, who wrote his character so blandly. Minni Driver is positively brilliant as the diva Carlotta, and although her voice is dubbed (the only one in the film), she pulls off the role beautifully!The other supporting cast are magnificent, by far delivering a fantastic performance, especially during Masquerade, where dancers, singers, makeup artists, you name it are put on display in all their glory. This film really is an absolute delight. Although it didn't win the accolades of Chicago, it rings much truer to Webber's vision and changes very little about the original stage version. This achievement in itself deserves applause, but the added effects, glamourous costumes, and magnificently complex portrayal of the Phantom all exceed expectations. Highly recommended!!!
Surrender to the music of the night (2007-02-24) Sumptuous, rich, lush and inviting. Like a gilt-edged dream, Joel Schumacher's "Phantom of the Opera" is a triumphant love note to beauty, song and scenery. Adapted from Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical (and Gaston Leroux's novel), this movie ends up being beautiful in every scene, with solid acting and and a tragic antihero. The singing, the sumptuous sets, the acting -- all are the ingredients of a musical tour de force. In 1870, a Paris opera house is under new management -- just as diva Carlotta (Minnie Driver, a glorious diva-from-hell) is almost killed by a stage curtain, and stomps out. Fortunately Christine Daae (Emmy Rossum), taught by a mystery tutor, can take over the soprano's role, and soon becomes famous for her singing. Even better, it catches the attention of her childhood sweetheart, Vicomte Raoul (Patrick Wilson). But Raoul doesn't realize that Christine was taught by a disfigured, tortured genius who hides under the opera house. And the Phantom of the Opera is not only determined that Christine should be the star, but also be his wife. And he's willing to kill for it. Can Raoul break the Phantom's hold over Christine, or will she embrace "the music of the night"? Watching this, it's hard to believe that it was directed by the same guy who did "Phone Booth" and the awful "Batman and Robin." Instead it looks as if the love child of Jean Cocteau and Peter Jackson decided to direct a musical, swathed in masks, roses, gilt angels, snow and velvet. And it all wraps around Webber's solid songs ("Turn your face away from the garish light of day/turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light/and listen to the music of the night!") from the stage musical. Most of the lines are sung, which surprisingly doesn't detract from their believability. And there's plenty of fun with the cameras, whether it's the dizzying views of the backstage, or a zoom through a stone floor to the Phantom's face. Schumacher also adds a few extra scenes, including a sword fight between Raoul and the Phantom, which makes the vicomte seem more passionate; and a flashback to the Phantom's horrific childhood. What's more, the story is framed by scenes from forty years later -- sepia-toned scenes in the dusty remains of the Opera. The three most prominent roles are what make or break this movie, and in this case, the casting is nearly ideal. Rossum has the ingenue looks -- and the powerful pipes -- to carry off the role of Christine, torn between her love and her passion. Similarly, Patrick Wilson gives some brains and strength to Raoul, and despite the romantic appeal of the Phantom, Raoul isn't hard to cheer for. Gerard Butler is a bit more difficult. Most of the time his singing is solid, and his acting is powerful and tragic as the "loathsome gargoyle, who burns in hell, but secretly yearns for heaven." The scene where he tries to seduce Christine is deeply sensual. But occasionally his performance gets really hammy, such as the unmasking, where he flings himself around screaming, "You little prying Pandora! You little demon!" Lush, exquisite and passionate, "The Phantom of the Opera" is a solid adaptation of Webber's musical, with good acting and excellent direction. A triumph for "the music of the night."
Brilliant version of Lloyd Webber's best loved musical (2006-09-10) Emmy Rossum stars as Christine Daae, a young dancer with the Opera Populaire in Paris. She has been having her voice trained by the mysterious 'Angel of Music' so when the Diva, Carlotta (brilliantly portrayed by Minnie Driver) storms out, Christine is propelled into the lead role of the opera house's latest production.What Christine doesn't realise is that her angel of music is also the infamous Phantom and that he is obsessed with her. As Christine falls in love with her childhood sweetheart, Raoul de Chagny (Patrick Wilson), the phantom becomes increasingly unbalanced and determined to possess the young singer no matter what. Joel Schumacher's glossy production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's best loved musical stars, for the most part, a relatively unknown cast, but that doesn't detract in any way from the quality of the film. Rossum was only 17 when this was filmed but she brings a remarkable maturity to her role and she has an incredibly good voice. Gerard Butler, who plays the phantom, doesn't have such a strong voice, but, thanks in the main to his sympathetic and sensitive portrayal of the tortured creature, he pulls it off. A real surprise was Jennifer Ellison (better known to British viewers as the young soap star from 'Brookside') who plays Meg, Christine's best friend. In this role, Ellison shows she can not only act but can sing very well too. Minnie Driver, cast as the spoiled, conceited Carlotta, injects humour and exuberance into her role. She is the only cast member who doesn't perform her own songs but you cannot tell this when watching the film.As would be expected from such a production, the cinematography is outstanding, the costumes are sumptuous and the sets are marvellous. This DVD is presented over 2 discs. Disc 1 is the movie while disc 2 has a wealth of extras such as 'Behind the Mask; the story of Phantom of the Opera', various featurettes and several music videos taken from stage versions of the musical. For those willing to search, there are also some hidden extras; I have found 4 so far. Hours of entertainment to lose yourself in....brilliant.
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