Phantom of the Opera

[Nick M]

Rented It.

I like musicals, and I like opera. I didn't like this film. Everything but the stage in the Opera House was corny. Pipe Organs and 80's metal/funk? People would be speaking (with poor acting might I add) and then midsentence go into song for a few lines, then back to speaking. Emotion was very poor. The first few minutes had me smiling until the first play rehearsal. The initial unveiling of the chandalier was kick-@$$. It was all down-hill from there. About 1/2 way through I shut it off.

:1: out of :5: for the chandalier unveiling

Kinda wish I had my $3 back... :roll:

[Chris D]

Yeah... the reason I haven't seen this, is I don't want my 3 viewings of Phantom in actual theaters to be tarnished in my memory. (including Broadway) You tackle a project that is the BEST material, you had DARNED well better make the best possible movie out of it. I'm thinking they didn't, based on reviews like yours I've read.

[Andrew Pratt]

Hmm interesting point of view nick. I haven't seen it yet but one review I'd read from some one that was involved in the stage version liked most of it. I'll give it a spin and see but Chris is right if you're going to do one the masters you better do it right

[saurabh]

sorry, I dont like musicals, Operas (dont understand them ) and stage movies......just not my type of movies and interest.

[Bing Fung]

Actually, I quite liked this DVD very much :T It must have been the music, for many times I felt shivers down my spine while watching and listening to it. Sure it can't compare to the actual live play, however I though the sets were lush and lavish as were some of the costumes.

Gerard Butler had a great voice and I thought he exuded a lot of emotion during the performance.

Emmy Rossum as Christine may have been more emotionless, however her voice was fantastic.

The duet scene with (Christine) Emmy Rossum and Raoul (Patrick Wilson) was memorable, and the song "All I ask of you" had me shivering in my seat.

So while it can't compare to the real performace, it was a good enough vehicle for the music for us. I also liked the way the timeline and filming faded back and forth, black & white to color, back and forth.

I personally would give this DVD :4: because I totally enjoyed it, and my wife totally loved it, and loved me watching it with her.. How can a person lose? :huh:

[Chris D]

Cool... how does the Phantom compare to Michael Crawford's voice? (again, it's tough to remake something that's already the best!)

[Bing Fung]

Hard to say :scratchhead:

I suppose I like Crawfords for his was the first way I knew the Phantom to sound, however Butler has more of a deeper edge without that polite British tone (nasally tone) that Crawford gets.... I think I would give Butler's voice the nod here.

As to Sarah Brightman or Emmy Rossum, thats a tough call. I love Sarah for who she is, her voice is fantastic, however Emmy really has a beautiful voice as well. I would have to listen to both sound tracks to call this one however Emmy has my vote for now as she sounded fresh and exceptional to me.

[Foxman]

I wasnt really familier with the story...I know amazing isnt it. Anyway, it was a bit boring, but liked the story and loved the VQ. I really couldnt tell for sure, but I think the SQ was very good but since everyone was in bed I had to keep turning it up and down.

Not my favorite Musical, but I don't regret owning it.

[Andrew Pratt]

Watched Phantom of the Opera after The Pacifier last night. I've loved the music for years and read the book so I wasn't sure if I was going to like it or not. The set's are amazing and the sound quality is strong. Christine's voice was angelic and the rest of the cast was decent...where it fell a little flat though was the actor that played the Phantom. His voice just wasn't as strong as it ought to have been IMO...esp compared to the greats we've been accustomed to playing that role in the stage shows. Still if you like the music its worth seeing.

[Chris D]

Just got around to finally watching this on Blu-Ray.

Whoa. This is an excellent screen performance of the Weber musical. Very well cast, performed, and portrayed. One significant flaw--remaking ANY masterpiece, you can NOT escape comparisons to the masterful work itself... Christine and even Raul are well cast and acted. But Gerard Butler as the title Phantom role is good, but is nowhere close to the same league as the original Michael Crawford. Raul hits his peak in "All I Ask Of You", Christine peaks well in "Angel of Music", but Butler falls just short of his peak in "Music Of the Night". For this very reason, (as well as a couple deviations that are just slightly off) I was going to give 4.0 stars. Then the end I was thinking 4.5 stars rounded down to 4, but the sheer power and magnificence of the story and the conclusion at the end makes me round it up the 4.5 to 5.0 stars. Thank goodness eveybody in this project took it serious as made a quality piece, not just a cash cow cheap production of a famous work.

So in the end, I'm giving this a :45: out of :5:, and is going to be a purchase for me on BD some day.