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Not rated. () |
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All Flixster |
(188546) |
55743 |
117515 |
Female |
(138540) |
40959 |
86348 |
Male |
(50006) |
14784 |
31167 |
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Plot:
Based on the hit musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, the tale tells the story of a disfigured musical genius that haunts the catacombs beneath the Paris Opera, waging a reign of terror over its occupants....( read more 
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The Phantom of the Opera Recent Reviews
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Recent Reviews
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MCT:January 29, 2008
Christine: I remember... there was mist. Swirling mist upon a vast glassy lake... There were candles all around, and on the lake there was a boat...
[pause]
Christine: ... And in the boat, there was a man.
[walks over to the Phantom, at his organ]
Christine: Who was that shape in the shadows? Whose is that face in the mask?
[touches his face and rips of mask]
The Phantom: [covers face] Damn you! You little prying Pandora! You little demon! Is this what you wanted to see? Curse you! You little lying Delilah! You little *viper*! Now you cannot ever be free! Damn you! Curse you!
The Phantom: [changes mood from angry to sad] Stranger than you dreamt it, can you even bear to look, or dare to think of me?... This lonesome gargoyle who burns in hell but secretly yearns for heaven secretly, secretly but Christine... fear can turn to love you'll learn to see to find the man behind the monstor this... repulsive carcass that seems a beast but secretly dreams of beauty secretly, secretly...
[crying]
The Phantom: Oh, Christine.
The Phantom: [Christine hands him the mask]
[spoken]
The Phantom:Come. We must return. Those two fools who run my theatre will be missing you.
Her voice became his passion. Her love became his obsession. Her refusal became his rage.....
A disfigured musical genius The Phantom, hidden away in the Paris Opera House, terrorizes the opera company for the unwitting benefit of a young protege,Christine whom he trains and loves. Yet a love triangle surfaces as her childhood sweetheart Raoul comes back into her life...
Gerard Butler: The Phantom. Retains soulful resonance and passion with his unique role. Quite good singing on his part that may not be tuned but has power.
Emmy Rossum: Christine. Tranquil, delicate and her voice resonating. A talented young actress who adds her character sweetness and poise.
Patrick Wilson: Raoul. The other love interest who also flexes some impressive vocals. A talented actor and singer.
Miranda Richardson: Madame Giry. Fantastic supporting actress in another fantastic role.
Minnie Driver: Carlotta. Had her own song for the film, she plays her part well as the spoiled lead at the beginning.
The movie, in my opinion, takes what is best about the play and does it even better. Though some of my favorite bits from the stage show (the rehearsal of Don Jaun where the piano plays itself, Raoul's part in "Wondering Child") are gone, they have been dropped in favor of brilliant improvements, namely having the chandelier crash at the conclusion of the film (it really brings the whole thing full circle), and allowing more glimpses of Paris 1917, finally explaining why it is Raoul returns, what happens to the Phantom, etc. Other good bits that we see now but never saw onstage: an affectionate moment between Meg and Madame Giry, some history of the Phantom, a deeper sense of what Meg may know or not know about the Phantom's presence, the stalking of Josephe Bouquet, the life of the underclass of the opera house, the Hall of Mirrors from the book, etc. Also, the music has been beautifully re-orchestrated, and never sounded better. I'll take orchestra over canned synths, any day, thank you.
The cinematography is beautiful and the "opera" moments are well done- complete with the intense, almost intrusive dancing and vibrant but totally unrealistic sets and costumes that characterized "grand opera" at the time. The sense of constant claustrophobia back stage is great, and adds to that sense of what it was like to live and work in this tiny world where everyone is a performer and half your wardrobe comes from the costume department (did anyone else catch that moment where Christine takes her dress from the wardrobe?), adding to the central question at "Phantom's" core- what (who) is real, and what (who) is an illusion- and is real preferable to illusion, or vice-vera?
The bleedingly bright colours and deep shadows of the movie help echo all of this- reminding us always, this story is not real, hero on white charger and all, but we don't want it to be: it's a legend, it's a fairy tale, it's a farce... it's a masquerade. It's, as the Auctioneer says, "a strange affair." "Phantom" told and acted realistically, totally wouldn't work, so don't ask it to, or judge it that way.
The best thing about this movie is the performances, and the director has done a wonderful thing by moving AWAY from Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, both of whom gave role defining performances, neither of which are any more "correct" than any other. The question isn't, are Butler and Rossum as good as their predecessors, but rather do their versions of the characters work, and the answer is: yes. Return to "Phantom" as a text, not as a show with a history, and you'll see that Christine is supposed to be dreamy, lost, emotionally unstable and young, just as Rossum plays and sings the role. Butler, with his harsher singing and deeper range, is much more believable as a madman who is sometimes pathetic and pitable, but still ultimately a deranged egomaniac who lives underground and makes wax statues of the woman he loves. The rest of the cast is equally good, with Minnie Driver giving a heroically hysterical performance, Jennifer Ellison combining strength and curiosity with innocence and a certain grounded quality (I've always believed the audience is ultimately supposed to identify with Meg, who is the only character who never panics and maintains a healthy sense of "reality) that contrasts nicely with Rossum's morbid dreaminess, and Patrick Wilson doing much more with Raoul than any of the actors I've seen on stage. I wish Simon Callow had had more to do, but such is life- at least he was there. Miranda Richardson continues to prove she can play anything, and conveying more with a look than most actresses can with a full script of dialogue. Her accent is totally brilliant: it sets her apart, makes her glamorous and mysterious, and at the same time, is another sly tongue in cheek reminder that what we are watching should only be believed to a point: it is, after all, just another version of beauty and the beast. -
MCT:December 17, 2007
A astonishing masterwork. Stunning and absolutely superb. Brilliant snd breathtaking. A magnificent film on every level. A fantastic production thats a treat for the eye's and ears. The performances from the cast are brilliant and extroadinary in their sining abilities. Joel Schumacher has crafted a wonderful film that stands as one of the best and finest of his career.
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MCT:November 24, 2007
When this was over, my husband turned to me and said, "so... did you like it?" I knew he'd ask me that so the entire movie I was trying to form a response. Is it good? Oh, yes, the movie is pretty much flawless. It keeps all the integrity of the book, with the music of the musical, gorgeous costumes and amazing lead characters. I was really impressed with Gerard Butler, too - he's played Lara Croft's love interest, a history buff who travels back in time, King Leonidas in gory 300, and now THE Opera Ghost. WOW!
Emmy Rossum is a beauty and an exquisitely well protrayed Christine. At times she looks like Jennifer Love Hewitt, though!
Was it worth seeing? Certainly, although I admit I got bored around the "masquerade" part. Buttttt... that's not neccesarily the movie's fault. My attention span tends to wonder in most movies around that time.
But did I like it? Welll.... no... not exactly. To me, like means something I enjoy for itself and nothing else. I appreciate the music and the singing, the story and the acting but I don't "like" it, no.
Good movie, well done, worth watching once, but not something I return to.
(And the moron who decided to have candles rise from the water FULLY LIT deserves to be fired!!!) -
MCT:November 16, 2007
Gerard Butler has been in so many movies! Sadly, I liked it better when I saw this on Broadway. It doesn't work very well on screen.
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MCT:August 18, 2007...i hate musicals and shumacher
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MCT:December 4, 2008
Both the music and the sets is this film are beautiful. While Gerard Butler gives a good performance, his vocals are lacking and hes much too pretty to play the phantom. Emmy Rossum is wonderful, but in my opinion Patrick Wilson is the standout in this film. His performance is wonderful and his vocals are glorious.
Comments
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berry4cooleyposted 84 days ago -
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I loved this fanominal movie it is so interesting i loved all the music i think i really just love the music alot more though as well as the romance in it but because i was singing in honor chior and i never herd of the phantom of the opera so i was like omg what am i going to do and i learned to love the music is so good i love it! and christine has a beautiful vioce!and as does the phantom he has a very amazing vioce as well.
posted 156 days ago -
I loved thismovie but hated how it ended! It would have been a wonderful movie, if the girl had choosen the phantom. Raul was ok but the phantom would have been a better choice.
posted 161 days ago -
I always cry at the end of this movie! It's so sad. But its a brilliant movie anyway =D
posted 187 days ago -
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Who would't want the phantom! Scares and all. Knowing the love he had, makes my heart just melt
posted 286 days ago -
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I absolutely love Gerard Butler - as Leonidas and Atilla the Hun, he was superb! However, I am not so sure that he would have been my first choice for the Phantom. His singing was OK, but for the type of songs necessary for Phantom, his voice was not powerful enough. He could not hit the high notes in the title song, but then, not everyone can be Michael Crawford (the original Phantom).
As for the girl who played Christine, I wondered if she was singing at times. She looked like she was miming; I know they would mime to their own singing while acting the parts, but they're not supposed to LOOK like they're miming, right? Ah well, Sarah Brightman, you were missed.
Overall, a good, but not great movie.posted 302 days ago -
This is my favorite movie of all time. I watch it a lot. But you know what is even better is meeting Him in person.
posted 346 days ago
