Phantom of the Opera - The movie

[Dr. Scarpetta]

My 14 year old and I went Christmas Day. What a powerful movie! . Wonderful production , the cast was super and movie offered detail the play can't.

You've convinced me to see it.

[gatorbait]

Let me know what you think of it.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

I don't think Phantom is playing in my area yet, but eventually it'll get here. Did you see The Incredibles? We see movies at a local historic theater that gets them after they're finished at the multi-plex theaters. Incredibles just started on Friday with big audiences.

[gatorbait]

Not yet and I think I need to se it .Looks funny and probably a nice escape from the garbages out there. Thanks,I'll take your suggestion.

[LadyofShalott]

I am a total phan - have been since about 14 when I saw the stage production for the first time. I fell in love instantly. I've seen it 4 times, read the original novel and another great POTO book called "Phantom" by Susan Kay many times, and get very excited over anything Phantom related. I was really apprehensive about the movie because I truly LOVE this story and I didn't want Hollyweird screwing it up.

Well, I wasn't disappointed. I've seen the movie 3 times now and am going again tomorrow ;-) I really do love it. The only major thing that could have been better was Gerard Butler's voice. I think he is great in the role and acts it well, but he just can't pull off all of the singing. This sucked for me, because I was already a major fan of his before POTO. I don't think it ruins the movie at all, you just can't compare him with Michael Crawford (of course, who can compare to him??)

Emmy Rossum does a great job, and I really enjoy her singing. She's not Sarah Brightman, but I think for the movie, her voice, which is less opera-y is better. I think Patrick Wilson is fine - he didn't make a strong impression on me one way or the other. I thought Minnie Driver was funny, though her performance bordered on over-the-top. The rest of the cast was good too.

The ending changes were really good, although I felt Butler's performance here (as far as the singing) was his weakest in the movie. I cry every time I listen to the end of my 2 CD set when Michael Crawford closes with "It's over now... the music of the night." Heart wrenching. I'm not quite feeling that with Butler. :(

I did have some minor nits about the movie: (*** MILD SPOILERS AHEAD ***):
1. They changed Erik's (the Phantom) background and personal history with the Opera house in the flashback scene with Madame Giry, which I thought was lame. They also de-mystified his magic and powers of illusion, ventriloquism, etc. There is no way he would have been so sloppy as to leave the mirror from Christine's dressing room open.
2. I didn't like the "dancers" in the Point of No Return scene AT ALL. I couldn't stop laughing every time they came up and that is supposed to be a serious and seductive scene - laughing is not good. ;-)
3. The horrid, awful, B-movie, ridiculous organ/keyboard (?) music they added to the graveyard scene, during the sword fight and then again when the opera house is on fire was just cheeeeesy and BAD. ICK!
4. Some of the lines that were sung in the stage production are spoken in the movie and at times seems awkward.
5. They changed some lines and lyrics for no apparent reason. I guess when you memorize the CD, you really notice these things.
6. I thought there was an accent problem in the movie - only one person was using a French accent, in a movie set in Paris. The rest of the cast was a mix of English and American (except Carlotta, and I thought Minnie did pretty good). I think this problem stood out mostly because Giry's accent was so pronounced. It made you notice that no one else was speaking with a French accent.

My favorite things about the movie:
1. The music - so glad they kept ALW's original score with almost all of the songs intact.
2. The scene with Buquet's murder is awesome.
3. The sword fight in the graveyard is awesome (minus the keyboard music!)
4. I liked the way they did the flashbacks in color and then transitioned to B&W.
5. Loved the opening, which gave me goosebumps.
6. The "Prima Donna" song sequence is hilarious.

I could go on but I'm sure you all already think I'm a total nutso Phantom freak.... guilty ;-)

Even after my minor complaints, I think the movie is great, and I totally recommend it. Though I'm not completely crazy about Butler's singing, he still did better than a few of the guys cast in the stage productions that I saw, plus, he's *quite* good looking, even with half a scarred face, so that makes up for it... ;-)

Hope my two cents helps! Sorry for the rambling... :-)

LS

[Dr. Scarpetta]

Hope my two cents helps! Sorry for the rambling... :-)

It does. I thought I'd just go with my husband, but now I'm taking other family members.

[LadyofShalott]

Cool! I hope you and the family enjoy it.

;)
LS

[NaughtiusMaximus]

This movie was about Frenchmen with Some Issues. I fell asleep. My wife tells me it was a good movie. I give the theatre seats 4 stars for comfort.

[Hoodlum91]

I am a huge Brightman fan. She's the only arist for which I own multiple CD's. Her Eden CD is my favorite (and her concert was amazing).

[nycgal]

Just wondering whether those of you who planned to see the movie after reading this thread actually went and what you thought of it. I absolutely loved it(but wished an older and better singer would have played the Phantom)! Of course, I've seen the Bway show eight times, have the cds and will be purchasing the dvd as soon as it's released.

I think it's so unfair what the critics are attempting to do to this movie but I think word of mouth will increase its ticket sales.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

We went to see Phantom of the Opera today, but it was sold out! Instead we saw The Aviator, which happened to be playing at the same time. We thought it was very educational, and Decaprio did an excellent job.

[gatorbait]

I'll take in the Aviator on your recommendation, then. Phantom is still worth your time though.

[LadyofShalott]

Glad you liked the movie! I've now seen it 5 times - my sister and I are obsessed ;-)

I love Gerard Butler, and I think he did a great job in the movie (acting-wise), but I do agree that it would have been nice if he could sing a little better. That aspect of the Phantom is SO important. Listening to my Phantom CDs and hearing MC's voice... there is just no comparison.

I agree with you that word of mouth is going to help this movie far more than the critics. They suck. It opens wide this week, so I guess we'll see what happens. I can't wait for the DVD to come out!


:-)
LS

[Dr. Scarpetta]

Phantom is still worth your time though.

I will definitely see it. We should have gone early, but we never thought it would be sold out. Now that the theater shows 20 minutes of commercials before the movie starts, I don't like going early anymore.

BTW, we liked 'Beyond the Sea.' If you're a Bobby Darin fan, you'll enjoy hearing the songs. [I talked to my nephew yesterday, and he didn't know anything about Bobby Darin or Mack the Knife.]

[Do Be]

I have seen this movie a couple times and will buy it when it comes out on DVD. I find it to be a delight.

This is the only version of The Phantom of the Opera that I have seen and if there are better versions I would much like to see them.

I suspect elitist snobism in anyone who did not enjoy this film, but that is conjecture.