Das Phantom der Oper

I have seen it on stage a couple times. I know that critics don't like Andrew Lloyd Weber. There is this automatic response to anything he does. I know that there are some better musicals. I know there is better music. But I feel that you can fool some of the people, but not for as long as people say he has. He has presented wonderful stories, created very memorable music. The first time I heard the music from "The Phantom of the Opera" was when the Cadets of Bergen Country, a nationally known drum corps, used it for their field show. I thought, "What is that music?" Since then, I've been in love with this show. Granted, both stage shows work better than this movie (although the opening credits deserve their own place--they are awesome), it still captures much of the romance of the play. Some of the scenes away from the opera house and away from the sewers take a bit of the original punch out of the movie. The singers are not as strong. This always amazes me. I would think that singing would take precedence over acting. There must be some wonderful people out there. But they are not terrible. And the music wins out in the end.

I was able to view this at a special screening and was very impressed. It is a visually stunning movie - the costuming and sets are as extravagant and lavish as the music. Gerard Butler gives a particularly anguishing and sympathetic performance as The Phantom. Emmy Rossum is beautiful portraying Christine and her transformation from a young innocent to a woman who is aware of herself, her sexuality, and the world of love. Patrick Wilson is a particularly dashing, heroic and protective Raoul and Minnie Driver provides hilarious comic relief as Carlotta. I particularly enjoyed the film's ability to delve deeper into the lives of characters. It provided depth and context and layers to all of the characters that the stage production cannot do. The entire cast was magnificent and I will be hearing the "music of the night" in my head for the next several days. I would definitely recommend it and can't wait to see it again.

I'll add to the bazillion comments posted here: if you don't make a side-by-side comparison to the stage classic, this movie holds its own. (If you don't like the screenplay, you can blame its co-writer: one Andrew Lloyd Webber.) The famous mask here doesn't hide the fact that Butler is a lot better looking than your average Phantom, and his voice lacks the wide range required by the score---but I found it more realistic, and all told, he does reflect the emotions of a tortured soul who's lived a lifetime literally in the shadows. The movie is helped by sumptuous sets, the ALWebber score, Emmy Rossum's singing, and its tale of hopeless love. Purists may sniff, but when the movie opened people in our area went back to see it again. I did. And the dvd is a welcome addition to my collection.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage hit is given justice in this sumptuous film version, that benefits from stunning sets and extravagant costumes, making the attention to detail evident here. Joel Schummacher's direction is very good in this film, it is hard to believe that this is the same director who directed the disastrous Batman and Robin. The music is just wonderful, with dark and poignant melodies and motifs that fit the very dark story, not to mention sad. People have complained that the film has too much music, almost all of it is sung, but it is a musical, set in an opera house bear in mind. The performances are excellent, Gerard Butler quite terrifying as Phantom, and Emmy Rosum as beautiful as ever as Christine. I liked the performances of Patrick Wilson, Miranda Richardson and Minnie Driver(as Carlotta). The film does have some truly sad moments, like Christine at the grave yard and of course the heart-rending ending, though I didn't understand it when I first saw it. My only complaints are that the film is a little too long, and also in Angel of Music particularly, there were times when the lips of the actors weren't in time with the singing. Apart from these flaws, a truly beautiful film, one that is dark and sad, and one that is once seen never-forgotten. 8/10 Bethany Cox.

I went to see this film with my best friend yesterday and I asked her what she thought of the film and she said "That was the worst film i've ever seen" I turned to her and saw she was blubbing her eyes out(she was being sarcastic).

This film was AMAZING!

It looked gorgeous, the singing for some reason has been slated a lot by critics but I thought the singing was wonderful and everyone should be applauded especially the two leads Emmy Rossum and Gerald Butler they were brilliant.The songs sound as good as ever, there was one thing that really ticked me off with some reviewers they have said "The song are in desperate need in updating" and all I can say to that is "Don't change perfection because its already perfect. The stand out moment for me was the beginning,when the film changed from black and white and went back in time to tell the story,it sent shivers down my spine. I have to say i've never seen the stage show but now i've watched this I don't think I need to

10/10 Go see this film!