Le fantôme de l'Opéra

Yet again, a Dario Argento film that is absolutely horrible the first time, but somehow fantastic the second time you watch it. This phantom is pretty much different from the 1989 effort,starring Robert Englund, that also aimed for gory shocks and mayhem....and failed miserably. Argento's version is much better, never taking itself too seriously and telling a romantic tale that you actually care about. Julian Sands is good as the Phantom, when he learns that his lover Christine loves someone else, he listens to them kiss and he starts to sob, his acting is so good that it almost breaks your heart. Asia Argento is also a nice actress, I didn't care for her much in Trauma (and I've yet to see The Stendhal Syndrome) but her acting here has improved, she is a talented and beautiful actress. Now back to the movie itself, it's the best adaptation I've seen of the story yet, it is violent, but not too much. There's also a great sense of humour. "You will not play in Romeo and Juliet. If you defy me, I will hurt you. Do you understand me you fat cow?"

"How dare you-a speak-a to-a me-a like-a that!"(Italian accent)

The movie is really a lot of fun and I think I have a crush on Kitty Keri, but it's too bad she has her tongue ripped out.

'Suspiria' was scary. 'Tenebrae' was good. 'Trauma' was silly but all of Argentos movies were good. This film still proves that point. The actual plot for the movie is a lot like the book. Julian Sands is great as the Phantom and the other characters are creative. There are people who get killed which really deserve it. A paedophile. A thief. This movie is a lot better than your average slasher movie. 'Scream' was rubbish! A must see for Argento fans. 8 out of 10.

Dario Argento probably wasn't trying to make a funny movie about The Phantom of the Opera. Probably wasn't, but the point is, he did. While the gore in the film is unnecessary, it is not as frequent as we may be led to believe. The film does start out fairly abruptly with a guy getting his upper half sawed off, and at this time you're wondering, "what the hell is wrong with this picture?" Other death scenes are fairly equally gruesome, but all are also expected, therefore lowering the "scary gore factor." Of course, then you see The Phantom. Now, of course, you're really confused by the blonde hair and lack of a mask. I wasn't complaining about his good looks, though. The acting on Julian Sands's part is sub-par but not horrible, while Asia Argento is somewhat better. The relationship between the two is not incredibly believable, a sort of instant-love instant-hate instant-sadness thing that just keeps the audience confused as to why Christine can't make up her damn mind. Andrea Di Stefano is likable as Raoul, but some of his scenes are just incongruous with his character.

The sexuality of the film is incredibly overdone. Argento seems to need to expose women's breasts as many times as possible, including a very large and very unattractive La Carlotta. The opium den/whorehouse scene pretty much makes the movie (along with the couple of really gory parts) rated-R because we are definitely talking full frontal nudity, both sexes, and if you aren't expecting it you are pretty much blown away.

However: despite its flaws in cinematography (annoying and constantly switching camera angles and a soap opera-like quality), below standard acting, strange and inconclusive love story, and numerous bits of unwarranted violence... there is something about this film that just makes me want to declare it a campy, a cult classic. It is absolutely hilarious to watch, though very disturbing at times. If you've got a twisted sense of humour and/or a love of the bizarre, then this version of PotO with a man sticking rats down his pants for pleasure is the kind of movie you will want to see! 5 stars out of 10 for just being fun, though about 3 stars out of 10 when watched "critically." But as I said above, "prepare thyself for camp" and you'll probably love it.

I'm a brand new Dario Argento fan, having only seen 4 of his films (Phenomena, Tenebrae, Suspiria, and this). But I'm definitely planning to see more (my copy of Stendhal Syndrome is preordered and should be here next week). I bought this simply because it was Argento, and I was actually surprised. I was told that this was his worst film, and some even called it his swan song. I rather liked it, myself. If it is made by Dario Argento, it will be good. Dario took a few liberties, making this more of his own instead of yet another adaptation of the novel. I have to applaud him for that, even though some of it hardly makes sense. And there is the fact that electric light was not around at the time. But if you spend your life analyzing movies and hating them for the smallest detail, what's the point of watching movies? I watch to be entertained. The visuals aren't nearly as great as Suspiria, and the special effects are hardly special (you can smell a CGI shot from a mile away). Not to mention some performances. But I still liked it, because it had that Argento touch that all of is films have. Besides, Argento's worst films are still better than most of the 'horror' America has, today. I'd probably give it 3 out of 4 stars if I had to grade it. Check it out.

It is not the best movie ever made but it is watchable, mainly due to Morricone's Music and the opera selections. Asia Argento plays the main heroine, young talented opera singer Christine. I don't think she was bad and her face is unbelievably beautiful - she reminds Olivia Hussey of "Romeo and Juliet" (1968) and Uma Thurman if Uma ever decides to dye her hair dark. Production values, costumes, special effects, decorations, and the singing voices are very good. I noticed that I laughed a lot during the film - perhaps Argento made a dark comedy of the familiar story?

I did not like Julien Sands as a non-masked Phantom. He looks a lot like the creatures that raised him.

The film has an orgy scene that is so funny it could've came directly from "Caligula"

Overall - I had a lot of fun, and and can call it one of my guilty pleasures.