Il fantasma dell'opera

In this version of The Phantom Of The Opera, the hideous phantom lurks in the sewers and catacombs of London instead of Paris. And in this third version bits of a real opera by British composer Edwin Astley highlight the musical portion of the film. That's important because in this telling of the tale, the phantom has a singular interest in this particular work.

Stepping into the shoes of Lon Chaney and Claude Rains is Herbert Lom. Because this film is done in flashback Lom is given less of a chance to create his character in the way his predecessors did. Still Lom as he did in Night And The City manages to get across both the poignancy and the evil that he's sunk to. I would also compare his characterization of Professor Petri here with what he did in Flame Over India where he got across sympathy for a character who was a terrorist.

The truly evil one here is Michael Gough who is a classic Victorian rakehell whom if he were slightly of better character and given to a bit of introspection, we could hear some Oscar Wilde aphorisms coming out of his mouth. But his Lord D'Arcy hasn't got any redeeming features whatsover. Kind of like Liberty Valance which also came out in 1962.

The young lovers here are producer Edward DeSouza and Heather Sears the singer that Lom takes an interest in. I looked to see who might have dubbed Sears for the opera sequences and found no credit. If she did it herself, truly remarkable and why didn't that part of her talent be better known.

I saw an edited version of this on YouTube and I'm convinced they involved the end of some characters in a ghastly fashion. I'd like to see a director's cut if possible.

I really enjoyed this film here. It was a great horror film and not that bad as a Phantom movie. Although The Phantoms real name in this one is not Erick as it should be, The Pasrt was played very well by Herbert Lom and i really liked it that they had the Phantom play the fuleral march in this one. The mask on the Phantom was really cool it was the full face mask and i like that. In some of the more recenlt Phantom films he has not ever had the mask (as in the 1999 version with Julian Sands and the 1989 big budget film with Robert Englund)All in all this movie is really good and if you are a fan of Gothic horror films then you will like this one this has a gothic setting to it that i liked. I give this movie a 8 out of 10. Done very well for it's time

"The Phantom of the Opera" by Hammer is a dramatic version directed by Terence Fisher. The screenplay shows the phantom as a poor composer that is stolen by the arrogant and corrupt Lord Ambrose D'Arcy, who is the real villain of the story. The sets and costumes are magnificent associated to great performances in one of the best films of the famous story by Gaston Leroux. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Fantasma da Ópera" ("The Phantom of the Opera")

Though this version strays quite far from the book, it was still very good. Herbert Lom and Micheal Gough are excellent in this film, and the Dwarf was an odd, but fun twist. I didn't think that Miss Sears was right for Christine, but she did well none the less. All in all, pretty scary for the time and a good watch. I suggest it be watched, provided of course you can find it.

This is the Phantom that scared the heck out of me when I was a kid, and comes in second after the classic Lon Chaney version. It is the only color version that really works, here given that garish, over-the-top gothic treatment that worked so well for Hammer Studios. It doesn't have the ponderous, plodding feel of the book or other versions, and follows through with a scary shot-in-the-arm or two. More complete video stores should have this on the shelf.