O Fantasma da Ópera

I dragged my long suffering boyfriend to see The Phantom of the Opera on Sunday, and was pleasantly surprised by it. Although I have never seen it on-stage, the film version - for me - was so enchanting that I now cannot wait to obtain tickets to it. The sets were absolutely beautiful. France is known for its beauty, and this adaption certainly paid homage to that. The theatre set itself was absolutely stunning; marble and velvet being the main materials within it. Emmy Rossum (Christine) was 17 when this was filmed and was absolutely outstanding. When she started to sing, my mouth literally dropped open. Minnie Driver (La Carlotta) was very funny in her Italian diva role. Her hand gestures added to the mannerisms of a typical diva. Her singing was overdone to add to the character (even though Ms. Driver did not do all the vocals herself). Patrick Wilson (Raoul), out of all of them, had the most captivating voice. Although Raoul seemed a bit wet and droopy, he was still gorgeous and made the GIRLS in the audience swoon. However, the star of the piece for me, was Gerard Butler (the Phantom). Although his vocal skills weren't entirely right for the part, he portrayed the Phantom as a lot of people see him; as a victim. I actually ended up warming to him, and when asked by my boyfriend who I would choose; Raoul or the Phantom, I said the Phantom. Something about the way Mr. Butler played him, was so sexy and he drew the WOMEN to him. Watching the Phantom and Raoul, certainly separated the boys from the men and the girls from the women. Another pleasant surprise is that Jennifer Ellison was actually rather good in her role as Meg, Christine's best friend. Miss Ellison has been trained in acting, singing and dancing and so was well equipped to the play the part, and carried it off very well. I wouldn't be surprised if more roles in Hollywood turned up for her. Overall, I rate this film a 5/5 and definitely recommend it. It sent shivers up my spine and gave me goosebumps. I urge those of you who haven't seen it, to become goosebump friendly by watching THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!

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.

I have just come from seeing phantom and was completely swept away. The stage show is my all time favorite Broadway show and I was a bit nervous as to how Phantom and the music of the night would hold up on the big screen but I needn't have worried because it was very definitely worth the price of the ticket-and then some.

The movie, for the most part, retains much of the stage show, I'd say about 85 percent true to the show, though there were slight differences. The magic present in the show live, is still, for the most part, here on film. In fact, I was wondering if I would cry during the movie and of coarse I did. Phantom of the Opera's's loveliness is still so luminous and the movie just fills your senses. I don't think there was a sound in the theater during the whole movie.

The film's look-among the most riveting I've ever seen-colorful, rich and oozing vibrancy, the look and feel are just magnificent. I sure hope this movie wins some awards for it's costumes and Cinematography. At times, there was almost a bit TO much going on which, as my friends and I discussed takes the focus away from the music a bit and maybe(though I'm torn on this) they should have toned it down just a tiny tiny bit. Still, the look was so spectacular I'm not even sure I'd definitely have done that myself. But still, 10 of 10 for atmosphere.

The casting-pretty good for the most part. I simply cannot believe Emmy Rossum is only 18 years old, she is magnificent and I am in awe of her. She was a beautiful, lovely Christine and I think we'll be seeing a lot of her in the future.

Gerard Butler has been getting some flack. I actually liked him in the role of the phantom although I began to feel more strongly about his rightness as the movie went on, not right at the beginning. That is not because he wasn't good in the role, just different then the stage version. To me, his singing got more and more soulful as the movie went on and his acting was an A plus, he wasn't just there to sing and look pretty, he acted the heck out of the role and succeeded in elevating the phantom from just a presence to a tortured individual. People have been saying he's to good looking, well that's certainly not his fault!(though they really could have gotten a more realistic looking mask for him to wear.) And besides, his looks are transcended by the end, they lose their focus until we are barely aware of them. He did a really good job. Patrick Wilson surprised me the most, I think in a way, I enjoyed his voice the most. He was simply Superb, and he too, embodied Raoul. He is a talented actor with a moving, gently powerful voice and he was great. Minnie Driver, Miranda Richarardson-all great. Good casting choices.

All in all a great night at the movies-I am giving this a 9 and I think if I had to say why it's not a perfect 10, it's just that this story was meant to, first be, a theatrical production, and as good as the movie was, and as many tears as I cried, it did not haunt me in the same way as the stage show. That does not take away from the movie's power or magnificence, I'm not even sure it could have been any better at all as a movie. It's just that seeing it live sends chills down my spine and haunts in a way that only a stage musical can do. I can actually understand how some people are not impressed by Phantom because, the bottom line is, this is as much about the music as the story and if one isn't a fan of this type of music, one probably won't simply find a lot here. But for those who have seen the beauty of Phantom on stage, they'll (probebly) love it and better yet, for those lucky enough to come into this film, and love it, WITHOUT having ever seen the play-see the play-because if you think the movie version is the stuff that magnificence is made of, think about all that live on stage right in front of you. This movie is good and I admiringly give it a 9 of 10.

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 have had the good fortune to have seen the stage production 3 times (twice at the Alhambra in Bradford and again 2 months ago at Her majesty's theatre in London) and would rate it as the best experience I have ever had in the theatre. So along comes this movie and I was not sure what to expect, before going I said to friends that if it was half as good as the stage show then it would be marvelous, well it exceeded that - I would rate it at about 80% myself.

My wife and I saw the movie last night and were enthralled all the way through, the costumes and scenery were superb, and we both thought the performances were excellent. My only minor detraction was with Gerard Butler, I just had this gut feeling that his voice just didn't quite have the power to portray the Phantom to the full extent; but what do I know? I have no knowledge or training or background in theatre or singing, as I said it was just a feeling that I had myself.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who may enjoy musicals - if you don't, then I rather think you would hate it (but then you are unlikely to be reading this are you?)

All in all a wonderful night at the cinema, which I shall be repeating, and I will be buying the DVD when it comes out.

9/10