Le fantôme de l'Opéra

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.

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.

Being a fan of horror films, I was naturally intrigued to see that Italian horror legend Dario Argento had made a version of Phantom of the Opera. I rented it without hesitation. Well, it certainly isn't his best work, to put it mildly. The film introduces several new and interesting elements to the Phantom story, which by now has been rehashed ad nauseum. Some of these elements include - the Phantom having been raised by rats, the Phantom is not (externally) deformed, and therefore, does not wear the mask that is almost mandatory for the part (despite the fact that it appears on the cover - though it does make a haunting appearance in one scene, if you can catch it in the background). Unfortunately, the potential of these new ideas is never fully explored, rather, they are reintroduced and reintroduced as if to say, "Hey, look what I thought of! Isn't that great?" It seems that Argento got so caught up in the atmosphere and style of the movie that he forgot there was actually a story going on. The commitment to atmosphere is obvious - the costumes _are_ positively marvelous, and the cinematography is also quality. Beyond that, the film more or less falls apart. The acting is, for lack of a better word, absolutely terrible. I was sighing with relief everytime one of the few actors who managed mediocrity came onscreen. Julian Sands as the Phantom is flat, not surprising for an actor who fell off the face of the earth ten years ago. Andrea di Stefano as his rival Raoul is neither good nor bad, but certainly inexperienced. Asia Argento as the singer is disappointing compared to some of her other performances - but as one reviewer noted, she always seems to be holding back when working for her father.

The biggest problem I had with it was the hideous line dubbing. At least I _hope_ some of those lines were dubbed. Another problem is just how quickly the movie takes things for granted. Almost before I had time to take my popcorn out of the microwave and sit down, the singer and the phantom were madly in love and communicating psychically. Yes, psychically, another new idea that is interesting of its own right but doesn't work because it is presented far too suddenly and with very little supporting detail.

Overall . . . it has its moments. Those moments could have made for a very refreshing look at the Phantom story, as well as a darn good movie. Unfortunately, it managed to do only some of the former, and none of the latter.

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.

I first saw this movie on a local TV station and figured out it was the Phantom of the Opera. Since I love the musical and have seen it twice, I watched this movie. It somewhat follows the line of the real story but to make it it's own it is a little different. The Phantom actually looks a little like Fabio with his long blonde hair. He plays a very devilish character. I thought at first that this a very old rendition of the movie but when I had searched forever to figure out which one it was, it was the most recent one made. I like the bit of extra sexuality they threw in it. It adds more of a reality to the characters and their feelings for each other. It is sort of like a tacky Italian version but that's what makes it good. I really liked this version of the movie and I suggest people watch it. Again, remember that it is not like the musical in every way, it is different, but it is still good! People need to get off the bandwagon of every Phantom movie made has to follow exactly like the musical, if they were all like that, then there would only be one made, this is why they make several, different versions makes watching each one interesting to see what will be different.