Phantom of the Opera

[Shu Song]

For you Phantom freaks out there, who liked the movie? Who didn't? Why?

Here's what I thought. I enjoyed both the movie and play, but the play was definitely better. Even though I didn't see it with Micheal Crawford as the phantom, I remember the phantom being a very powerful character in the play, mostly due to his voice.

The movie, however, miscasted the phantom as very weak, no offense to the actor. All the sudden, I didn't feel sorry for the phantom anymore, because he lost the strength from play to movie.

But thats just my 2 cents, what do you all think?

[miketwalker]

I do agree they didn't have as much strength in the phantom's character in the movie. However, the actresses were simply amazing, their voices were beautiful. I really thought they did an awesome job bringing it from broadway to movie, because they didn't "hollywoodize" it much, if at all... which is very, very, very rare (and probably the reason it wasn't much of a box office success).

I really liked the way that they were able to do the visual effects to keep it both interesting as a movie, but also to enhance what a play would otherwise have... they were able to keep long songs with not very much movement still entertaining for the average movie-goer. The one thing about the movie that nags me to no end, is the lip syncing. I think they tried to make it seem more realistic, and the director had the actors say the words on camera as if talking normally... I mean, yea it looks more natural as a person talking, but there's no way someone's going to hit those high notes with that much power with their lips barely open... I think anybody with any musical background would be bothered by that, I know I was.

Otherwise, I thought that the casting was pretty decent... especially on the female end. I do find it interesting that they picked the phantom up singing in a bar... he definitly had no acting skills, and I think that's why he couldn't give it as much power, but considering he learned his acting as he went, I think he did a pretty good job. Overall, I really enjoyed the movie version too.

[Cory]

I thought the movie phantom sucked.

I've seen the stage show three times, and I have the original soundtrack, and the movie phantom just didn't have the voice for the job.

I didn't like how they changed the music, and how they turned singing into talking.

I did like the movie, and I wasn't expecting much given how books usually do not translate into movies very well, among other things, since I'd seen the stage show. It was nice in the sense that they could make it a bit more interesting-They were able to have MUCH more elaborate sets.

[Katie Reynolds]

I thought the movie was done very well overall, but ...





(Warning! Spoiler Alert!)









The Bad

• Gerard Butler: Gerard Butler played an OK Phantom. His voice was so-so, and he didn't portray the character as well as the stage version. I also didn't see the Phantom with Michael Crawford, but just listening to the soundtrack, MC sounds more .... insane, whereas GB sounds more ... aggressive and jealous. No one will ever top Michael Crawford's voice for the Phantom.
  
• Spoken Parts: Some of the parts sung in the stage-verison are spoken in the movie. That was more annoying than anything, though some things (especially when Raoul and Christine meet for the first time in her dressing room!!) should definitely have been sung.
  
• Mask on poster: Ever notice that, in the movie poster, the Phantom's mask is on the http://phantomthemovie.warnerbros.com/_images/g_photo07.jpg]wrong side?[/url] It's intentional - for promotional purposes (an artist’s rendition) - but it's still annoying.
  
• Red Death's Costume: A minor thing, really, but in the stage-version it is soooo elaborate and in the film it was just a white mask and red suit. Big deal. It's a masque - dress up!!

The Good

• Emmy Rossum: WOW!! Not only is she gorgeous, that girl can sing!! Between Emmy and Sarah Brightman, I thought Emmy definitely had the better voice. Christine is supposed to be young and naive, and that came through so much better in Emmy's voice.
  
• Patrick Wilson: Again, he has an amazing voice - much better than Gerard Butler, IMHO. Not to mention, Patrick Wilson is very attractive.
  
• La Carlotta: In the stage-version, I hated her. But in the movie, I thought the character was awesome. So catty, and a total diva for sure! But Minnie Driver was played the part perfectly; you hated Carlotta so much, you loved her.
  
• Black and White Scenes: I thought the scenes later in the Viscount's life were an awesome addition; they really tied the rest of the story together. And the rose/engagement on Christine's grave at the end? Brilliant.
  
• The Sets: So elaborate; so brilliant. Favorites of mine were the Phantom's lair and the entrance of the theatre (especially during Masquerade!!) And the Chandelier!! I got chills when they resurrect it in the beginning of the films. Just ... wow.

The Other

• Chandelier falling: I thought moving that to the end (rather than in the middle of the show) made more sense, especially for the movie. I noticed (the second time I saw it) they changed some lyrics to accommodate the move; most specifically in Masquerade ... "to a prosperous year/and our new chandelier" to "to a prosperous year/and our friends that are here."
  
• Notes: A plug for my favorite song in the show - it's so well-written! I thought the characters of Andre and Firmin were cast perfectly, too.
  
• Raoul vs. Phantom: I definitely liked Raoul more here than in the stage-version. When I saw the musical, Raoul came off as more of a rich-boy-who-gets-whatever-and-whoever-he-wants ... it was like, "where do you come off romancing Christine like that!!" and the Phantom stood out as more of the good guy. In the movie, I felt the opposite. Raoul was the brave hero, fighting for true love while the Phantom was more of a "bad guy".

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I think that's it - for now at least! The DVD comes out May 3rd, and I'm planning on buying the movie soundtrack this weekend (I have the 21 song, 1986 Michael Crawford/Sarah Brightman/Original Cast soundtrack playing right now!!)