The Phantom of the Opera (2005)

Mute button operational?

Visually beautiful, but exercise your mute button finger in preparation for the Phantom's songs. The choice of Gerard Butler's incredibly grating voice for the title role is perplexing. August 19, 2008

Review from a real phanatic...

Let me kick off this review by saying I am a die-hard phan. I've read the book, seen the stage production, and memorized the libretto. When I heard this movie was being made, I was excited, and kept up with all the production news.

As it happens, I was terribly disappointed with this movie. For a lot of reasons. First of all, the performers left a lot to be desired. Gerry Butler can not sing. He can make noises that sound similar to pitched grunting and growling, but the man simply cannot sing. Each song he performed was painful to listen to. Honestly, I have listened to the "Music of the Night" scene once, and only once. MotN is my favorite song and he completely killed it, so anytime I watch the movie I skip past that scene. Surely there must be SOMEONE who could have given a better performance. As for Emmy Rossum, she is good for being sixteen years old, but she simply does not have the skills or experience for the part of Christine. Her voice is pleasant, but she has real difficulty hitting high notes and constantly scoops up to them. That would be fine if this was a jazz production, but she is supposed to be singing opera. But what really did her in was her horrible acting. The graveyard scene in particular was horrific. You're standing on your father's grave -- you want to shed a tear or two perhaps? As for the rest of the cast, I would have to say they are mediocre at best. I can understand that some roles do not allow for a life-altering performance, but none of them really made much of an impression on me. Except for Patrick Wilson (Raoul). He has a beautiful voice and sings with expression as well as excellent vocal technique. He is, perhaps, the only member of the cast that makes the musical performance bearable.

In addition, there were so many alterations to the show that changed it for the worse. Andre and Firmin are apparently a couple of pedophiles, which is made clear when they walk into the opera house staring at the young ballerinas like pieces of meat. Lines that are meant to be sung are spoken. (Who wants to listen to people rhyme when they speak?) The entire "Don Juan" rehearsal scene was left out. The scenes in the second act were jumbled around. Piangi has what appears to be a midget side kick that mirrors his every move. "New" scenes were added but do nothing for the plot. And for me, the final nail in the coffin was the graveyard scene. Not only was Rossum's performance of "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" pathetic, but "Wandering Child" was made into a poorly sung duet instead of the climactic trio it was meant to be.

I won't even get into the "disfiguration" of the phantom. Honestly, Tom Cruise's character in "Vanilla Sky" looked more frightening than Schumacher's phantom.

However, there are some good things about this movie. The music mostly stays true to the original score, which is nice. Some lyrics are changed, but what can you do? The cinematography and special effects are quite entertaining, mostly. And again, Patrick Wilson's performance was beautiful.

All in all, it's better than nothing, right? August 17, 2008

Phantom

Low key and with lesser-known performers but pretty true to the stage show -- a good take! August 12, 2008

One of the best musical movies

If you love music, then you got to get Phantom of the Opera. Phantom of the Opera has some of the best music in the world in the movie. Some music you can compare to others. Like I compare 'Masqurade' to 'Be our Guest'. For all the music lovers out there, I recommend getting Phantom of the Opera. August 10, 2008

Beloved Musical Comes to the Big Screen

I was in highschool when the musical debuted with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman in 1986. I have been familiar with Weber's music and the voices tied to the characters that became an overnight phenomenon world wide.

However, I did not have an opportunity to see the stage show (until just this year) so was delighted when they had made a movie of it. Thank you, Joel Schumacker! The movie tied the music and the story line together and I have been hooked since. So it was for obvious reasons why I purchased the movie soundtrack as well as the movie DVD.

I am amazed and a little dismayed over the reaction Gerard Butler received as the movie Phantom. I knew nothing of this actor prior to this film. After seeing the movie, I was in love with this man and had to learn who he was and anything else about him. Off to the internet I went in search of this actor who made such an impression on me. I learned that Gerry (as he likes to be called) was not a stage-trained vocalist before he took on this role. Now, some people say that was obvious as they did not like his vocals. Many fans are true to the original London cast. And that's OK. But does that mean you cannot be open minded and realistic enough to know that Michael Crawford is not and will not be the only man to ever portray our beloved Phantom?

It would have been disastrous to have Mr. Crawford portray the Phantom for the movie. It would have been even more disastrous if Sarah Brightman played Christine. The point is these 2 beloved people are past the age where they can realistically play these young roles. It was much more realistic to have younger fresh actors. Christine was only 16 years old in the original novel. The Phantom was in his very early forties. The actors chosen were spot on age wise. Emmy Rossum was 16 when she signed on. She also trained at the Metropolitan Opera at the age of 7. Gerard Butler was 34. A tad younger, but it didn't really matter yet it was more acceptable that a 34 year old recluse would be sexually attracted to a 16 year old budding diva and vice versa.

I am a trained singer. I have sung in the finest concert halls of Europe. I have heard many, many trained vocalists. BUT NONE OF THEM DO TO ME WHAT GERARD BUTLER'S VOICE DOES TO ME. It doesn't bother me at all that he is not a classically trained vocalist. In fact, after finding out that he wasn't trained when he took on this challenge, made me admire him even more. While I was listening to POTO for the first time, you couldn't tell me that he wasn't trained. I knew his vocals were much different than Michael Crawford's, but I felt his voice fit the role for the film. Gerard has a deeper, richer, fuller voice that is sexy as heck and a voice that I now prefer over Mr. Crawford's tinnier, higher tenor.

Gerard's raw passionate performance knocked me off my feet. I fell in love with Gerry after watching Phantom because of the way he moved me so. His voice is so seductive and rich and sexy and captivating. His "Music of the Night" leaves me breathless. His "Point of No Return" seduces the heck out of me (and the entire female population). His sad, pleading "All I Ask of You" before Christine rips his mask off during "Don Juan Triumphant" is heartbreaking. Heartwrenching, growling "Down Once More" has me crying for his pain. He grips me in the core of my womanhood and won't let go. In this way I feel like I am Christine....drawn to the hypnotic power of his voice and the raw sensuality that draws me to him. I can't explain it, I can only FEEL it. And I can't get enough of him.

Emmy Rossum's Christine was a standout, breakout performance. This young lady CAN SING! Her voice is so clear and vibrant and sexy and she possess an incredible range. And she's beautiful to boot. This gal has a future in music and movies. I would keep an eye on this one!

I also feel Patrick Wilson's Raoul was fresh and much more developed than the stage version. He becomes the swashbuckling hero, and lover trying to protect his Christine from a murdering lunatic. Patrick's voice is just angelic and beautiful, but he lacks the passion that Gerard seems to have in spades.

Although Minnie Driver did not sing her own vocals, her performance was without a doubt brilliant as La Carlotta. She sings the ending title song "Learn to Be Lonely". She does a beautiful job.

Miranda Richardson's Madame Giry was classy and elegant, and more developed as a character who knew more than she was telling as opposed to the stick-thumping 'evil step-mother' portrayal on stage.

The orchestrations are slightly different than the musical but all in all, it is the same music we all fell in love with back in 1986. The orchestrations are fuller with 110 piece orchestra, 90 voice choir and an added guitar that gives this familiar music a fresh rock n roll edge, but not enough to take away from the classic orchestrations we all love.

I truly admire and LOVE ALL the performances of the movie. The sets and costumes are lavish and stunning.

Gerard, while not a trained singer, put his entire heart and soul into this role and rose to the challenge and did the best job anybody could have hoped to do. That to me, no matter what the critics say, impresses and amazes me the most and Gerard deserves the credit of a job exceptionally well done.

If you are a fan of Weber's musical - you need to see this movie! August 9, 2008

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