the phaaaaaaaaaaantom of the opera

[misombra]

anyone seen it?

i'm dying to see this movie. i saw it when i was in ny and it was freakin' incredible. (aren't you proud of my ability to control my potty mouth?) i saw it once before that but the broadway show blew it right out of the water.

[moeburn]

Movie is meh. If you have seen the play, don't see the movie.

[sfalexi]

I saw it on Broadway three times. I also own it on CD witht he original cast (pretty much the entire thing, on three CDs).

I saw that the movie was out, read reviews, and it got mixed reviews. I'll probably watch it, however probably not until it's out on video since it does seem to have lost it's way. The phantom was supposed to be grotesque, not a handsome stud that just happens to cover half his face. It's kinda hard to believe that everyone is 'afraid' of a guy who has a mask on one side, and a great profile on the other.

Alexi

[misombra]

yuk!!! i saw this movie and i hung my head in shame most of them time. i got your post too late moeburn. yuk yuk yuk. the guy who played erik was neither scary, nor romantic, nor a virtuouso singer like he is supposed to be. he looked like john travolta got beat up at a bar and now he's trying to sing like meatloaf. and the passion between erik and christine was absent so when they were together it was totally devoid of emotion. this movie sucked! i'm still pretty sickened by the guys singing.

[abercromqt20]

i agree with all of you. I am a huge fan of Broadway as well. I see musicals and plays all the time. I've seen Phantom 2 times on stage. Most recently about 2 months ago or so. So when i saw it on the screen it was a total let down. The only way someone could enjoy this movie is if they have never seen it on stage. I got the same reaction when they made Les' Mis into a movie. It's just not right. I mean if you are going to make a movie out of something like that you better damn well get it right!!!

I'm curious to know what all of you thought about the musical Chicago when it first came out. I have yet to see the movie, but i did see the musical at the height of it's craze and i have to say i was pretty disappointed. It was by far the most boring musical i have ever seen..... i'm not trying to detract from the actors talent in any way. because they were very talented. I was just saying i though the story itself wasn't that great. i really don't know why the movie became such a success....... Anyone else have a similar oppinion???

[misombra]

i haven't seen chicago on broadway but i saw the movie and i thought it was pretty good. the singing was good unlike phantom of the opera wherein the singing was terrible.

[KalCarter21]

Wow I was really hoping to see it, but I'm saving my six bucks now.

[kanzaki]

i never seen the broadway. But to me i drool over the phantom. Tho he is not as powerful as i tot her will be. I only liked one song out of all.

Wish i was in america or somewhere to watch it live! not some stupid movie. Yucks.

[moeburn]

Its a great movie when you've got a hot date to go with

[misombra]

to me the whole premise of the phantom was lost in the movie.

first of all he was supposed to be hidious looking and scary... this guy was not

he was supposed to be a virtuouso singer who taught christine everything she knows... but christine was a much better singer than him and his singing was just terrible in general. he shouted the high notes, now that was hidious.

he was supposed to be romantic...but there didn't seem to be any strong emotions going on between them. i actually wanted her to choose Raoul! anytime i've seen the play i wanted her to go with the phantom and cried when she didn't.

also the costumes in the play were so much more elaborate than in the movie. i wondered where all the money went! the masquerade scene everybody had the same mask! why? and then christine and raoul didn't have a mask and that was the whole reason they were having a masquerade, so they could hide their engagement from the phantom.

ugh, i could go on and on about all the things wrong with this movie.

[lucan_reilly]

The face: Schumacher and Weber decided not to make him ridiculously ugly because they wanted the audience to love him. The people aren't afraid of the guy for his mask. They are afraid because of the way the Phantom behaves. He is very dangerous.

Singing: Weber wanted to go for a rock feel for the Phantom's voice. Butler had no formal voice training. The only singing he had done was for a rock band.

Romance: Why is the Phantom supposed to be romantic? In the original book he was a blood thirsty serial killer. In "Phantom" by Susan Kay, he was a little more toned down. Read the books and you will see that this portrayal was extremely accurate. Christine falls in love with him because of his tortured soul and his guidance. Not because he wooed her with love poems and teddy bears.

The masks: Christine and Raoul did have masks originally but the director decided to nix the idea. He wanted their faces to be seen. The "secret engagement" was instead the ring on a necklace. Not everybody had the same mask. The main characters had different masks. The dancers and chorus had black masks similar to the Phantom's for the artistic aspect.

As a cinematography major, I read the production notes in addition to watching the movies.

I thought the movie was fantastic. The cinematography had a few minor problems, but I love the way Weber tweaked the score to fit the movie. I thought he did a great job with the transitions. I have seen the Broadway play many times, and while I can't say one was better, they both had their flaws and their good aspects.

But I cannot see how someone can say there are things wrong with this movie in comparison to the play. It isn't as if someone ripped off the play. The original playwright was the one who launched and had an active hand in the movie. Everything he did, he did for a reason.

[misombra]

sorry lucen, i thought the movie was terrible. i was so touched by the broadway show and when i saw the movie i was so upset that that was going to be my new last memory of the phantom of the opera that i wanted to cry. i completely understand wanting a "rock" feel for the phantom, but surely there are better rock singers out there. freddie mercury was a rock singer and he would've ROCKED singing those songs. and what about the singer from rush? come on, just because you sing rock doesn't mean you can slaughter an opera the way he did. also, i wasn't talking about teddy bears and roses for romance, that's a pretty narrow view of romance. i meant romantic in the classic sense. and the masquerade looked like madonna's vogue video. and they were all wearing those black and white masks! and the costumes were very plain and simple. i don't think the movie ripped off the play at all, i just think the singing and the acting and the costumes could have been MUCH better.

furthermore, i think schumacher is one of the worst directors ever.

[lucan_reilly]

You don't have to apologize. You should never apologize for your opinion.

Phantom is a tough movie to make. People have fallen in love with the musical, and when has the movie ever been considered far better than the musical?

I guess it all just depends on taste. While I agree I was disapointed by a few things, I like to look at things from the director's point of view (as a future director myself). A lot of things were based off artistic taste. Anybody can critique, but I don't like to be too mean because I couldn't have done it any better.