Product Description
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Film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's popular musical. Gerard
Butler plays a disfigured musical genius who haunts the Paris
Opera, waging a reign of terror over its occupants. But when he
falls in love with Christine (Emmy Rossum), the Phantom devotes
himself to creating a new star for the Opera.
.co.uk Review
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Although it's not as bold as O darling Chicago, The Phantom
of the Opera continues the resuscitation of the movie musical
with a faithful adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's blockbuster
stage musical. Emmy Rossum glows in a breakout role as opera
ingénue Christine Daae, and if phantom Gerard Butler isn't
Rossum's match vocally, he does convey menace and ity in
such numbers as "The Music of the Night." The most experienced
musical theater veteran in the cast, romantic lead Patrick
Wilson, sings sweetly but seems wooden. The biggest name in the
cast, Minnie Driver, hams it up as diva Carlotta, and she's the
only principal whose voice was dubbed (though she does sing the
closing-credit number, "Learn to Be Lonely," which is also the
only new song).
Director Joel Schumacher, no stranger to visual spectacle, seems
to have found a good match in Lloyd Webber's larger-than-life
vision of ton LeRoux's Gothic horror-romance. His weakness is
cuing too many audience-reaction s and showing too much of
the lurking Phantom, but when he calms down and lets Rossum sings
"Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" alone in a silent
graveyard, it's exquisite.
Those who consider the stage musical shallow and overblown
probably won't have their minds changed by the movie, and
devotees will forever rue that the movie took the better part of
two decades to develop, which prevented the casting of original
principals Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman. Still, The
Phantom of the Opera is a welcome exception to the long line of
ill-conceived Broadway-to-movie travesties.
DVD Features
The two-disc edition of The Phantom of the Opera has two major
extras. "Behind the : The Story of The Phantom of the Opera"
is an hourlong documentary tracing the genesis of the stage show,
with interviews by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, director Harold
Prince, producer Cameron Macintosh, lyricists Richard Stilgoe and
Charles Hart, choreographer Gillian Lynne, and others.
Conspicuously absent are stars Sarah Brightman and Michael
Crawford. Both do appear in video clips, including Brightman
performing with Colm Wilkinson at an early workshop, and Crawford
is the subject of a casting segment. Other brief scenes from the
show are represented by a 2001 production. The other major
feature is the 45-minute making-of focusing on the movie,
including casting and the selection of director Joel Schumacher
Both are well-done productions by Lloyd Webber's Really Useful
Group.
The deleted scene is a new song written by Lloyd Webber and
Charles Hart, "No One Would Listen," sung by the Phantom toward
the end of the movie. It's a beautiful song that, along with
Madame Giry's story, makes him a more sympathetic character. But
because that bit of backstory already slowed down the ending, it
was probably a good move to cut the song. --David Horiuchi
Important note: Initial playback of this DVD defaults to the DTS
(Digital Theatre System) soundtrack, therefore customers without
such equipment will not hear any sound. Please note that this is
NOT a fault with the DVD.
If you are not in possession of a DTS compatible sound
amplifier, you need to change the film's soundtrack type from the
main menu.
In order to do this, please follow the instructions below:
1. Click the "set-up" option.
2. Select either Dolby Digital Surround Sound or Dolby Digital
Stereo as appropriate.
3. Select "Play Movie". The film will now play with a universal
audible soundtrack.