"The Phantom
of the Opera" is a magnificent tale that begins when an opera ghost
terrorizes the cast and crew of the French Opera House while tutoring
a chorus girl. He finally drives the lead soprano crazy so she and her
friend leave. The girl is able to sing lead one night but the soprano
doesn't want her show stolen so she comes back. The ghost demands they
keep giving his protégé lead roles. Meanwhile, His pupil falls in love
with the Vicomte de Chagny, but the Phantom is in love with Christine,
his student. The Phantom is outraged by their love and kidnaps
Christine to be his eternal bride. Will Raoul, the Vicomte, be able to
stop this dastardly plan? Watch and find out. Courtesy of
IMDb.
CRITIQUE
The movie
starts out slow. It begins with black and white imagery, and we are
then taken to a run-down opera house where it seems an auction is
taking place (yes, there was a time long ago when eBay did not exist!)
Within a few minutes…
Auctioneer: Lot
666, then: a chandelier in pieces. Some of you may recall the strange
affair of the Phantom of the Opera: a mystery never fully explained.
We are told ladies and gentlemen, that this is the very chandelier,
which figures, in the famous disaster. Our workshops have restored it
and fitted up parts of it with wiring for the new electric light, so
that we may get a hint of what it may look like when re-assembled.
Perhaps we may frighten away the ghost of so many years ago with a
little illumination, gentlemen?
Just then –
the loud “phantom” theme turns up in the background with great misc-en-scene
CGI, the run-down black and white theater turns into an eloquent,
colorful theater from the past. It’s a stunning sequence, and is one
of the dozens of scenes that are impressive about the movie.
Furthermore, the sequence that involved the chandelier itself at the
tail end of the film gave me goose bumps; it’s amazing how a simple
scene can be so sweet when done right.
I saw
Phantom of the Opera in theaters during its limited release in
December of 2004 before it opened wide in January of 2005, and I must
say I enjoyed it a lot. The production values – the settings, costumes
and film score – are superb. It’s like watching Titanic back in
’97 on the big screen for the first time; it’s a larger-than-life
cinematic experience.
Is it me or
are musicals in movies cool again? Back in the 40s and 50s musicals
were extravagant and sexy, however that trend died down over the
years. It seems within the past few years musicals have come back with
a bang. Simple yet great story, but also well acted and directed.
These are things movies are missing these days.
And indeed I
felt like watching a musical version of the classic 1943 film (which
was a remake of the 1925 classic). Oddly enough, Phantom has
been done to death. The most popular adaptation to this date is the
Andrew Lloyd Webber musical theater play, which I never had the chance
of seeing, but it’s neat to see something remade close to perfection
without silly, mediocre additions.
With
Phantom there is only one flaw I could see. The original story
(and films through out the years) is actually true horror at best. In
fact, you can compare Vincent Price’s House of Wax to
Phantom of the Opera. I think it’s the traditional story that’s
compelling. A type of misunderstood being falls in love with someone
beautiful but does not know how to deal with affection. Beauty and
the Beast all the way down to King Kong have followed this
formula precisely. The horror aspect of it isn’t so much blood and
guts or bone-chilling scenes but a symbolism of being scared of
indifference.
Phantom
follows the formula as well but not with the same result. It’s the
main theme, obviously but because they cast pretty and attractive
people to take part in the movie the theme isn’t carried on to the
best of its ability. So at first glance it looks more like a
chick-flick type musical, but rest assured, dig in a little deeper and
you’ll still find some horror beneath the layers of the movie.
Director Joel
Schumacher, I would say, is a misunderstood monster himself. Indeed,
he was the one who killed the Batman series with the god-awful
Batman and Robin (which I’m sure he’ll never hear the end of).
But I, for one, defend him for what he is worth. He is an iffy
director at best. Sure, he can make awful movies from time to time but
he can make great movies as well. I would put Phantom on his
resume under great movies. It’s difficult to direct a musical, which
is probably one of the reasons why it faded away throughout the years.
Hats off to Schumacher for making a difficult musical a great
experience.
THE VIDEO
Warner Bros.
presents The Phantom of the Opera in 2.40:1 anamorphic
widescreen. This is an awesome transfer. I was worried that it
wouldn’t look as beautiful as it did in theaters. I was not
disappointed. The black and white parts have some grin with purpose.
The majority of the film’s color palette is vivid and crisp.
THE AUDIO
Warner Bros.
presents The Phantom of the Opera in English Dolby Digital 5.1
and French Dolby Digital 5.1. The key element of a musical is
obviously the sound. The quiet parts are real quiet. You can hear a
needle drop, that’s how quiet it gets during a few scenes. The loud
parts are presented clearly and with great bass. It’s like a full-on
opera. Versatile ranges of sound fill the ears with greatness.
THE EXTRAS
This is the
bare-bones DVD with only the nifty and cool looking theatrical
trailer included.
There is a two-disc
set to fill your special features needs.
FINAL
THOUGHTS
Despite this being a bare-bones DVD, I am still happy
with it. I watched the film several times before writing this review
and it delivers each and every time. While it is not a movie for
everyone (since it is a musical it can get a bit dry in spots) it’s
worth it for fans of the musical and anyone who is at least familiar
with the story. It’s a nice rehash to the classic horror story, and a
well-done film that I think is underrated for what it is worth.
