Imagine a beautiful, breathtaking piece of architecture whose brilliance can be easily seen for miles around Paris. It is the nineteenth century and this wonderful theatre is frequented by hundreds of people every night looking to be entertained. While the owners count their cash, their changes and refusal to accept the existence of the Phantom who dwells underneath this theatre are causing this ingenious "ghoul" to become increasingly irate, with some devastating consequences.
Imagine no more. Now you can see for yourself! The theatre is far less frequented these days, largely owing to the popularity of the cinema, which is a far more accessible, convenient and cheaper form of entertainment. I was lucky enough to see a theatre production of this in Manchester, but I know most have not.
I love Andrew Lloyd Webber's work. I think the man is a genius. Because of this, I was very wary of watching a cinema adaptation of arguably Lloyd-Webber's best piece. Having seen previous adaptations of it, I had been left believing that they simply ruin the story and leave the viewer completely unsatisfied.
However, noting that Andrew Lloyd-Webber had himself contributed greatly to this production, I decided to stump up the cinema ticket money and give it a go. I went back a further three times as well, I was so amazed! So, of course, when the DVD came out I was first in the queue to buy it, at a very reasonable 14.99, considering the extras it comes with. I purchased my copy from Tesco and noticed that the price of this DVD, as with most chart DVDs ranged from 14.99 - 22.99, depending where you buy it. It is definitely worthwhile shopping around.
The characters are portrayed just as brilliantly in this production as they are on the stage, with Gerard Butler playing a perfect Phantom, whose genius has clearly crossed the line of madness and whose love of Christine (played by the very talented Emmy Rossum, who was 16 at the time of filming and has the most amazing voice) combined with his horrendous childhood, has led him to become violent and terrifyingly threatening. Gerard Butler has a fabulous voice which can hit the aggressive notes just as perfectly as the softer ones. I am incredibly impressed with his voice, especially given some of the difficult pieces of music. Patrick Wilson's portrayal of Raoul (a character I really cannot bring myself to like for some reason) is sublime, while Minnie Driver gives Carlotta the slice of humour needed to top of this film marvellously. The casting is superb and I must admit to fancying the pants of Gerard Butler as Phantom (perhaps I should seek help for my spooks fetish!).
A brief outline of the story, for those of you who are not familiar with it; In the vaults of the theatre lives our Phantom, whose face is badly scarred on one side. He found himself in the theatre when the freak show he was forced to take part in came to town and he was rescued by one of the chorus girls, who later becomes Christine's guardian.
Some many years later, having lived in the vaults for many years, the Phantom begins coaching Christine to take the lead roles in the plays. She believes, as she has not seen her tutor, that her "Angel of Music" is her dead Father. When she finally meets this "Angel," she discovers him to be the Phantom of the Opera, who has fallen deeply in love with her and will stop at nothing to make her his own.
The most amazing thing about this production is that the musical score remains unspoilt and sang beautifully by a very talented cast. The visuals were superb, with an early scene standing out as perhaps one of the best scenes of any film I have ever seen. Let me share this with you.
The film opens in the remains of the theatre, very much derelict at this point, where there is an auction of the property that was part of the Theatre in it successful days before the "disaster". We are in black and white. As we come to the final lot, which is the chandelier that crashed down over the theatre on that disastrous night, the spectacle begins. The chandelier is lifted and as it is, the Phantom of the Opera theme tune plays loudly and the screen bursts into colour, bringing this derelict theatre to life a shred at a time, to its glorious best. This scene sets the standard for the remainder of the film, and I was not disappointed at all with the audio and the visuals.
The only thing I was disappointed with was the way in which the Phantom's story and how he had come to be in the vaults of the Theatre, has very much been toned down, perhaps not to lead the viewers down such a depressing path. I feel, however, that this was an integral part of the story and should very much have remained a feature of the same importance as in the stage version.
Joel Schumacher is an excellent director and he comes up with the goods again here. This is not just a fantastic adaptation of a musical, but a superb film in its own right.
In terms of the technical statistics, this DVD is a region 2, 1.77:1 aspect ration, in English, with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. The running time of the main feature is 143 minutes (2 hours, 23 minutes) and the classification is 12. There are scenes of violence and so I do think this is an appropriate certification. There are only English subtitles available.
The music tracks on it include "The Music of the Night," "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again," "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Learn to be Lonely," which is a new track written for the closing credits and sung by Minnie Driver (who, incidentally is the only member of the cast not to do her own vocals throughout the film, though listening to Carlotta's singing parts, this is no surprise!).
I was thrilled to bits with the extensive extras, which consisted of;
The Making of the film
Alex Bailey production stills
Swarovski featurette
Visual and Audio FX featurette
Music recording and production design featurettes
Costumes, makeup and editing featurettes
The Story of the Phantom of the Opera
The History behind the Phantom of the Opera
Promo Video: "The Phantom of the Opera" sung by Steve Harley and Sarah Brightman
Promo Video: "All I Ask of You" sung by Cliff Richard and Sarah Brightman
Promo Video: "The Music of the Night" sung by Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman
Promo Video: "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" sung by Sarah Brightman
So as well as a fantastic film, there are hours and hours of extras to enjoy as well, which makes it very much worth the money.
Personally, I loved this film. It was a visionary spectacle and an absolute musical delight. Andrew Lloyd-Webber's input is evident from the outset, which is largely why I think the film worked so well.
This 2-Disc DVD is an absolute must, especially as now, July 2006, the film being slightly older, it is available from Amazon for only 8.99! I'm sure if you shop around it may even be possible to find it for less. Failing that, borrow my copy!