The Phantom of the Opera
by Darwin Knight
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Christopher Rath, David Staller, Harsh Nayyar, James Baldwin (VI), Joey LeoneDirector: Darwin Knight
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 93 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-09-01
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Water Bearer
Movie Reviews of The Phantom of the Opera
Movie Review: Craptistic Cheese worth checking out?
Summary: 2 Stars
Especially if you are looking for a reason to forgive the Hollywood version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical for its flaws.
How this video found its way into my library I'll never know. How it got itself recorded for posterity's sakes is the more intriguing question.
Although the ALW version is the most famous version of Phantom, there have also been several other musicals of it made. Maury Yeston (Broadway composer of NINE, GRAND HOTEL, TITANIC) made one (that never made it to Broadway but has been performed regionally and it is on cd), and these local composers also turned out a version. No matter what one thinks of this version, one does have to applaud the composers of this one for deciding to write their own even though they aren't ALW or Yeston.
At any rate, I saw this at my library and decided to get it out. When one has listened to the ALW version for years, it is a struggle to keep an open mind and it took me two days to get through this 90 minute musical. Never did 90 minutes feel so long!
It is just as bad as the other reviewers say it is. It does have one redeeming quality, but that is it. The sets are cheap, the makeup overdone (I cringed everytime, they did close-ups and had to turn away) except on the Phantom where the makeup artists did themselves justice. The songs are forgettable but remind you of Rodgers and Hammerstein but in a bad way.
The acting is also not effective. What should be spooky or haunting comes across as ordinary and, in some cases, comic. The comedy where it is meant to be comedy is appropriate, but only reminds the viewer that this is an inferior version of the Phantom.
Which brings me to its one redeeming quality. Christine as played by Elizabeth Walsh is a spirited, opinionated, and decisive girl. In the ALW version, Christine in the wrong hands can appear very, very spineless and can drive one crazy with her 'save me Raoul' bits. This Christine makes her an equal to the Phantom. The most effective acting comes from Walsh and it is her scene with the Phantom when she is with him in the lair the first time that is the most effective scene in this musical.
So, for that reason, it is worth watching. You'll cringe most of the time or find yourself wondering how much more cheesier or craptistic it can get, and it does get boring to watch, but it does provide a nice example of a Christine with spirit.
However, you should only buy this if you are a Phantom freak.
Summary of The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera opens with a stately dream ballet between our young heroine, Christine, and her intended love. The mood quickly changes though, as she falls prey to the mad Victorian Phantom and his oozing, sinister charm. With a romantically enticing book, closely following the original novel, and a bright musical score that ranges from pop to musical comedy styling, the Hirschfield Theater has created a dramatically new Phantom. From the richly appointed Paris Opera House to the dank catacombs of the Phantom's lair, Ken Kurtz's evocative settings highlight all the mystery and grandeur in this classic story of passion and terror. The Phantom of the Opera, filmed before a live audience, brings to life Gaston Leroux's 1911 classic novel like no other musical production in the history of stage and screen.Art House & International DVD Video
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