The Phantom of the Opera (Full Screen Edition)
by Joel Schumacher
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Emmy Rossum, Gerard Butler, Minnie Driver, Miranda Richardson, Patrick WilsonDirector: Joel Schumacher
Brand: Warner
Writer: Joel Schumacher
Producer: Andrew Lloyd Webber
Writer: Andrew Lloyd Webber
Producer: Austin Shaw
Producer: Christopher James Mitchell
Producer: Eli Richbourg
Writer: Gaston Leroux
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 143 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-05-03
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product features:
- Condition: New
- Format: DVD
- AC-3; Closed-captioned; Color; Dolby; Dubbed; DVD; Subtitled; Full Screen; NTSC
Movie Reviews of The Phantom of the Opera (Full Screen Edition)
Movie Review: One of the most romantic films I've ever seen!!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have seen many versions of The Phantom Of The Opera. I've seen the 1925 version with Lon Chaney, the one with Claude Rains, the 80's version with Robert Englund and the 1990 one with Charles Dance which is actually my all time favorite movie along with this 2004 Phantom film. I also own the Original Cast Recording CD and the Original Motion Picture soundtrack to this film. When I first heard about this movie coming out in December, I knew I would like it but I really didn't think I would totally fall in love with it like I have. I saw the film in the theatre over 30 times because I love it so much and it is so romantic and artistic that it was like they made the film just for me. Since I am this total hopeless romantic, this film is MY FILM!! I bought the 2 disc DVD the day it came out and have already watched everything and have seen some parts more than once. It takes a lot to impress me when it comes to movies because I don't need nudity and cursing or just a bunch of people getting drunk and stuff like that.
What really impresses me about this film is the whole artistic and romantic setting. Like all the candlebras and roses and everything is covered in gold and even the stage curtain looks like real velvet. They use real animals in the shows and in The Phantom Of The Opera, there is a real horse. The actual theatre is covered with red velvet, gold and statues and the chandelier looks like it's made out of real diamonds and gold. And all the romantic things that both The Phantom/Gerard Butler and Raoul/Patrick Wilson do are just so breathtaking and powerful. Like when the Phantom is singing to her in The Music Of The Night, I can see so much passion between the two and he just takes and holds her hand and after she faints, he carries her to the bed and he doesn't even try to do anything sexual with her. He pulls down that curtain around the bed. I just totally love that. And Raoul sings his heart out to Christine up on the rooftop in All I Ask Of You about how much he loves her, he doesn't try to have sex with her. They share this very romantic, passionate kiss and every time I see the All I Ask Of You scene, I start to cry because it's so romantic and wish that could happen to me! I wish I could find a man as romantic as they two are. The Phantom Of The Opera scene is so powerful that it totally takes my breath away!! I love how they filmed Christine and The Phantom going down the stairs as Christine sings "The Phantom Of The Opera Is There, Inside My Mind." I also love the Masquerade ball, it's amazing musically, vocally, visually. I love how Christine and Raoul dance and then share this kiss! My all time favorite scenes are The Phantom Of The Opera, The Music Of The Night, All I Ask Of You, Masquerade and The Overture. I watch those over and over again.
All the other cast members are amazing also. Minnie Driver plays a really funny Carlotta, and Andre/Simon Callow and Firmin/Ciaran Hinds are funny whenever they talk about scrap metal. I always laugh when they say scrap metal.
As far as the music and singing goes, it's so incredible and musically, it's better than the Original Cast Recording because they had over a 100 piece orchestra which sounds so much better and fuller. The singing is definitely one big reason I also love this film. Emmy Rossum/Christine has one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard and to be honest there are a lot of parts where Emmy does a better job than Sarah Brightman did. On The Point Of No Return/Don Juan, when Emmy sings "When will the flames at last consume us" she hits this really low register and it sounds so amazing and incredible. I also love it when Emmy sings really high in the very first part of the Don Juan opera. She also hits this really high note and holds it in that part right before All I Ask Of You starts. Emmy also shows her emotions through her singing unlike Sarah Brightman. At the very end when Christine is singing to the Phantom, "The tears I might have shed for your dark fate, grow cold, and turn to tears of hate" you can hear the hatred in Emmy's voice. Gerard Butler who plays The Phantom might not be as good as Michael Crawford but there are a few parts that I feel Gerard has done a better job. Especially after Christine kisses him at the end, you can hear him crying and feel his heartache. They are all incredible but I listen to the Phantom soundtrack a lot just to hear Emmy's voice. This film is now my favorite along with the Charles Dance version.
The special features on the 2nd disc were really cool because I found out so much information. The Behind the mask: The story of The Phantom Of The Opera actually shows footage from inside the real Paris Opera House and there really is an underground lake and saw some creature swimming around which looks really cool. They also show a lot of shots from the Broadway musical with Sarah Brightman. It shows Sarah singing in a church. I was amazed that they put in some info about past versions of the film and showed a picture from the 1990 version with Charles Dance who is my favorite actor of all time. The Making Of The Phantom Of The Opera is in 3 parts, Preproduction, The Director, and Production. In these 3 parts, you will see interviews with Andrew Lloyd Webber, Joel Schumacher, Emmy Rossum, Gerard Butler, Patrick Wilson, Minnie Driver, Miranda Richardson, Simon Callow, Kevin R McNally who plays Buquet, Jennifer Ellison who plays Meg, and many others including the lyricist Charles Hart. And these bonus features are over an hour each.
The third feature, which I've seen a lot of reviews stating that it's The Phantom singing Learn To Be Lonely, it's NOT Learn To Be Lonely, it's No One Would Listen! It's the same melody but the lyrics are totally different! No One Would Listen is sung by the Phantom and is an additional scene not shown in the film and it's a very short scene and they should have included it in the film. There is also an Easter Egg that's a Sing A Long to The Phantom Of The Opera and shows Emmy twice and a lot of other Cast and Crew members singing and it's very funny!!! The last thing is a DVD-ROM PC Weblink extra also if you have a PC that will play it but unfortunately, my computer doesn't have a DVD-ROM but that's not a big deal because eventually I will get a PC with a DVD-ROM. I highly recommend this to all Phantom fans and romantics!!! You will not be disappointed!!!
Summary of The Phantom of the Opera (Full Screen Edition)
Musical Drama based on Andrew Lloyd Webber's celebrated musical phenomenon. The Phantom of the Opera tells the story of a disfigured musical genius (Gerard Butler) who haunts the catacombs beneath the Paris Opera, waging a reign of terror over its occupants. When he falls fatally in love with the lovely Christine (Emmy Rossum), the Phantom devotes himself to creating a new star for the Opera, exerting a strange sense of control over the young soprano as he nurtures her extraordinary talents.Although it's not as bold as Oscar 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 sensuality 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 Gaston LeRoux's Gothic horror-romance. His weakness is cuing too many audience-reaction shots 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.
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DVD Features
The special edition of The Phantom of the Opera has two major extras. "Behind the Mask: The Story of The Phantom of the Opera" is an hourlong documentary tracing the genesis of the stage show, with interviews of 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
More on The Phantom of the Opera
 The Phantom of the Opera (Special Extended Edition Soundtrack) (CD) |  The Phantom of the Opera (2004 Movie Soundtrack) (CD) |  The Phantom of the Opera (Original 1986 London Cast) (CD) |
 Evita (DVD) |  Andrew Lloyd Weber: The Royal Albert Hall Celebration (DVD) |  More Broadway DVDs |
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