The Phantom of the Opera [HD DVD]
by Joel Schumacher
![The Phantom of the Opera [HD DVD]](/images/The-Phantom-of-the-Opera-HD-DVD-B000E5KJD4-L.jpg)
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Emmy Rossum, Gerard Butler, Minnie Driver, Miranda Richardson, Patrick WilsonDirector: Joel Schumacher
Brand: Warner Brothers
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 0
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Original Language)
Format: Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.40:1
Running Time: 143 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-04-18
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of The Phantom of the Opera [HD DVD]
Movie Review: One of the clearest HD-DVDs I have ever seen!
Summary: 5 Stars
There are plenty of other reviews on the plot available here which do a much better job than I could, so I will leave it to them to give you their opinions.
For those people who want to know what this movie looks like in its HD-DVD format, let me assure you it is incredible! Some HD-DVDs look like they might have been rushed onto the format, with picture imperfections, etc...not this one. The picture was flawless, I can't recall seeing one imperfection throughout the entire movie. I had to turn the sound up a little louder than I am used to in order to hear it well, but the sound was magnificent as well.
This is one of the cleanest and best transfers onto an HD-DVD I have ever seen. If you enjoy this movie, pick it up on HD-DVD. You won't be disappointed.
Summary of The Phantom of the Opera [HD DVD]
Warner Brothers The Phantom Of The Opera - HD DVDMusical Dramabased on Andrew Lloyd Webber's celebrated musicalphenomenon. "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
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