The Phantom of the Opera (Widescreen 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 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 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: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.40:1
Running Time: 143 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-05-03
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Model: 38951
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product features:
- TESTED
Movie Reviews of The Phantom of the Opera (Widescreen Edition)
Movie Review: More Than a Musical or Musical Theatre
Summary: 5 Stars
First, comparisons are odius. Movies can do things that plays cannot do, and conversely. Not having seen the stageplay of "Phantom of the Opera," I had nothing to unlearn, so I came to the movie theater with an open mind, and now I am haunted by the poignancy of this unforgettable love story. We have the eternal trangle, beautifully played by the featured actors. Gerard Butler is an excellent Phantom, winning the affection, sympathy and empathy of the viewer. My main comment on his acting and singing is that he had my full attention and moved me to tears. He played an extremely difficult role most professionally and more. What is it someone wrote?--literature's "most...alluring villain." Even with all the make-up, Butler has an elusive chameleon quality that is fascinating to observe. Emmy Rossum is winning as the ingenue, under the spell of her teacher. Finally, Patrick Wilson is just as bland, wooden and sterile as he should be in the character of Raoul, pointing up the contrast between himself and the vibrant Phantom. The sets are perfectly lavish and beautiful, and the supporting cast is superb. But it is the music that, combined with the acting, makes this film so addicting. Listen to the music as you watch the chandelier being raised in the stupendous prologue. Note the menace in the organ chords as the Phantom reaches for Christine's hand and clasps it to guide her down into his labyrinthe. Pay attention to the drama and enticement of the music in the two smoldering seduction scenes. Listen to the painful exquisiteness of the "Angel of Music" love strains on the violin after Christine wakes up and goes over to where the Phantom is composing--their sweetest and tenderest moment. (Their most passionate moment occurs at the masked ball when they approach each other and are drawn to each other--no words and few strains of music here.) Feel the deep musical sobs when the Phantom sings "Stranger Than You Dreamt." Hear the eternal beauty of the soft melodies when Christine sings in the cemetery at her father's grave. Listen to the tumultuous strains, revealing the chaos of his emotions, when the Phantom is betrayed by Christine during a performance in front of an audience and decides to release the chandelier. But, most of all, feel the music swell and envelop you when the Phantom is redeemed by Christine's commitment to him. Indeed, the title song itself tells the story of the movie--the Phantom of the Opera is indeed in my mind, and I keep returning to see the movie again and again.
There are very few negatives regarding this film. However,Raoul is just a little too good to be true. (Remember Cameron Mitchell in "Carousel," singing, "a good man ain't no fun.") He is capable, though, of grabbing the flowers for Christine from the new owners and giving them to her as if they are from him. Also, his lifting and swirling Christine around on the theatre roof just does not come off because he is not that kind of character. He treats Christine as if she is a child, humoring her when she says she was visited by the Angel of Music. He continues to disbelieve her throughout most of the story. Further, he and Christine do too much smooching, and, considering that the chemistry between them is nil, this gets tiresome. And why was not the Phantom shown, at least once, in Box 5 during a performance? We certainly saw Raoul usurping that place over and over. Also, the Phantom losing a swordfight to Raoul is unthinkable, yet it showed us that the Phantom is human. (Why did Christine say, "Not like this."? That line is clearly out of place.) Finally, it should have been brought out that the Phantom had much to do with the architecture of the underground of the opera house; hence, his calling it "my theatre."
But the positives far outweigh the negatives here. This film is a feast for the senses, a tapestry of sound, sight, color and emotion. Moreover, the Phantom knows how to treat a woman--what woman would not dream of her lover spiriting her away, leading her by the hand?--on a horse, while he walks beside?--in a boat, on water?--laying her gently and tenderly in a bed and drawing a curtain for her? Not only that, the story and its outcome are deeply moving. This is no shallow musical but a story of deep emotional and psychological pain, anger, love, empathy, sacrifice, commitment and redemption. Once Christine can truly empathize with the Phantom, he is on his way to redemption. (Note her tremulous "I-love-you" farewell to Raoul before she turns to the Phantom with her commitment.) When Christine slips that ring onto her finger, she and the Phantom become lovers and are wed (at this point she is wearing the wedding dress); that is why she had to return the ring when she and Raoul depart at the end. Christine's love and commitment are real, as demonstrated by her gently laying her hand on the Phantom's diseased and distorted face during the second kiss, and by the tears streaming down her face. The two part but not before each has sacrificed for the other. There is no greater love. The Phantom put up a terrific fight for his lady, and, in the end, won her--and let her go. He triumphed on another level also. As he drags Christine down to the dungeon after she has pulled his mask off during a performance, he asks why, why was he persecuted, blamed and hounded, not for his misdeeds, but rather for his "abhorrent face," an accident of nature. This is the key to the Phantom's nature. As the story ends, he finally triumphs over his ruined face and is hounded for his misdeeds, rather than for his appearance. Thus, in a sense, the Phantom has triumphed on two levels. Not only did he win his fair lady, but he overcame the curse of his appearance, as indicated by his having left his signature white mask behind.
Finally, it is unfair to hold the members of the cast of this movie accountable for not being the members of the cast of the stage play of the same story. They, the cast members of both productions, deserve better. Enormous effort goes into creating a film masterpiece such as "Phantom of the Opera." Let us appreciate that effort and enjoy the film for the beautiful masterpiece that it is. Indeed, I do that every few days--and join the audience in applauding every time as the film ends. Professional critics notwithstanding, some of us like this movie. In fact, this may be my favorite movie of all time.
The above review was posted last January. I am now responding to reviews posted since the dvd release of this motion picture. First, you folks who are more obsesed with Brightman and Crawford than the Phantom was with Christine need to get over it. Get thee to a produce store and compare apples and oranges instead--you will obtain similar results. Second, this movie, this story, is not, I repeat, not opera--even the productions at the Opera Populaire were not grand opera, as suggested several times in the story, if one will listen. This movie is not even musical comedy, either; rather, it is more like a light classic or an operetta. I say "more like" because this motion picture seems to be a genre unto itself. Those potential viewers who missed this movie because they were put off by the word "opera" in the title did themselves a disservice. As for Butler's voice, it was indeed operatic at times (as was Emmy Rossum's), but this production itself is not opera at all. As for Emmy Rossum, sorry, people, but I do not think she is beautiful, no, not even pretty. The only scene in which she could even faintly be called pretty is where she wakes up and is remembering that "...in the boat there was a man." The rest of the time she just looks washed-out, and in the scene on the roof of the opera house, she actually looks like an old lady. However, I do think that she can indeed act--her facial expressions throughout the film are wonderfully effective. As for Patrick Wilson's marvelous tenor voice, where is it? He did not do enough singing for us to know what kind of voice he has. What singing I did hear from him sounded rather mechanical to me. Finally, there are a couple of film editing mistakes. One occurs early on: The gala is in progress, Christine has sung, and Meg is looking for her. Meg starts through a doorway, and in the next cut we see her behind the new managers again, when she had already been there and gone past them toward the doorway. The second occurs when the maestro tells the ham actor, "You're fired." Behind the maestro are attendees who were not there a few minutes before (but others were)! Also, the lighting and camera distance are different from previous cuts of the maestro in these "Il Muto" sequences. Nonetheless, this is still my favorite motion picture of all time, and it does not get old with frequent viewings. Gerard Butler never fails to move me to tears at the movie's end, and I continue to savor ALW's glorious music as I view my Phantom dvd again and again and again....
Summary of The Phantom of the Opera (Widescreen Edition)
DVDAlthough 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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