The Phantom Of The Opera [DVD] [2017]

Was delivered very quickly, a day before the estimate. Haven’t played it yet but very happy with my purchase.

Daughter was happy after seeing the show in theatre was happy with this as a present for her to keep

Like many others I have seen the London stage version of the Phantom of the Opera and with various casts from Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman onwards and I love the show. I also love the film but those expecting an exact reproduction will be disappointed.The film works fantastically well but inevitably has a different perspective because Joel Schumacher is not Harold Prince and this is not the stage. Schumacher, as he says, has chosen to heighten the romantic and sexual elements of Christine's relationship with the Phantom and chosen a much younger cast to portray the principals.Emmy Rossum is a delightful Christine and whilst her voice is not up to Sarah Brightman's exquisite soprano, she sings charmingly and is actually a much better actress, which benefits the film enormously.Despite the sword fight I still find Raoul a wet lettuce and nowhere does he appear to more disadvantaged than in the final scene in the Phantom's lair.This is partly the weakness of the part as it is written but also due to the mesmerising performance of Gerry Butler as the Phantom - anyone would suffer in comparison. He is a stunning Phantom and you would need a heart of stone not to shed a tear for him. The fact that he is also drop-dead gorgeous did not hurt either although this can make it difficult to understand why Christine would be daft enough to choose Raoul, especially after Gerry Butler scorches the screen with this version of Point of No Return. This physical attraction is clearly intended with the open shirts and tight trousers showing off a physique to die for.They did try to counter balance this with the murder of Buquet, much more chilling and violent than the stage version but I think most women will have forgotten this by the end of the last sequence of the film and would make a totally different choice to Christine - the Phantom is undeniably physically the more attractive of the two, as well the more interesting character. This does, therefore, make for a different story to the stage, where you feel sorry for the Phantom but he really is hideous and you don't end up fancying him like mad. Different is not, in my view, inferior.All the music is there as we know and love it and well sung by everyone. There have been some criticisms of Gerry Butler in comparison with Michael Crawford. Well all I can say is that those who make these criticisms must be very big Michael Crawford fans if they think that he is a natural singer. I too am a Michael Crawford fan but not blinkered - like Gerry Butler he had to train hard for the role and you can certainly hear the effort occasionally on the original cast album. Gerry Butler has a great edge to his voice and he hits all the notes and when you put this together with the superlative acting performance I actually cannot think of anyone who would have done it better.So I think if you liked the stage version of the Phantom and are prepared for this to be similar but not the same you will love this film, although I have to admit that it is probably a film that will appeal much more strongly to women than men - yes I am female.The extras on Disc 2 are also well worth a look - watch out for the hidden extras (and they are well hidden) of the Phantom singing 'No-one would listen' and the highly amusing version of the cast and crew putting their own spin on the title song - this really shows how few people can sing. For me this is a film I will watch again and again, a great version of a show that I have loved for almost 20 years.

Classic

This big-screen adaptation of the classic Lloyd Webber stage musical has had a lot of criticism since it's first release in 2004. However if you're a fan of the story/stage play or just musicals in general it's definately worth a watch.It's certainly not a perfect adaptation, or even an outstanding film, however there is something special about the movie and it is a well crafted piece of escapist cinema.The story has been adapted countless times from the novel of the same name, including the fantastic silent movie with Lon Chaney from the 1920s and of course the stage musical from 1986 which this movie is based upon. It tells the story of an orphaned young girl Christine Daae, who lives in the Paris Opera house where she is taught to sing by a mysterious 'angel'. The 'angel' in reality is a deformed musical genius who lives in the catacombs of the theatre but has fallen for Christine as the only one who he thinks will understand him. It follows her overnight rise to success, and the love triangle that ensues between her increasingly antagonising angel of music (the Phantom) and her childhood sweetheart Rauol.First thing to mention is that the musical score here is presented fantastically. The songs, performed here by a 100 piece orchestra, sound better than they ever have, and the actors do a stellar job of performing them. There have been a few critisisms over Gerard Butler's singing voice for the powerful, mysterious Phantom. He isn't a classically trained singer, and is in no vocal league to Michael Crawford or the newer stage phantom Ramin Karimloo. However he more than makes up for it with the emotion he puts into the lyrics, making it a touching performance regardless of his voice/accent.Emmy Rossum is wonderful as Christine. Her voice is not as trained or operatic as the original Christine Sarah Brightman, or Sierra Boggess (the 25th anniversary Christine), but she has a very sweet sounding voice, perfect as the young up and coming star who is still finding her feet as the newest Opera phenomenon. She shines on her solo numbers, Think of Me and Somehow Here Again, and her acting is sincere and naive enough to make her believably drawn to the dangerous Phantom character.The set pieces of the film, such as the title song set in the underground lair or the bombastic 'Masquerede' scene are visually great, with a lot of attention to detail, taking the central ideas from the broadway stage musical and fleshing them out for the screen beautifully.It isn't perfect as I mentioned, there are a few changes made in the film that stand out. For example a sword fight between the Phantom and Rauol in a graveyard is visually nice, but doesn't take the story anywhere other than giving us a chance to see the characters battling out in a flashy way with no real conclusion. Also a couple of the comic-relief scenes with Minnie Driver fall a bit flat, and as much as I admire her, Miranda Richardson as the strict dance tutor Ms Giry is almost a cartoon-like character, with a misjudged French accent which is completely out of place as nobody else in the film attempts one.However these are minor, and once watching the film it's hard not to get swept up in the story and the music.Maybe not quite as good as the 25th Anniversary DVD of the musical, performed live on stage, but the film is still a touching, spectacular looking piece of musical cinema.

She really wanted this after seeing the show