[didi]

We have not seen it, but plan to go when it reaches our "neck of the woods". I promised my son I would take him. While he is not much of a theater fan, and we have only seen a few shows, this movie has caught his attention.

The movie reviews I have read were awful. 'Curious about what others have to say.

[bradactor]

Most of the users of yahoo reviews were good. I did not see the stage production so I cannot compare the two. I emjoyed it. Joel Schumaucher's direction and editing of the movie was superb. I think Emily Rossum did well. The scene between her, Gerard Butler(Phantom) and Patrick Wilson at the end was moving. It is worth seeing because of things they could do that they could not do on stage. The NY Times gave it an F but what does that mean? We all know the NY Times being what it is.
Brad in Houston

[Petes Sandy Girl]

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/phantom_of_the_opera/


THEATRICAL RELEASE
Dec 22, 2004 Limited

NUMBERS
Box Office: $6,323,567
details...

CONSENSUS
The music of the night has hit something of a sour note: Critics are calling the screen adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s popular musical histrionic, boring, and lacking in both romance and danger. Still, some have praised the film for its sheer spectacle.

CAST & CREW
Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum, Patrick Wilson
Directed by Joel Schumacher
more...

SYNOPSIS
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 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. more...

MPAA RATING
PG-13, for brief violent images

RUNTIME
2 hours, 23 minutes

RELEASE COMPANY
Warner Bros.

GENRE
Musical & Performing Arts, Musicals, Musical, Adaptation, Love Affairs, Musicians, Actresses, Mysteries, Based On A Novel

[ArrogantBustard]

The movie reviewers have their heads up their @$$&$. As usual.

I saw it. I thought it was excellent. Don't look for any "stars": there aren't any. (Well, maybe one, depending on your definition ...) There are, however, a whole bunch of good actors who can sing.

If you can, try to find a theatre with SDDS.

[Softballmom]

I'm a big fan of the stage production and found the movie to be slightly disappointing. I enjoyed a majority of it... the cinematography was great, there were some added scenes that explained more of the story, etc, but the voice of the phantom was the biggest problem. The phantom was suppose to be Christine's TEACHER! You'd think they'd get an actor who could sing, for crying out loud! On a scale of 1 to 10 it was a 5 for me.

[LadyofShalott]

I am a total phan - have been since about 14 when I saw the stage production for the first time. I fell in love instantly. I've seen it 4 times, read the original novel and another great POTO book called "Phantom" by Susan Kay many times, and get very excited over anything Phantom related. I was really apprehensive about the movie because I truly LOVE this story and I didn't want Hollyweird screwing it up.

Well, I wasn't disappointed. I've seen the movie 3 times now and am going again tomorrow ;-) I really do love it. The only major thing that could have been better was Gerard Butler's voice. I think he is great in the role and acts it well, but he just can't pull off all of the singing. This sucked for me, because I was already a major fan of his before POTO. I don't think it ruins the movie at all, you just can't compare him with Michael Crawford (of course, who can compare to him??)

Emmy Rossum does a great job, and I really enjoy her singing. She's not Sarah Brightman, but I think for the movie, her voice, which is less opera-y is better. I think Patrick Wilson is fine - he didn't make a strong impression on me one way or the other. I thought Minnie Driver was funny, though her performance bordered on over-the-top. The rest of the cast was good too.

The ending changes were really good, although I felt Butler's performance here (as far as the singing) was his weakest in the movie. I cry every time I listen to the end of my 2 CD set when Michael Crawford closes with "It's over now... the music of the night." Heart wrenching. I'm not quite feeling that with Butler. :(

I did have some minor nits about the movie: (*** MILD SPOILERS AHEAD ***):
1. They changed Erik's (the Phantom) background and personal history with the Opera house in the flashback scene with Madame Giry, which I thought was lame. They also de-mystified his magic and powers of illusion, ventriloquism, etc. There is no way he would have been so sloppy as to leave the mirror from Christine's dressing room open.
2. I didn't like the "dancers" in the Point of No Return scene AT ALL. I couldn't stop laughing every time they came up and that is supposed to be a serious and seductive scene - laughing is not good. ;-)
3. The horrid, awful, B-movie, ridiculous organ/keyboard (?) music they added to the graveyard scene, during the sword fight and then again when the opera house is on fire was just cheeeeesy and BAD. ICK!
4. Some of the lines that were sung in the stage production are spoken in the movie and at times seems awkward.
5. They changed some lines and lyrics for no apparent reason. I guess when you memorize the CD, you really notice these things.
6. I thought there was an accent problem in the movie - only one person was using a French accent, in a movie set in Paris. The rest of the cast was a mix of English and American (except Carlotta, and I thought Minnie did pretty good). I think this problem stood out mostly because Giry's accent was so pronounced. It made you notice that no one else was speaking with a French accent.

My favorite things about the movie:
1. The music - so glad they kept ALW's original score with almost all of the songs intact.
2. The scene with Buquet's murder is awesome.
3. The sword fight in the graveyard is awesome (minus the keyboard music!)
4. I liked the way they did the flashbacks in color and then transitioned to B&W.
5. Loved the opening, which gave me goosebumps.
6. The "Prima Donna" song sequence is hilarious.

I could go on but I'm sure you all already think I'm a total nutso Phantom freak.... guilty ;-)

Even after my minor complaints, I think the movie is great, and I totally recommend it. Though I'm not completely crazy about Butler's singing, he still did better than a few of the guys cast in the stage productions that I saw, plus, he's *quite* good looking, even with half a scarred face, so that makes up for it... ;-)

Hope my two cents helps! Sorry for the rambling... :-)

LS