Synopsis: Deformed since birth, a bitter man known only as the Phantom lives in the sewers underneath the Paris Opera House. He falls in love with the obscure chorus singer Christine, and privately tutors her while terrorizing the rest of the opera house and demanding Christine be given lead roles. Things get worse when Christine meets back up with her childhood acquaintence Raoul and the two fall in love. The Phantom decides to kidnap her and imprison her with him in his lair. Raoul is now the only one who can stop him.
Rating (1-10): 10
Review: When I was asked to write this review originally, it was known by those concerned that I am a hardcore fan of The Phantom of the Opera-not just of the musical, but also the novel itself and those versions of the film that have stayed true to the original story. Most learn of the classic monsters starting with Dracula or Frankenstein, but my fascination began here. Having discovered the novel at an early age, I was quickly opened to the worlds of Lon Chaney and Claude Rains, eager to explore the depth of material inspired by this gothic fantasy. And even though I was never fortunate enough to see the Broadway performance, I know the score by heart like so many, and consider myself a lucky man for having experienced Sarah Brightman's performance of a couple of the highlight tracks during her latest concert tour, just a handful of seats from the stage. I consider it one of the best nights of my life. What, me biased? No, of course not…
Then I first learned of the film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical. I was on cloud 9 until I learned of the director, Joel "Bat-Nipples" Schumacher: he who single-handedly shot another gothic favorite in the foot, not once but twice. No, Mr. Schumacher, the fans never forget. The only hope I had was that the Maestro would crack the whip to ensure this Phantom didn't go the way of so many lackluster remakes of the past couple of decades. The story and music both deserved far better, but I committed myself to keeping an open mind. It was, after all, Phantom.
With my experience of the musical being limited to photos, an evening with the Angel of Music herself, and the soundtrack, I decided the music would be the place to start, being the heart and soul of the performance. I acquired this new soundtrack, and from the first chords until the very end I was blown away. I could never say that Emmy Rossum dethroned Sarah Brightman's reign as the "Angel of Music," nor will I say Gerard Butler is a better Phantom than Michael Crawford, but I'll testify they gave it their all and earned the right to claim greatness on their own terms. They've vocally filled some very big shoes for another generation of fans.
But how would it translate to the big screen?
Now that I've seen the film at long last, and I realize I should never have doubted. After all the ups and downs, my fears were shoved aside the moment it began. Joel Schumacher has done the impossible-he's proven to me he can do much better than Bat-nipples. Who knew? All it took was standing on the shoulders of genius and paying attention to the source material for a change. If you promise not to monkey with the other classics, consider yourself forgiven. And a big thank you to Sir Andrew for keeping him on a short leash.
To all of the cast and crew, bravo! The casting is perfect; the performance is flawless. The story unfolded for me on a scale of grandeur previously found only in the recesses of my imagination. It's easy to see why many consider it to be the greatest musical of all time. The Phantom experience has earned a high place in the heart of this reviewer, and mere words just seem woefully inadequate.
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