Barnes & Noble

Joel Schumacher's film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's spectacular Broadway musical expands greatly on the stage show while retaining everything that made it such a smash. The musical sequences are lovingly presented, woven into the action in operatic fashion -- but Schumacher's Phantom goes way beyond the theatrical edition, making the most of the story's primary setting: the magnificent Paris Opera House. The stage show only suggests what the film shows in opulent detail; every level of the magnificent structure -- including the catacombs beneath it -- are explored in microscopic detail by the cinematographer. The Opera House becomes a living, breathing character, not so much a home to the Phantom as a co-conspirator to his crimes. As created by French novelist Gaston Leroux, the Phantom was a criminal mastermind with a talent for refined torture. Drawing upon the character as it evolved in movies, Webber makes him a tragic figure deserving of the audience's sympathy (at least to some extent). The always masked, hideously scarred Phantom has fixed his eye on Christine Daae (18-year-old Emmy Rossum in a star-making performance), a young chorus girl of great promise whom he has taken on as a protégée of sorts. Under his tutelage she becomes a great singer, but having never seen him she naturally falls in love with a handsome nobleman, Raoul (Patrick Wilson). But the Phantom refuses to surrender her and is prepared to do anything to secure her loyalty and affection. Gerard Butler plays the title role extremely well, although he lacks the charisma of some of his predecessors. He's never quite the spellbinder one expects to see; some viewers will wonder how he maintains his hold over Christine. Nonetheless, he does a more-than-passable job. On the cast's distaff side, Rossum gets stiff competition from Minnie Driver, who's surprisingly good as the tempestuous diva Carlotta, whom the younger woman is expected to replace. Driver does her own singing and makes an indelible impression in what is actually a minor role. Schumacher exhibits a keen understanding of this material -- which, along with his visual sense, makes this adaptation so richly satisfying. Viewers get the best of both worlds: the unabashed artifice of the stage version and the stylish visualization afforded by top-drawer production design and cinematography. If you've ever heard Webber's score (and how could you not have?) you know that his Phantom is a treat for the ears. Now Schumacher has turned out a screen adaptation that's a feast for the eyes. Don't miss it. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

One of the most popular stage musicals in the history of Broadway and London's West End makes its long-awaited arrival on the motion-picture screen in this lavish adaptation directed by Joel Schumacher. Christine (Emmy Rossum) is a beautiful and gifted young woman who longs to join the company of the Paris Opera House. During rehearsals for one of the opera's grand productions, a backdrop falls and crashes to the floor, nearly crushing leading lady Carlotta (Minnie Driver). When several members of the company suggest this could be the work of the "Phantom of the Opera", a spectral presence said to haunt the building, Carlotta drops out of the show, and the fates permit Christine to step in as her replacement. Christine's performance is a triumph, and on opening night she becomes reacquainted with Raoul (Patrick Wilson), a former childhood friend who is now a wealthy and well-known nobleman. Christine soon finds herself smitten with the handsome Raoul, but the same evening she makes a startling discovery -- the story of the Phantom is not just a legend. A brilliant but horribly disfigured composer (Gerard Butler) lives deep in the depths of the opera house, and taken with the beauty of Christine's voice, he abducts her and brings her to his lair, where he offers to help her perfect her talents, offering to write an opera especially for her. As the terrified Christine is comforted by Raoul, the two fall in love, but the phantom sees her affection for Raoul as a tremendous betrayal, and the jealous phantom nearly kills Christine as he nearly killed Carlotta. When the phantom emerges to present the opera's management with the piece he has written for Christine, the singer is asked to put her life on the line in an effort to capture the mad genius once and for all. Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical version of Gaston Leroux's novel, which had already enjoyed several stage and screen adaptations in the past, opened in London in 1986 and has been a popular favorite around the world ever since; the show was still running in New York and London when the film version premiered in late 2004. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 085391108108
• Source: WARNER HOME VIDEO
• Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français
• Subtitles: English, Français, Español
• Time: 2:21:00
• Sales Rank: 17,195

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• The Romance Collection
• Best of Blu-Ray, Vol. 2

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