the leading man is my tpye

Wonderfully offbeat film!

The Age of Commercialism

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

This is definitely the most underrated and unique version of Phantom of the Opera I've seen yet! Charles Dance's portrayal as the Phantom is very gentle and kind but debatably more mentally unstable than any other versions of the character. A lot of new plot points and characters were also added. I'll state a few less spoilery ones here: there is only one manager and he and Carlotta are married, there is no Raoul in this version, instead his brother, Philippe is used as Christine's love interest, and the Phantom's unmasked face is never seen by the audience. So as you can tell, the story is very unique, however it's also a bit slow. The entire first part is almost entirely exposition and character development, not that there's anything wrong with any of that, but the story really doesn't get started until the end of part one. So yeah, in my personal opinion, the pacing could be a bit better but it's not awful and both parts are still very engaging. However, my main problem doesn't lie with the pacing, rather the editing. Since this was made for TV, I can assume it had a fairly small budget so take this next bit with a grain of salt. The way this is cut and edited, is honestly quite confusing and weird. One second, it will be focusing on one scene and then the next it cuts to another character in a completely different setting for about five second and then do the same thing again and again for a whole scene. It was very distracting. However, there are a lot of things to still enjoy aside from Charles Dance's fantastic portrayal and how unique the story is. I also must give credit to the romance in this movie. First of all, this version shows Christine and Phillipe's childhood friendship, which makes their romance all the more believable. Well okay, Philippe was a bit shallow at first but he soon became a much more likable character who I feel truly loved Christine. I will also admit that this is one of the only versions where I actually felt that Christine truly loved the Phantom and wanted to be with him because they actually take time out of the story to have the two interact with each other and thus learn more about each other and eventually fall in love. Despite all that though, they do still make the Phantom, well, the Phantom! So that gives true weight to the decision Christine makes, even though most of us who know Phantom of the Opera know who she's going to chose. Another thing I'd like to address is the fact that this is the only Phantom of the Opera movie to date to be filmed on location in Paris, France. That's kind of sad for the other versions but very admirable for this one. I also love the musical style. It was a nice call having classic opera music. I also have to admit that I got really emotional at the end of part two to the point where tears were shed. I won't spoil what happens but when I first watched it, this was the first version I'd seen where that happened so it not only surprised me, but greatly saddened me. Overall, everything about this version is unique and I appreciate it a lot for that. It has some problems but none that keep it from being great.

Every person I know who has seen this film has cried through the second half. It is based off of the Yeston musical, 'Phantom'. Even though it is strange for the disfigured Erik to have loving parents, it is a surprisingly effective point that matches the story perfectly, and does not subtract from the total outcome. The actors are perfectly matched with parts, and they never seem out of place. The score from several operas really bring it together. On it's own, it is very easily one of the best. It is different enough from the musical it is based on (as well as the book for that matter) to be on it's own, but still retains all of the power that you get from both. You hardly realize you are sitting there watching for hours at a time.

Beautiful scenery and costumes. Tragic story. Ending could have been better. Adds more depth than Andrew Lloyd Webber's 2004 movie version directed by Joel Schumacher. There is more interaction between the main characters and offers a more believable background for how Christine Daee could have loved the Phantom and how she accepted him as a tutor. Imagine how the 2004 movie musical version would have turned out if it had been filmed at the Paris Opera House and incorporated more of the story from this version. Burt Lancaster makes a powerful presence on the screen as Gerard Carriere. Charles Dance plays a highly intelligent, articulate and mildly mannered Phantom. Terri Polo plays a gorgeous Christine Daee. This Christine Daee ends up living the equivalent of the American success story beginning from the bottom and achieving the very best through her hard work and talent. Aristocratic blood lines and culture are depicted as judgmental and opportunistic through the likes of Carlotta played by Andréa Ferréol and even Count Philippe de Chagny, a handsome and wealthy womanizer, played by Adam Storke. Was nominated for five Emmys, winning two. Was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards including Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for TV. All in all this series is worthy of viewing especially for those who seek more of the Phantom of the Opera than Andrew Lloyd Webber's version provided. If only modern TV mini-series could produce similar quality productions!

I have seen all other film version of this story, and have read the original novel, and I can say this is absolutely the best adaptation. It surpasses the original story, it is presented with A-list actors, superb mounting, flawless film-making savvy across the board, but most importantly the changes to the original story, and the ignoring of every previous film effort, have made this TV production of The Phantom of the Opera the Classic cinema adaptation! I assume the fact of my missing this film in 1998 is due to it being an overseas TV production but the DVD I viewed is available in at least two of the giant rental chains in the U.S. And I found the soundtrack CD on Amazon.