The Phantom of the Opera (2004 film)

__NOTOC__ The Phantom of the Opera is the 2004 Joel Schumacher directed film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Charles Hart's internationally successful 1986 stage musical, which is in turn based on the novel The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. The cast includes Gerard "Gerry" Butler as the Phantom, Emmy Rossum (who was only 16 at the time of filming) as Christine Daaé, Patrick Wilson as Raoul de Chagny, Miranda Richardson as Madame Giry, Jennifer Ellison as Meg Giry, and Amelia "Minnie" Driver (whose vocals were dubbed by Margaret Preece, a professional opera singer) as Carlotta Giudicelli. Ramin Karimloo (who had been playing Raoul in the London production of Phantom at the time of filming) appeared in a cameo role as Christine's father.

Plot

Based on the original novel by Gaston Leroux, the plot centers on a disfigured, borderline psychopathic musical genius (the "Phantom"), tormented by his scarred face, who lives in the watery labyrinths beneath the Opera Populaire in Paris, terrorizing the opera, including committing several murders. Obsessed with the voice of Christine, a beautiful young soprano, he plots to place her center stage through threatening letters to the management and hopes to win her heart with his efforts to make her a star.

Christine is torn between her love for Raoul and her dark attraction to and pity for the Phantom. The Phantom imprisons Raoul and threatens to kill him if Christine does not choose the Phantom.

Eventually, Christine shows him affection - something which he has never received from anyone. Her kindness so deeply touches the Phantom that he allows Christine and Raoul to leave. He disappears before the police arrive.

There are minor changes from the stage musical: Some new scenes are added while others from the musical are removed, and some lines that were sung are now spoken. In addition, the chandelier crash--once situated at the end of Act One on stage--was moved to the film's climax near the end. The Phantom's makeup for the face itself in the film is also changed from the musical and made much more subtle and natural.

Main Cast

Gerard Butler: The Phantom of the Opera
Emmy Rossum: Christine Daaé
Patrick Wilson: Vicomte Raoul de Chagny
| Miranda Richardson: Madame Giry
Minnie Driver: Carlotta Giudicelli

Notes

Driver herself does lend her actual singing voice to the film's end title song, "Learn To Be Lonely", written by Lloyd Webber and Hart exclusively for the film. The tune for "Learn to Be Lonely" was originally intended for an additional song to be sung by the Phantom during the film, called "No One Would Listen" (originally to have had lyrics by David Zippel, who adapted a few lines of the musical for the movie due to changes in the staging/plot), but the song was removed for pacing reasons. (It is included as an extra on some editions of the DVD.) There was some controversy among fans in regard to the performance of "Learn to Be Lonely" at the Academy Awards, where it was performed by the singer Beyoncé Knowles, along with several other songs nominated for Best Original Song. Trafalgar Square Publishing has issued The Phantom of the Opera Companion, a definitive account of the tale, tracing the legend from its origins, and through all its artistic incarnations, to the contemporary theater production and film. It includes the complete screenplay and more than 150 photographs from both the film and theater productions worldwide.

The soundtrack has been released on CD.

Warner Home Video announced that the film is to be released on HD DVD on March 28, 2006.Business Wire. Warner Home Video Announces Titles and Release Dates for HD DVD. January 5, 2006. It would be one of the earliest titles to be released on that media format.

Wins & Nominations

Wins

Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films

Best Performance by a Younger Actor - Emmy Rossum

Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards

Best Young Actress - Emmy Rossum

National Board of Review

Female Breakthrough Performance - Emmy Rossum

San Diego Film Critics Society Awards

Best Cinematography - John Mathieson (tied with Christopher Doyle for Hero)

Young Artist Awards

Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actress - Emmy Rossum

Nominations

2005 Academy Awards

Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films

Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film
Best Costumes - Alexandra Byrne

Art Directors Guild

Feature Film - Period or Fantasy Film - Anthony Pratt

Costume Designers Guild Awards

Excellence in Costume Design for Film - Period/Fantasy - Alexandra Byrne

Golden Globe

Online Film Critics Society Awards

Best Breakthrough Performance - Emmy Rossum

Young Artist Awards

Best Family Feature Film - Comedy or Musical

Critical reaction

After its release the film was met with mixed reviews. The general critical consensus of the film was that it was visually spectacular, but a bit lacking in realistic romance and danger. Gerard Butler was criticized for his wooden acting which did not bring out the full character of the phantom. Emmy Rossum however received much acclaim and a Golden Globe nomination for her performance.

Gerard Butler, a baritone with a voice untrained previous to the film, was criticised for not having the full range needed to play the title character, though this was often by fans (also called Phans) enraged that Michael Crawford was not cast. He was also criticized for being too young and generally not having the proper appearance for the character. His deformity has been criticized for barely being there, and many fans jokingly refer to it as a sunburn.

A version of the film to be released on the internet with the original London cast recording synched to the film giving the illusion that it is being performed by the Michael Crawford, et al. Some felt Emmy Rossum and Patrick Wilson did not have mature enough voices for the roles of Christine and Raoul, although they were chosen to show more innocence in their voices from the stage version.

Popular response, however, was much more positive, with the movie maintaining a spot in the top ten grossing movies of the week, for a month, even in limited release. Due to its limited theatre count, however, domestic box office receipts overall fell short of the film's $60-70 million USD budget, but when foreign box office receipts were added in, it quickly made a profit, earning over $100 million overseas.

Trivia

In the beginning, during the auction, the auctioner shouts out "Lot 666 then, a chandelier in pieces." Lot 666 is an artifact from the Phantom of the Opera incident. The number 666 is the number of the beast. This alludes to the evil and Satanic personality and character of the Phantom.
The Phantom is normally performed by a tenor and Raoul is performed by a baritone. Incidentally, here the roles are reversed as Gerard Butler is a baritone and Patrick Wilson is a tenor.

References

External links

The Phantom of the Opera official home page

2004 films | Musical films | Films based on horror books | Best Song Academy Award nominees | Films directed by Joel Schumacher

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