[lottielou22]

I LOVED the movie. I really did. I don't care that Emmy Rossum has a weird on-again off-again British accent. I don't care that Gerard Butler wasn't all that deformed. I realized these things after watching it a few times, but they still don't bother me. I still think it's a gorgeous movie and I think that Gerard Butler has charisma and that the movie version wasn't shallow at all. I still thought it was touching and beautiful.
Does anyone agree with me?? (Angry Stagephans, don't beat me to death, please.)

[What Is This Feeling?]

Well, I'm glad you enjoyed the film. I don't ever get mad at someone for liking a piece of art that I don't like. (That's quite lame) I can't agree with you though. I saw the film once , and it didn't do it for me. For me, the stage show is like 20 times better. I think both leads were miscast. Minnie Driver was the only good part. Madame Giry was decent too. You've seen it onstage right Charlotte? Do you like the film better than the stage musical?

Although the emotion, charachters, score and lyrics are the msot important part of a musical, I missed a certain spectacle element of it. Certain scenes were ruined with unnecessary changes. They severely shortened Act 2, Scene 3. Chopped it up. I did like the visuals of Madam Giry at a young age and seeing The Phantom at the carnival. That was cool. The blurry black and white nostalgic feel the more modern scenes had were memorable too. I think Joel Shumacher kind of messed it up. For me. But of course, to each his own.

I'll always love the stage show.

[musical_maven]

The movie was my first exposure to the show, I feel in love with the story and became really obsessed! I love the movie and the stage show with equal enthusiasm, but nothing can compare to when the house lights dim and the famous overture starts to play....

[lottielou22]

I saw the stage show once; it was the touring version this past January, and I adored it. I love them both equally, though in some cases for different reasons.
But yeah, musical_maven, i do have to say, that walking into the theatre and seeing the stage and the lights going down and the music starting definitely have an effect that the movie could never acheive. That may just be the thrill of live theatre, but I think it's especially strong with this particular show.

[Mazz]

Emmy Rossum was supposed to have a British accent?

Really?

One of the things that really bugged me about it was that Raoul and Christine were the only Americans in the cast!

That and some of the really poor pacing and random lyric changes and some stuff that you could see what they were going for but it didn't work out.

[lottielou22]

I don't know if she was supposed to have one or not, you really couldn't tell. Sometimes she did, sometimes she didn't. I don't think she knew.

[operafantomet]

[le_moofin]

[Aella]

[shakalakababy]

i'll be completly honest and i've never really admitted this before.
Before this movie came out, i never listened to musical theater. I liked some disney shows, and some classics but i never listened to them and didn't really own any musicals (except chicago which i was quite into) I listened to emo/punk music, wore all black, cut myself and was diagnosed with depression. Then the phantom movie came out december of my freshmen year of high school, i saw it on a whim and fell in love with it. I had never heard the show before and didn't know anything about it and after the movie i wanted more and more. I saw it three more times in theater and listened to it non-stop. Slowly i stopped listening to shitty punk music and listened to phantom more and more, soon i got the OBC and then through phantom i started discovering more and more shows and by that time the next year, all i listened to was musicals and i was ten times happier. Now i've seen the show live three times and do realize that it's much better then the movie, and yes the movie is pretty crappy. But as cheesy as it sounds, it changed my life. And without it i wouldn't be posting here, and i probably wouldn't be leaving to college to major in theater.

don't judge me

[musictheatre00]

your story is so awesome Michelle.

Funny side story-before I realized I was in love with musical theater, I tried to be gangsta kid, The funniest part of all was ,through all that, as much as I tried to listen to a lot of hip hop, I still loved musical thetre, I was in drama club, landing awesome roles like Winthrop & Marcellus in The Music Man, Randolph in Bye Bye Birdie, and Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance ( although by then I was pretty much close to done with the whole thing.) It is such an amazing and crazy journey, but funniest of all is I don't know how I went all through middle school without understanding that.

[LaGataNegra]

That's great that you guys 'found yourselves'! It can be a hard journey, but once you accept yourself, life is so much more fun!

Especially with music that makes you happy.

Thank you for sharing!

As for the movie (to veer back on topic), I was thrilled by it, mostly because of the rich orchestrations and that chandelier shot. Repeat views have lessened the thrill, but it still holds as a decent version, with great music. I think it could have been better cast (notable exception: the lovely Mr. Wilson) Gerard Butler is, like, totally HOTT, but that's a tiny problem when the Phantom isn't supposed to be. It was an interesting turn to make the original trip to the lair 'fantasy-fied', then contrasting it with the second trip 'down once more'. It ain't the stage show, but nothing but the stage show could be.

I am really thankful that the movie has brought many young'ns into the Music theatre fandom-the more the merrier!

[Set_Buildin_Dad]

Those are wonderful storys shakalakababy and musicaltheatre00. I'm so glad that musical theatre was able to turn your life around so profoundly. I agree with all the above posters that the movie has its flaws, but it also has some good performances and wonderful cinematography.

I completely agree with the opinion that the phantom was miscast, but I am less critical of the choice of Emmy Rossum as Christine. My understanding was that Webber and Schumacher were looking for a younger ingenue to play the role in order to give credibility to the naivete that Christine exhibits in falling for the phantom. Webber also insisted that none of the principals be dubbed. Rossum was a choice that fulfilled this mission for me. Did she look the role? - yes (a big part of movie casting these days). Was her acting up to par? - it was just Ok in my opinion. It could have been much better, however it was good enough to get several nominations for awards. Was her singing good enough? - once again I think it was just OK. Unfortunately I don't know of any other Hollywood ingenues that could have performed better. I thank god that they didn't try to stunt cast the movie with someone like Lindsay Lohan or try to resurrect Sarah Brightman to play the role.

[gabby81]

I was first introduced to Phantom at least a decade ago. I was able to see the original Canadian production with Colm Wilkinson and Rebecca Caine. I've been a fan ever since, mainly the music, which I have the recordings and the sheet music for piano. My obsession deepened when I first watched the movie. I know compared to the theater performance, well, it doesn't compare. But I enjoy it for what it is, a movie, and I thoroughly enjoy the emphasis on the love triangle. I admit, I'm a little behind in reading Phantom, I think I'm a third of the way through it now, and I'm amazed by the original story compared to the theater productions. Right now I'm just hooked on everything Phantom

[Barberous]

I didn't like the movie, but I'm happy for anyone who did. I've only seen it once. If you don't want to read rambling complaints about the movie, stop reading now...

- The phantom was too young! I thought a large part of making Christine's acceptance of the Phantom coming weirdly into her life believable (or, less unbelievable) was that strong association between the Phantom and her father. To me it didn't make sense to ignore that connection by having the Phantom a (relatively) young man, a purely romantic figure in relation to Christine right from the start.

- The circus flashback annoyed me. The guy looked ridiculous, being led around in his underwear with a bag on his head. IMO the Phantom should seem mysterious and, for the most part, dignified until the end of the show. I think the movie showed the Phantom too much in general, if that make sense. You know, stuck him in the middle of the frame in full light, or whatever.

- The set design of the movie was way OTT. I'd have thought a movie would need to tone down that stuff in comparison to the stage show, but instead they ramped it up. It looked tacky.

- I can't really remember the performers... Emmy Rossum looked and sounded fine to me, but I didn't like her acting.

[EponineBarker]

[Elphaba22]

Phantom was the first musical I ever saw, I saw it on Broadway when I was a wee one, and was obsessed with the OBC recording for years after. I've seen it 6 or 7 more times since. I didn't like the movie as well, because of the vocals and because the chandelier in the theatre is so crazy and scary and awesome, but when you're watching it on the screen, it's not the same.
but I didn't think it was as bad as the Rent movie. Lol

[Fantine]

I like the movie as a seperate piece. I think that Patrick Wilson and Emmy Rossum make a very cute couple, and I adore their scenes together. It's very romantic. I dunno. And Patrick as Raoul in this movie reminds me of someone I have always held dear so that gives it an extra dimension.

[Disney-Bway27]

I, personally, can't stand Raoul as a character. He's cocky, and frankly, he looks feminine throughout the whole movie.
I've been listening to Phantom since I was in the womb. Not even kidding. When my mom was pregnant with me, she went to a middle school band concert, and they were playing "Highlights From the Phantom of the Opera" and as soon as the big "DUUUUUUH!!!" started, I apparently started kicking.
I've memorized the OBCR and I've seen the movie countless times. Just for the record, I saw the film before I saw the stage show. I loved them both. I guess I didn't have anything to compare to the film, so I loved it, even though it's obviously inferior. The same thing happened to me with Rent--I saw the movie before I saw the show and loved it. If I saw the shows first, I'd probably hate both of the movies.

[operadiva7]

The Phantom of the Opera movie was the first musical thing I ever saw. I was ten, and it completly captivated me. Thats what got me into to musical theatre, and now I'm a singer and actress.
Yes, the scenes are over the top. Yes, Gerard Butler was too goodlooking and Emmy could have done better.
But It's still my favorite musical, despite it's daramtic shortcomings. Part of the fun of Phantom is getting lost in the swooping bigness of it all.

[Orestes Fasting]

I was in the fandom for a couple years before the movie came out, so maybe the anticipation killed it for me, I don't know. I wanted to like it, really I did. But there were too many dealbreakers--the bad singing, for one, and the way Gerard Butler was obviously supposed to come off as a hunk. But more than that, it never seemed to mesh stylistically or draw me into the story; it's like it didn't know what point it was trying to make or what effect it was trying to give. And without the atmosphere and stylistic unity of the stage show, the weaknesses in the plot and the music were more exposed.

And as an unrepentant goth with a 2000+ MdN postcount--musical theater and subculture are not incompatible. If punk or hip-hop or whatever wasn't right for you, I'm glad you found something that was, but that doesn't mean punk music is shitty and people who dress in black need to get a life.

I usually don't talk about my subculture because it isn't exactly on-topic, but I do feel the need to defend it when the people here act like MT is some superior and enlightened way of life, and people with odd piercings and music you can't buy in Borders are some strange insectoid species of sub-beings. It was the same when people discovered that the Sweeney Todd movie was being marketed to--gasp! shock!--goths, as though anyone who listens to Nine Inch Nails is too dumb to appreciate anything but the blood and gore.

[lottielou22]

^ I love your signature.