The Phantom of the Opera Options

[ApocalypseAelis]

Okay, the search bar isn't working for me for some reason, and I'm hoping this will be sort of pardoned because of the length...well, here's my review on it. I thought it would be okay since it's a whole review...

I just finished watching this movie after I rented the DVD. I was originally looking for Farenheit 9/11 (which I still intend to watch sometime in the near future), but the idiots at the rental store didn't know if they had it or not because they had a crappy organization system. So I decided to go with Phantom of the Opera anyway because my dad recommended it. I thought it would be really boring. BUT IT WASN'T.


The artistry in this movie is absolutely breathtaking. The operahouse scene, cemetary scene, catacombs scene, every scene has the most amazing setting. They're gorgeous. Unlike most modern movies, which aren't really what you'd call works of art...more like just entertainment. But this is really...I can't think of any other way to describe it than a work of art. Yeah, it's a cliche, but I don't care. Every shot is awash in carefully arranged, glorious and stunning victorian beauty. I wish everyday life was this.


Also, since it was based off the famous opera/play, there's of course a lot of singing going on. Even though from what I heard, the guy playing the phantom had little previous experience in singing, he played his part really great. You could've said he was a professional and I'd have believed you. Most of the dialogue is singing, which is done very well, with soft and loud parts that are really rich. When I watch a movie, the music and sound affects me a LOT. It sets the mood for a scene, it can get you at the edge of your seat, it can make you nervous, it can make the hairs at the back of your neck stand up. Even a movie with the most beautifully put together cast and set would probably suck with no music.

Let me tell you how good the music in this really is.

• It was so good, I didn't skip the end credits like I usually do. Instead, I let it roll just to listen to the last song (Learn to be Lonely).
  
• It was so good, I immediately (when I say immediately, I mean no-less-than-7-seconds-later immediately) opened Limewire to download the whole soundtrack.
  
• It was so good, it compelled me to go on google and search up the singers.
  
• It was so good, it made me change my opinion on opera completely.

Seriously, the music is the biggest reason why I love this movie. It makes me look at some modern bands and wish they were this good. I'm still listening to the soundtrack now. I personally recommend the main theme, The Phantom of the Opera, The Music of the Night, Masquerade, and The Point of No Return.


The acting was also terrific. Some of the colorful characters are La Carlotta, the haughty opera diva, the Phantom (well, obviously), Christine, and Raoul.

La Carlotta is played extremely well-she's arrogant, spoiled, bratty, and showy. At the same time, she has an amazing singing voice and enormous talent. I love her costumes; they're bright and gaudy and enormous. The actress who played her role did it very well and really brought out her personality.

The Phantom is a guy who lives under the opera because insert spoiler here. He's a musical genius who has a bit of a disfigurement on his face, which has to do why he lives under the opera. Anyway, he's a mysterious, moody kind of dude who's really lonely and has no problem with killing people because insert spoiler here. Oh, and did I mention he's really hot? Okay, ignore that,, but it's true. Weirdly true. He has a disfigurement, but when it's covered, he's very hot. :D Or maybe it's just me and the whole live in a dungeon with candles and organ thing... Whatever; the point is, he's dramatic and dark and played very well by Gerald Butler.

Christine is an innocent, unassuming woman/girl/female who has a great singing voice that is discovered by the opera owners early in the movie. This leads to her having a larger singing career that buds from her original position as a dancer or someone who plays small parts in a play. She loves her childhood sweetheart, Raoul, who isn't as hot as the Phantom, which is saying a lot, since the Phantom has a disfigurement on his face. Okay, ignore that too. Well, Christine's beautiful soprano voice is what makes the Phantom fall in love with her, and after that she's sort of pursued by him...even though she loves Raoul. Emmy Rossum plays this part very well. She's really pretty in a sort of angelic way, which helps with her character.

Raoul is a normal, casual sort of guy...he's normal. There's no other way to explain it. HE'S JUST NORMAL. Which is why I don't like him and wanted him to go away. But his part is important in the movie. Played by Patrick Wilson.






There's just one little thing that sort of irked me though...Christine, who is the other main character, sort of annoyed me by constantly going back and forth between her "love" for her childhood sweetheart and the Phantom. -_- Even though her character is a sweet, innocent sort of girl.

Here are some photos:









He is SO HOT in that one. o_o



and this one.

THE POINT IS, Phantom of the Opera is an amazing movie and it gets 5 stars from me for an amazing cast, amazing music, an amazing set with amazing singers, and for being so good it forced me to listen through the end credits. Seriously, you should watch it.

[Midnight Faerie]

I. Love. This. Movie. It has everything I adore. Romance, song, and that creepiness that makes the fine hairs on your arm stand up. I want to see the play so badly.