The Phantom of the Opera (2004) - User Ratings and Movie Reviews

So Romantic!, by Jennifer

By , December 19, 2005

I love the film! It was so inspirational and heartwarming to me. I so loved the part where they went to his lair. Also I loved Emmy Rossum's voice. They made a perfect duet.
I know that it's just a movie, but it's the best one I've seen since Titanic.

R U Serious, by Jonathon

By , May 20, 2005

The screen play was great but that was it. The movie was too long and drawn out. And the singers are on a whole other level. Raul was the best of the three and he lacked some breath support. Christine comes in a far off second with no vibrato and purely straight tone making the pitches seem flat, The Phantom was Horrible, listen to him, every pitch was just awful. I didnt know it could get this bad. I have seen the opera about four times with professional singers and one would think that if they had planned the movie four years in advance that they could have found actors with more than capable abilities to pull this show off. I wonder how Andrew LLoyd Webber feels about this movie! The one thing I try to do when watching a show is to listen and enjoy the music, I am also a singer who is classically trained and I know the difference between singing musicals and operas but these people could never perform in a musical. Why is it that the producers who try and make a movie from a real life staged show feel that they must involve actors such as minnie driver or Emmy Rossum. Puzzles me. Feel free to email me at jonathon75@hotmail.com

Incredible!!, by Hannah

By , May 10, 2005

I love this film!! I have two soundtracks of the show, the film and stage version, and I thought the actors played and sang their parts to exception. I was enthralled by Emmy Rossums voice and I never noticed before how sexy Gerard Butler is! This was truly inspirational, I am am working on the main song, 'The Phantom of the Opera' to perform in a show. I too am a classically trained singer, and I could not get enough of this film. I am truly hooked, and I am know this film will stay with me until I die! I loved it!

Move on, by Jack

By , July 19, 2004

It's true that Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman created the roles of the Phantom and Christine on stage and that the show was written for Brightman. But to expect to see them in the film simply for this reason is just as ridiculous as expecting them to still be going in the West End. I personally have seen the play twice, once in Bradford and once in London, and one of the things I enjoyed the most was seeing different actors interpretations of the roles and the anticipation of how well will she hit that top E.
I have great faith in the casting of the film, I first heard they were considering making it into a film four years ago so they've had plenty of time to carefully consider their choice of singers/ actors. In addition to this, they know that the die hard fans wanted to see the original pair up on the screen, so they will have made sure that Butler and Rossum can match them, and dare I say it, maybe even surpass them.
The teaser trailer looks gorgeous and captures the essence of the musical on stage. But for all our deliberating, we'll have to wait until December to know how well it has been done. I know I can hardly wait, I only wish they'd made it sooner.

top note, by Steve

By , July 19, 2004

I've been hooked on the movie musical since I was a kid watching Shirley Jones in "Oklahoma". While I'm excited about this movie I have a few notes of my own. Firstly, for all those live theatre fans, a LOT of the stage musical is taped (including the organ music and the infamous high E everyone's writing about). Emmy Rossum has been singing in the children's chorus of the Met Opera since she was 7 so I expect she has some skill plus with the exception of the cadenza in her first solo and her minor climb in the title song she really never sings above a G. Plus, whatever anyone can't hit can be helped electronically by the audio guys. I'm more shocked at the casting of Minnie Driver since the dramatic coloratura of Carlotta is being provided by a real singer. What's the point of using her if she's lip syncing??

What I think is most interesting is how much the movie LOOKS like the stage version. You can go all over the world and see 'The Phantom of the Opera' or 'das Phantom der Oper' or 'el Fantasma de la Opera' or 'het Spook aur dem Oper' and see the same McTheatre show. Everyone and everything looks and sounds the same and it appears theatregoers have come to expect that and now that influence appears to be transferring over to the movie as well. When I watch the trailer I can literally tell which scenes I'm looking at.

I will have to wait to see the whole movie to make a firm judgement but I hope it will be an exciting version of the original that can capture the perfumed look and feel of a live performance.

Louise, by Louise

By , July 10, 2004

Oh my goodness! How excited am i? I have just stumbled along a few websites and seen for the first time the teaser trailer from the new Phantom film. Overall it looks stunning and I don't know how i shall be able to wait so long to see it.
I first saw Phantom on the West End stage many years ago and even though i was a child, the memories have never left me.
I am a little bit dubious about the cast in this film though.
I agree that Sarah Brightman is too old now which is a shame because she was the original Christine and let's not forget that that Andrew Lloyd Webber composed it for her. Michael Crawford isn't too old however as the part of the Phantom is in many ways ageless, so if it is true, then it's a pity that Michael simply didn't want to do it.
As for the two they have chosen. Gerrard Butler who at the age of 35 is in my opinion too young to play the role. Yes I know that I am contradicting my earlier comment that Phantom is ageless but i think there is a limit and a level of maturity that has to be reached. Then there is Christine's part played by Emmy Rossum who is a little known 17 year old actress from New York.
All I can say is that I hope they do a decent English accent because if they use their own accents then we will have a Scottish Phantom and an American Christine. At the risk of offending Americans and Scots out there I think this would be a disaster.One of the reasons the original production worked so well because it had an English quality (even if it is set in Paris!). If they did perform using English accents then that's fine but I hope they had a good dialect coach!
I agree with an earlier comment that Emmy Rossum is not too young to play the part, as Christine is supposed to be young and pure.
I have to admit though that I would have expected more famous faces to be cast as the leads. For example I think that Charlotte Church would have been perfect as Christine and also the right age.
Despite all of this I am still an utterly devoted fan and will be so excited to see the film when it finally arrives.

<#>must fun<#>, by Cosette

By , July 10, 2004

I love this play and (lucky me) was in it for my school. it was so fun!

O...M...F...G, by Orca WaiL

By , July 10, 2004

Wow.
Like Louise here, I just stumbled on a teaser movie. The first words that came to mind are, unfortunately inappropriate, however, "HOLY CRIPES ON TOAST!" should cover my reaction.
There will be problems, as with any movie which has been converted (ie, book to movie). But now I'm convinced at the very least it will be a grand ol' fashion sprawling flim (like "Pirates of the Carribean" was) and a feast for phantom phans.
I can't say much for Joel's Batman work, however...if he does turn "Phantom" into a "DarkMan" spin, I'll slap him personally.
Mep. I'm gonna go see if I can get advanced tickets!

can't wait!, by phantomphan

By , June 30, 2004

I only just saw Phantom live in Philadelphia a couple of years ago after wanting to see it for so long. How breathtaking it all was! When I found out by accident that they were finally making the movie, I was so happy! Come on though, Sarah and Michael are way too old. Besides, there will be no preconceived notions by using relative unknowns. But how may girls can hit that high E? I know I can't and I am clasically trained. The girl in Philly was struggling. Christine is supposed to be young and untouched, that's the idea. Chicago was stupendous, I had my doubts about that too-didn't think that Richard Gere or anyone else for that matter could sing or dance-was I wrong. Went to see it 2x-something I never do, also bought the DVD as well. Queen Latifah was awesome...anyway, I have hope that Phantom will live up to all our expectations.

at last!, by angelofmusic

By , June 29, 2004

I saw PTO twice, once when I was younger and more recently when I could better appreciate all it's wonder. I know several movies have been made, but the trailer ALONE convinced me that this will be like no other rendition. Truly it seems to form.. from the characters to that wonderful musical score.
Will it be different than the play? Probably. You can't do it perfectly. But look at Chicago. Great musical great movie, and just a little different. Look at Harry Potter. Amazing books amazing movies! Christmas is far too long a time away for this movie to come out. That trailer was a cruel tease at something wonderful!