This week's Saturday Night Premiere comes to us from HBO. Tonight they premiered the movie adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera. This latest version was released in 2004 and brought to the screen by Joel Schumacher. It stars Gerard Butler in the role of the phantom with Emmy Rossum playing his faithful student. Having seen the stage play of this many years ago, I was looking forward to seeing what they'd done with the movie.
I was not in the least disappointed by the film. What stands out as always is the soundtrack.A good deal of the movie is in song. The characters sing their dialogue even, and the music is as powerful as always. Who does not know the infamous piano cords that announce the arrival of the phantom on scene?
This movie is not only stunning to the ears but to the eyes as well. The costuming and scenery is wonderful to see. Emmy plays the role of Christine beautifully. She is stunningly beautiful, and she has that innocent quality to her look that make her ideal for this role. Gerard also did well in the role of the phantom.
The movie does stay faithful to the story. The film only allows for more scenery to be included that wouldn't normally appear in a stage production. I thoroughlu enjoyed this film, and I'd highly recommend picking up the DVD and soundtrack for any fans of the story.
The DVD can be found via Amazon
. The soundtrack is available via Amazon
or available for download via iTunes here. For just a taste of the soundtrack, download Phantom of the Opera.
My rating: 4 out of 4
Saturday Night Premiere: The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Posted by Regina Avalos at 8:27 PM
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3 comments:
Haven't watched this yet! Keep meaning to rent it. I don't have HBO unfortunately.
Wow! I must say I'm very impressed you've given this movie such a great review.
I saw Phantom on-stage and thought for sure that I would just end up hating the film. Have you seen it on-stage? I wonder if that would change an opinion or two.
Either way, I will be checking this out soon. Thanks for the sharing your insight.
Yes, as I mentioned in my review, I'd seen the stage version many years ago.
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