The Phantom of the Opera is there inside my mind...
Squee! The 'rents and I went to see the Phantom of the Opera movie this afternoon!
Phantom music in Dolby surround sound? Whooooooooooah! XD I got shivers up my spine several times. Similar to the experience of hearing it with a live orchestra, but still awesome.
I'll get my major nitpick out of the way first before I gush about how awesome the majority of it was...
I wasn't crazy about Gerard Butler as the Phantom, but toward the end of the film he was starting to win me over. He's no Michael Crawford, obviously. He doesn't even try to be like Michael Crawford. He doesn't sing as well as Crawford. He's much more handsome than Crawford, but in this case that might not be a good thing. The Phantom isn't supposed to be so pretty. Not even on his good side! LOL! He didn't have the grace, power and intensity that Crawford exudes in the role, either.
I also thought he was too young compared to Christine and Raoul. I had trouble imagining her get inwardly torn between "Ooh, father figure to cling to!" and "Ooh, tall dark sexy stranger!" The second one, sure, but not so much the first one.
But he wasn't all bad. Once I really allowed myself to stop the comparisons to Michael Crawford and approached it with as fresh a slate as I could, I found I didn't dislike him.
And yes, I know, Michael Crawford (and Sarah Brightman) are both too old to play the part(s) anymore. I know that. But I would have still liked a reasonable Crawford-impersonator! ;) Oh well. He wasn't bad, by any means--just very different.
Emmy Rossum was an excellent Christine. She had the right mix of doe-eyed innocence and warm compassion that makes the character so interesting. She sang beautifully, too.
Patrick Wilson made me like Raoul about ten times better than I've ever liked the character before. I'm still an Erik/Christine shipper in my heart of hearts, but dang--this Raoul was something! Riding full speed on a horse and having a swordfight did wonders to dispel the wussy aristocrat image! ;) He needs a haircut, but other than that two enthusiastic thumbs up for Raoul.
Minnie Driver, although she didn't do her own singing, was excellent as Carlotta. Just a hoot. Obnoxious and hateful, of course, but in a good way. ;D Those poodles...oh, man! LOL!
At first I thought Miranda Richardson was too young for Mme Giry, but she soon dispelled those doubts. She was awesome. And I barely thought of LotR the whole time. ;)
I liked the expanded backstory about Erik. It was a bit different and more detailed than the version given in the stage play (i.e. Giry actually helped him escape the circus and hide in the opera house instead of just having seen him on display there) but not in a bad way.
Although now there are interesting questions regarding Meg's parentage... LOL!
The other characters, Meg, the managers, Piangi, etc, were all good. No complaints.
And hey, they worked in the trap with the room of mirrors! That's from the original Leroux novel, not the Lloyd Webber play. It was a brief little moment, but it was cool for us major Phantom geeks.
The costumes and sets were just...wow. Really, really good. Those Hannibal stage costumes were insanely detailed. o_0
I wasn't crazy about the staging of the Masquerade scene. I can understand why, for stylistic purposes, it was easier to have the extras in black-and-white costumes and just have the actual characters in colored costumes, but the effect was sort of bland and sterile when compared to the gaudy, shiny, chaotic rainbow that is that scene on stage. And the Red Death costume was far simpler than it should have been. Erik barely looked like he was in a costume. I know Michael Crawford et al could barely walk or see in that getup, but this is a motion picture--you have more options than in live theater, and they should have taken advantage of that to really make that costume impressive. So that scene was a disappointment.
Speaking of movie magic, I wish they had made Erik even more hideous-looking. I think about the makeup and prosthesis Crawford wore, with the jagged part on his skull and the twisted lip, and that, to me, is the Phantom. Butler's makeup was deformed and really ugly, yes, but they could have pushed it even more. And most of the time when he was unmasked he was in such dark shadows you couldn't even really see him.
And what was up with all the cleavage and thigh shots? Christine is an innocent girl, not a stripper. I understand they wanted to appeal to a broader, younger audience, but when she was walking through a freezing-cold graveyard in the snow with a cape around her shoulders and her entire neck, chest and major cleavage open to the air...puh-leeze. Fffft. Cover yourself up, woman, or you'll get pneumonia! And flashing all that leg with garter in the boat on the lagoon? No. Just...no.
For that matter, the Phantom and Raoul both ran around with loose white shirts open in the front quite a bit. I'm not complaining, mind you... ;) Well, maybe I am. I like a handsome guy in a poofy pirate-shirt as much as the next insane wenchy fangirl, but I'm not 100% convinced it was true to either character.
I miss the Phantom's hat, too. Crawford had a killer black fedora.
Not crazy about a Phantom with sideburns, either, but that's a reeeeaaally anal-retentive nitpick. ;) I did like how they let his hair get all messed up whenever his mask got messed with. I like that and I'm glad they kept it. A small detail, maybe, but I think it's a nice symbol of the unrest in his mind.
I want to know who lights all those candles. Yeeeeesh! LOL!! And dangit, I want magic candles that can spring up from underwater and light themselves! Heehee...
There were many instances of the characters speaking lines that were sung in the stage version, and in some places I liked it better that way, and in some places I didn't. *shrug* Sometimes it seemed more natural, and sometimes it felt silly and stilted (particuarly the ones that blatantly rhymed) but if I weren't so used to the original version I don't think any would have bugged me.
Sheep on stage for the ballet? Hilarious. Those were some really fat/floofy sheep! XD The whole backstage ambiance and chaos was well-represented, and something you don't really get on stage.
I loved how we got to see the Phantom stalking Buquet through the catwalks. The whole setup made his death so much more meaningful, and less random.
I thought it would bother me that they moved the chandelier-falling scene to the end, but it didn't, really. Onscreen, without an intermission, it actually seemed to flow better this way.
The flashforward sequences with old!Raoul and old!Meg were really cool. As a postcard geek I was in ecstatics over the very first part, where the camera zooms into an old postcard of the opera house. XD And the way those scenes were filmed, the whole thing felt like it was inside of an old photograph. Not sure how they did it, but it was a great effect.
And the last scene, at Christine's grave...OMGWTFWEEEEEEEEEP!!!! ;_; So sad, so striking, so poignant! That rose! Awwwwwwwwwwww! *sniffle*
Wow, that got long. o_0 I guess I'm just excited to have finally seen it! ^_^
In short, a few nitpicks, and I wasn't completely thrilled with Butler as the Phantom, but overall I was a squeeing puddle of fangirly bliss, and I loved it. I have to see it at least once more before it leaves the theater! XD
And now I have an urge to read the Gaston Leroux novel and the Susan Kay novel again, too. ;) It's been many years--high school, at least, since I read either.
Phantom music in Dolby surround sound? Whooooooooooah! XD I got shivers up my spine several times. Similar to the experience of hearing it with a live orchestra, but still awesome.
I'll get my major nitpick out of the way first before I gush about how awesome the majority of it was...
I wasn't crazy about Gerard Butler as the Phantom, but toward the end of the film he was starting to win me over. He's no Michael Crawford, obviously. He doesn't even try to be like Michael Crawford. He doesn't sing as well as Crawford. He's much more handsome than Crawford, but in this case that might not be a good thing. The Phantom isn't supposed to be so pretty. Not even on his good side! LOL! He didn't have the grace, power and intensity that Crawford exudes in the role, either.
I also thought he was too young compared to Christine and Raoul. I had trouble imagining her get inwardly torn between "Ooh, father figure to cling to!" and "Ooh, tall dark sexy stranger!" The second one, sure, but not so much the first one.
But he wasn't all bad. Once I really allowed myself to stop the comparisons to Michael Crawford and approached it with as fresh a slate as I could, I found I didn't dislike him.
And yes, I know, Michael Crawford (and Sarah Brightman) are both too old to play the part(s) anymore. I know that. But I would have still liked a reasonable Crawford-impersonator! ;) Oh well. He wasn't bad, by any means--just very different.
Emmy Rossum was an excellent Christine. She had the right mix of doe-eyed innocence and warm compassion that makes the character so interesting. She sang beautifully, too.
Patrick Wilson made me like Raoul about ten times better than I've ever liked the character before. I'm still an Erik/Christine shipper in my heart of hearts, but dang--this Raoul was something! Riding full speed on a horse and having a swordfight did wonders to dispel the wussy aristocrat image! ;) He needs a haircut, but other than that two enthusiastic thumbs up for Raoul.
Minnie Driver, although she didn't do her own singing, was excellent as Carlotta. Just a hoot. Obnoxious and hateful, of course, but in a good way. ;D Those poodles...oh, man! LOL!
At first I thought Miranda Richardson was too young for Mme Giry, but she soon dispelled those doubts. She was awesome. And I barely thought of LotR the whole time. ;)
I liked the expanded backstory about Erik. It was a bit different and more detailed than the version given in the stage play (i.e. Giry actually helped him escape the circus and hide in the opera house instead of just having seen him on display there) but not in a bad way.
Although now there are interesting questions regarding Meg's parentage... LOL!
The other characters, Meg, the managers, Piangi, etc, were all good. No complaints.
And hey, they worked in the trap with the room of mirrors! That's from the original Leroux novel, not the Lloyd Webber play. It was a brief little moment, but it was cool for us major Phantom geeks.
The costumes and sets were just...wow. Really, really good. Those Hannibal stage costumes were insanely detailed. o_0
I wasn't crazy about the staging of the Masquerade scene. I can understand why, for stylistic purposes, it was easier to have the extras in black-and-white costumes and just have the actual characters in colored costumes, but the effect was sort of bland and sterile when compared to the gaudy, shiny, chaotic rainbow that is that scene on stage. And the Red Death costume was far simpler than it should have been. Erik barely looked like he was in a costume. I know Michael Crawford et al could barely walk or see in that getup, but this is a motion picture--you have more options than in live theater, and they should have taken advantage of that to really make that costume impressive. So that scene was a disappointment.
Speaking of movie magic, I wish they had made Erik even more hideous-looking. I think about the makeup and prosthesis Crawford wore, with the jagged part on his skull and the twisted lip, and that, to me, is the Phantom. Butler's makeup was deformed and really ugly, yes, but they could have pushed it even more. And most of the time when he was unmasked he was in such dark shadows you couldn't even really see him.
And what was up with all the cleavage and thigh shots? Christine is an innocent girl, not a stripper. I understand they wanted to appeal to a broader, younger audience, but when she was walking through a freezing-cold graveyard in the snow with a cape around her shoulders and her entire neck, chest and major cleavage open to the air...puh-leeze. Fffft. Cover yourself up, woman, or you'll get pneumonia! And flashing all that leg with garter in the boat on the lagoon? No. Just...no.
For that matter, the Phantom and Raoul both ran around with loose white shirts open in the front quite a bit. I'm not complaining, mind you... ;) Well, maybe I am. I like a handsome guy in a poofy pirate-shirt as much as the next insane wenchy fangirl, but I'm not 100% convinced it was true to either character.
I miss the Phantom's hat, too. Crawford had a killer black fedora.
Not crazy about a Phantom with sideburns, either, but that's a reeeeaaally anal-retentive nitpick. ;) I did like how they let his hair get all messed up whenever his mask got messed with. I like that and I'm glad they kept it. A small detail, maybe, but I think it's a nice symbol of the unrest in his mind.
I want to know who lights all those candles. Yeeeeesh! LOL!! And dangit, I want magic candles that can spring up from underwater and light themselves! Heehee...
There were many instances of the characters speaking lines that were sung in the stage version, and in some places I liked it better that way, and in some places I didn't. *shrug* Sometimes it seemed more natural, and sometimes it felt silly and stilted (particuarly the ones that blatantly rhymed) but if I weren't so used to the original version I don't think any would have bugged me.
Sheep on stage for the ballet? Hilarious. Those were some really fat/floofy sheep! XD The whole backstage ambiance and chaos was well-represented, and something you don't really get on stage.
I loved how we got to see the Phantom stalking Buquet through the catwalks. The whole setup made his death so much more meaningful, and less random.
I thought it would bother me that they moved the chandelier-falling scene to the end, but it didn't, really. Onscreen, without an intermission, it actually seemed to flow better this way.
The flashforward sequences with old!Raoul and old!Meg were really cool. As a postcard geek I was in ecstatics over the very first part, where the camera zooms into an old postcard of the opera house. XD And the way those scenes were filmed, the whole thing felt like it was inside of an old photograph. Not sure how they did it, but it was a great effect.
And the last scene, at Christine's grave...OMGWTFWEEEEEEEEEP!!!! ;_; So sad, so striking, so poignant! That rose! Awwwwwwwwwwww! *sniffle*
Wow, that got long. o_0 I guess I'm just excited to have finally seen it! ^_^
In short, a few nitpicks, and I wasn't completely thrilled with Butler as the Phantom, but overall I was a squeeing puddle of fangirly bliss, and I loved it. I have to see it at least once more before it leaves the theater! XD
And now I have an urge to read the Gaston Leroux novel and the Susan Kay novel again, too. ;) It's been many years--high school, at least, since I read either.