Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: The Phantom of the Opera(2004)

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Posted by David Yauch (Member # 2754) on 12-19-2004, 05:26 AM:

Obviously I had high expectations going into tonight. The trailers looked good, the sound sounded great, and andrew lloyd webber and joel schumacher(sp?) are no slouches.

The movie didn't disappoint.

The sound was fantastic, the acting was incredible, the imagery was terrific, and the story deviated rarely from the play. It slowed down at a few points where you could swear you'd heard that song before(about 16 times) and that was probably the only downer for me.

4.5 out of 5.0.

Posted by Christian Volpi (Member # 2370) on 12-19-2004, 12:12 PM:

Our film buyer told me that at the Indiana NATO screening about 45 members showed up to watch it. At the end of the screening only 5 remained. I guess I'll just have to see for myself.

Posted by David Yauch (Member # 2754) on 12-20-2004, 02:26 AM:

It's definately not the movie for everyone. If you ever saw a performance of phantom and liked it, then you'll love the movie. If the thought of people singing *gasp* scares the hell out of you then you should probably steer as far away as possible. And if you ever saw the play you'd know it starts a bit slow, as it's got to build up, then picks up the pace significantly towards the end.

Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 12-20-2004, 11:12 PM:

I am a pretty big fan of musicals, having spent many a year doing sound and other work in the theater. I should like this one...

Maybe perhaps I can do my rendetion of this musical for you... i have kick ass pipes baby!!

Ciao mon

dave

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 12-21-2004, 02:40 AM:

I only watched the first 45 minutes or so because we had to run a test on our DLP projector. I don't know if I will watch the rest, but the scenes with Minnie Driver as the Italian Diva were hilarious. Does she appear again later in the movie?
Then I might watch the rest. I have to say though that I really hate ALW's music.

Posted by Wayne Keyser (Member # 2420) on 12-21-2004, 10:10 PM:

There once was a day when silly, hidebound traditionalists insisted that singers produce beautiful tones, even (gasp!) insisted that they should STUDY and PRACTICE to do it - and those dreadful old songs that had lyrics that made sense!

I'm glad they don't do that any more - do you think anyone would go to a movie like that, these days?

It'll be the biggest bomb of the year!

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 12-22-2004, 04:27 AM:

Will this movie do great at the box office, I doubt it. It is pretty boring but the music is good and the scenery/costumes looked nice. Boring but not bad.

Posted by Robb Johnston (Member # 239) on 12-22-2004, 10:25 PM:

even (gasp!) insisted that they should STUDY and PRACTICE to do it

Who exactly did you have an issue with?

Emmy Rossum was 16 when she began recording her part as Christine and she she began her training early enough that she was a part of the Metropolitan Opera Children's Choir as of age 7.

I didn't have a problem with the singing, except a few notes here and there.

With the exception of Minnie Driver as Carlotta, all the principles sing their own parts

Posted by Dan Lyons (Member # 1454) on 12-23-2004, 04:16 AM:

Best film I've seen all year. [thumbsup]

Great costumes, sets, and makeup. My only complaint is that they didn't put in an overture and intermission; a musical that runs over 2 hours ought to have one.

Posted by David Yauch (Member # 2754) on 12-27-2004, 04:20 AM:

Definately Dan! Of course an intermission would've made it even longer...

Phantom did very well for us over the weekend, although it was stuck in some of our smaller theatres due to 4 focker prints and 2 aviators that sold out some large houses.

Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 01-14-2005, 04:14 AM:

WOW! Never saw the play, heard the music only briefly, but I was totally into this film. It's the music that really carries it. Emmy Rossum is amazing and definitely a sight for sore eyes. I loved every minute. I hope it does well. We have it in one of our largest houses, in SRD. Speaking of which, the SRD was AMAZING! Great soundtrack.

AJG

Posted by Ryan Powers (Member # 1059) on 01-30-2005, 11:08 PM:

I have seen the show on Broadway three times, and the show visiting on tour twice. I am very familiar with the show and the music. I have been waiting for this film to arrive for quite some time and was really worried I would be disappointed. I was thrilled with the outcome right from the start. Sure, the Phantom wasn't pitch perfect compared to other performances I have seen, but I was able to get over it after his second song. The whole look of the film is beautiful.

Theater/Presentation. Carmike Cinemas in Winston Salem- Wynnsong 12. Good presentation, and good sound ***1/2 out of four.

The Phantom of the Opera- ***1/2 out of Four

Posted by Don Cross (Member # 2980) on 02-03-2005, 10:50 PM:

Compared to other musicals brought to the big screen: 9 out of 10.

ALW does an incredible job of musicals such as CATS; and was able to do an equally impressive job with this movie. Anyone having either the tape of dvd of CATS should look at ALW attention to detail in how CATS was done on state (for stage only), and also how it was redone for television/tape.

These two works have things that only ALW is capable of such as a real orchestra and editing abilites which actually rival most Hollywood productions.

Posted by Jason M Miller (Member # 2597) on 02-04-2005, 10:52 PM:

I thought this movie was great, the music was AWESOME, The costumes, the Special Effects, the Sets were all GREAT!!!

****1/2 out of *****

Posted by Don Cross (Member # 2980) on 02-05-2005, 04:18 AM:

I'll have to attempt to make it to see this movie in a location which has the best sound system in the area; as this would really add to the movie experience. Unfortunately in this area the theaters don't have the best sound systems available- and could probable use some improvements and updating.

Anyone want to open a Lowes here or a THX facility of some sort??

Can't wait for this title to come out on dvd and then go to the neighbors home theater with a most impressive (and well mixed) sound system. The neighbor happens to own the second best recording and mixing facility in the state (even though it is WV). -Or how about this dream- the possible eventual "paid broadcast" in hdtv?

Posted by Evans A Criswell (Member # 381) on 02-18-2005, 09:33 AM:

Attendance: 2005/02/14 19:00, Regal Madison Square 12, Huntsville, AL, Auditorium 2

It was Valentines Day and I'd gotten off work. I had no plans, so I called a very good female friend of mine to see if she was free. We got dinner and then went to see <i>Phantom of the Opera</i> at the theatre conveniently located behind the mall.

This is a movie most guys may consider "the chick flick from hell", but I liked it. There were no problems with the presentation other than a couple of little nitpicky things I need not mention here. Thankfully, this movie was still playing in one of the larger auditoriums with side masking instead of top masking, so the image was approximately 36.5 feet wide. Another thing I liked about this movie is I noticed artifacts in the backgrounds from use of an anamorphic lens. Filming that way adds points to any movie.

This movie is well worth seeing, unless you just can't stand musicals.

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 02-18-2005, 09:51 AM:

I ran about five screenings of it last week, all of which were either sold out, or very nearly so.

This place shows a mixture of mainstream and arthouse films, and the mainstream stuff tends not to do very well, probably because almost anybody who is interested in seeing it will have already seen it elsewhere, but this was an exception.

Posted by Dean Kollet (Member # 1789) on 02-18-2005, 10:26 AM:

I loved this movie. This had the same effect on me as 'Chicago' did two years ago; I couldn't get the songs out of my head so I bought the Soundtrack, and I loved it even more. The acting/singing was good, and this was a very 'good looking' and great sounding film.

4.5 out of 5

Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 02-19-2005, 01:03 AM:

Dean,

Which soundtrack album of "THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA" did you buy? The best value is the two disc version which features about seventy five percent of the film's soundtrack with a playing time of about one hour and fifty minutes. The single disc I assume features only the songs and perhaps a little dialogue from the film. The difference in cost between the two was very slight. The Tower Records store where I bought my two disc copy when it first came out has been sold out for a long time now but they have a lot of the single disc version. I have also enjoyed the film and cannot wait for the DVD which will come out on May 3rd in both a two disc special edition and a single disc set from Warner Home Video.

-Claude