The Phantom of the Opera is based off of both Gaston Leroux's novel, and Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage musical. It tells the story of a mysterious man that lives beneath the Paris Opera House, and is madly in love with a young ballet dancer. The managers of the opera house think he is a phantom. The young dancer believes he is the Angel of Music, sent by her dead father to watch over her. When the phantom begins to kill and cause damage to the opera house, the dancer's heroic suitor sets out to stop the phantom once and for all. With great music and stunning sets, this is the best version of the tale on film.
Joel Shumacher's career was pretty much destroyed after Batman and Robin came out, but after a few good movies to pick himself up, he was given a seemingly impossible task. To turn Andrew Lloyd Webber's world famous stage musical into a movie. Sadly, I've never had the chance to see the show, but I have been listening to the music almost all of my life. I was excited beyond words when this movie came out. I was worried about Shumacher a little bit, but as soon as I saw the movie, it didn't matter. He adapted the stage show almost perfectly to the screen. There are a few changes, but they work, and they make the movie so much better than if it was a straight copy. I loved the sets and the cinematography. Even if you're not a fan of musicals, I highly recommend you see this if you're interested in film at all. This movie is a visual necessity. You'll learn a thing or two. The angles at which certain scenes are shot, the black and white footage, the sets, they all make this movie so good. Of course, Andrew Lloyd Webber's music is genius, and I still get chills whenever I hear the overture.
The acting is great. I was worried about almost every actor in this movie initially. I mean, Gerard Butler was Dracula in Dracula 2000, Emmy Rossum was that chick from The Day After Tomorrow, and who the heck is Patrick Wilson. Well, all that went out the window after I saw the movie. Emmy Rossum was amazing in the role of Christine. I really didn't think she could sing. Gerard Butler was absolutely perfect in the role of the phantom. He played the character both sympathetically, as well as devilishly creepy. His singing was nowhere near bad either.
Overall, this is the best movie based off a stage show out there. The amazing acting, cinematography, and direction combine to make this one great movie.
9/10
