Yes, folks, I am a PotO fan. I can listen to ALW's soundtracks all night and day. I also am a huge fan of Freddy's series. The Nightmares are my favorite of the slasher genre.
That said, let's continue into the commentary, shall we? The thing that struck me most about this movie is the music, Don Juan Triumphant. It's a haunting melody that just sticks in your mind. For me, it stayed for years. I was lucky enough when with friends (who were working, leaving me alone in their off-campus housing bored for several hours) to find a copy at the corner video store. It was a delight.
Christine is NOT what you expect--she has no accents, doesn't look much like Sarah B, and I haven't a clue if that was really her singing. They did play fast and furious with the book. This does not mean it's a bad movie! I can count if I thought for three minutes ten other movies that deviated from the books they were based on? *S*
Basically, the movie, to me, deals with reincarnation. When Christine locates and brings the lyrics and melody for Erik's inspired masterpiece to an audition, she is struck on the head by a sand-bag in mid verse. This has her traveling back in time to the days of the setting of the book, but in England rather than France. I actually don't mind the changes; they make the story fresher in my mind. There, we learn that this 19th century Christine has been learning from a mysterious stranger who has taught her singing and plans to make her a star. Jill is a lovely woman, and in the role, she shines as she dones the jewels of Faust's love interest in the opera. Robert as Erik is as usual a wonderfully mysterious, sinister, yet humorous "bad guy", if you can call Erik that.
After the climax of the 19th century, Christine awakens to find herself in modern times again (hence my belief that it was a tale of reincarnation rather than actual-time travel--the 19th century Christine was established well before the incident!) and assisted by the show's patron.
I adore the synthesized versions of the music, and was extremely pleased when the library was able to locate a copy of the CD OST for me to check out. It's just as good as I remembered. Amazon had the VHS, and I am good to go now! :)
If you're seeking consistancy, accuracy towards the novel, or something resembling Michael Crawford, you're in the wrong place. If you're looking for a good tale that sends shivers up your spine (it did me as she placed money in the hat!), then this is the place.
Enjoy!
Now to just collect the rest of the NoES series....
