Phantom of the Opera

Gerard Butler Actor , Emmy Rossum Actor , Patrick Wilson Actor , Miranda Richardson Actor , Minnie Driver Actor

MPAA Rating: PG13
Contains:Violence

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Phantom of the Opera

Theatrical Release Date: 2004 12 22 (USA - Limited)

UPC: 085391108108

Studio: Warner Home Video

MPAA Rating: PG13 Contains:[Violence]

Summary: One of the most popular stage musicals in the history of Broadway and London's West End makes its long-awaited arrival on the motion-picture screen in this lavish adaptation directed by Joel Schumacher. Christine (Emmy Rossum) is a beautiful and gifted young woman who longs to join the company of the Paris Opera House. During rehearsals for one of the opera's grand productions, a backdrop falls and crashes to the floor, nearly crushing leading lady Carlotta (Minnie Driver). When several members of the company suggest this could be the work of the "Phantom of the Opera," a spectral presence said to haunt the building, Carlotta drops out of the show, and the fates permit Christine to step in as her replacement. Christine's performance is a triumph, and on opening night she becomes reacquainted with Raoul (Patrick Wilson), a former childhood friend who is now a wealthy and well-known nobleman. Christine soon finds herself smitten with the handsome Raoul, but the same evening she makes a startling discovery -- the story of the Phantom is not just a legend. A brilliant but horribly disfigured composer (Gerard Butler) lives deep in the depths of the opera house, and taken with the beauty of Christine's voice, he abducts her and brings her to his lair, where he offers to help her perfect her talents, offering to write an opera especially for her. As the terrified Christine is comforted by Raoul, the two fall in love, but the phantom sees her affection for Raoul as a tremendous betrayal, and the jealous phantom nearly kills Christine as he nearly killed Carlotta. When the phantom emerges to present the opera's management with the piece he has written for Christine, the singer is asked to put her life on the line in an effort to capture the mad genius once and for all. Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical version of Gaston Leroux's novel, which had already enjoyed several stage and screen adaptations in the past, opened in London in 1986 and has been a popular favorite around the world ever since; the show was still running in New York and London when the film version premiered in late 2004. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Musical

Awards: Breakthrough Performance - Female – National Board of Review Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – null Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical – null Best Original Song – null Best Original Song – null Best Picture – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Young Actress – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Song – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Song – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Song – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Original Song – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: Behind the Mask: The story of the Phantom of the Opera
The Making of the Phantom of the Opera in 3 spellbinding acts:
Preproduction
The director
Production
No One Would Listen: additional scene
Singalong
Theatrical trailer

Phantom of the Opera

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 10/31/2006

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 141 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Phantom of the Opera
1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6
7. Chapter 7
8. Chapter 8
9. Chapter 9
10. Chapter 10
11. Chapter 11
12. Chapter 12
13. Chapter 13
14. Chapter 14
15. Chapter 15
16. Chapter 16
17. Chapter 17
18. Chapter 18
19. Chapter 19
20. Chapter 20
21. Chapter 21
22. Chapter 22
23. Chapter 23
24. Chapter 24
25. Chapter 25
26. Chapter 26
27. Chapter 27
28. Chapter 28
29. Chapter 29
30. Chapter 30
31. Chapter 31
32. Chapter 32
33. Chapter 33
34. Chapter 34
35. Chapter 35
3. Chapter 36

Derek Armstrong

Again proving himself game for any genre, Joel Schumacher takes the helm of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, a musical whose long delay to the screen represents a rare failure of Hollywood to strike when the iron is hot. No doubt thinking it could be his Chicago, Schumacher was probably as surprised as anyone to see his grandiose production shut out of the major Oscar categories. The film is an incredibly faithful rendering of the popular show. But with Webber's fingerprints all over it, it's never precisely more than that, and that's what separates it from Chicago. Coming only two years on the heels of that film, there's an unjust tendency to judge Phantom according to Chicago's success, and true enough, it doesn't measure up to either that or the stage phenomenon that inspired it. One real difference from the stage: it's unavoidable that the phantom (Gerard Butler) will lose some of his crucial mystery when brought up close and personal with the audience. Seen at a distance, lurking in the shadows, he's a more remote and effective figure. Emmy Rossum fares better as Christine Daae, projecting a disarming mixture of beauty and innocence, and Patrick Wilson is a dashing Raoul. All three leads -- not to mention a funny Minnie Driver as the opera's resident diva -- come off pretty impressively in terms of their singing, which sounds enough like the original Broadway recordings to please ardent fans of the material. In fact, the exquisite sets, lush costumes, and sweeping camerawork -- even the black-and-white frame story -- all compliment the performances well enough. The result is a costume drama that's at times genuinely rousing. It's just not an Oscar winner. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi