Allison and I went to see "The Phantom of the Opera" tonight. I have to admit, I really liked it. I'm a big fan of music and my tastes are pretty diverse. The cinemaphotography of the movie was really spectacular, especially the transitions from current time to the main story in the past.
The vocals were pretty great, too. Emmy Rossum (who plays Christine) is truly remarkable in acting and vocals. The Phantom's voice got on my nerves a bit, but everything else made up for it.
I have wanted to see The Phantom of the Opera (stage production version) for roughly 10 years now. In high school, I went to Germany in an exchange program. I had the opportunity to see a stage production of the Opera in Munich, about 1 hour away from where I was living. It would be in a historic, old European opera house, which would have really had some atmospheric emphasis on the production! Unfortunately, we couldn't make it in time to see all of it, so we decided not to go. :( Instead, I bought the German soundtrack and have listened to the whole opera in a foreign language for 10 years. Now...I didn't speak German all the well, but could understand the language enough to not get killed (which thankfully, it never came to that). I understood about 15% of what the music was saying, so I really didn't have much of a plot-line understanding of the show.
Well! Now that I've heard it in English, it's a freaking GREAT show! I won't go into my emotional stuggles on whether or not I like the Phantom, but suffice it to say that I really like him, not matter what his crimes or flaws.
If you liked Moulin Rouge and Chicago, be warned: Phantom is not like those. It's very much an opera. I liked it and hope many other do, too...but I can see where many will not enjoy it.
If anything, it's worth going to see the cinemaphotography and hear Emmy Rossum sing.
9 Comments
Published by John Nelson
on January 31, 2005 at 8:26 PM.
The vocals were pretty great, too. Emmy Rossum (who plays Christine) is truly remarkable in acting and vocals. The Phantom's voice got on my nerves a bit, but everything else made up for it.
I have wanted to see The Phantom of the Opera (stage production version) for roughly 10 years now. In high school, I went to Germany in an exchange program. I had the opportunity to see a stage production of the Opera in Munich, about 1 hour away from where I was living. It would be in a historic, old European opera house, which would have really had some atmospheric emphasis on the production! Unfortunately, we couldn't make it in time to see all of it, so we decided not to go. :( Instead, I bought the German soundtrack and have listened to the whole opera in a foreign language for 10 years. Now...I didn't speak German all the well, but could understand the language enough to not get killed (which thankfully, it never came to that). I understood about 15% of what the music was saying, so I really didn't have much of a plot-line understanding of the show.
Well! Now that I've heard it in English, it's a freaking GREAT show! I won't go into my emotional stuggles on whether or not I like the Phantom, but suffice it to say that I really like him, not matter what his crimes or flaws.
If you liked Moulin Rouge and Chicago, be warned: Phantom is not like those. It's very much an opera. I liked it and hope many other do, too...but I can see where many will not enjoy it.
If anything, it's worth going to see the cinemaphotography and hear Emmy Rossum sing.
i agree, i thought it was fabulous. i saw it in Chicago about 6 years ago and was really looking forward to seeing the movie. you're right about the Phantom, is voice got annoying after a while, but Raul was great, and Christine was amazing. :)
Raul's voice was really great. But he looks (to me, at least) like the Jay from "Jay and Silent Bob" fame. Once I got past that (which took a little bit), I really enjoyed his character.
And I'm really stoked, because when Allison and I go to New York at the end of April, we're going to see Phantom on Broadway! And we're also going to eat at that pizza place you mentioned previously! We researched it, and it got really great reviews!
What exactly IS cinemaphotography?
Is that not the word for it? Hmmm...
Whatever the word is for it, I'm referring to the way the camera is used in angles, scene transitions, stage sets and environments. In the movie, it has great "camera work".
Ah..I couldn't decide if that was the correct word or not, so I went with "cinema" and "photography". No cigar for me.
And I really want to see "House of Flying Daggers", too!
I loved Crouching Tiger and Hero (HUGELY GREAT cinematography), so I bet I'll like Daggers, too!
let me know what you think! Blog about it!
Ah, yes... cinematography... I know what THAT word means ;)
And officially, cinematography refers to the camera work. Sets are referred to as "set dressing." Places are referred to as "location."
Anybody know what a "best boy" does on a movie set?
Brett, did you learn that from the slides they show before movies??
Brett, you watch WAY too many DVD extra features, or spend a lot of time on Turner Classic Movies channel. Or you're just a techie with a hugely broad knowledge base. But I'm leaning toward TCM channel.
And how would I know what a Best Boy does on the set (or location or whatamajigger) if I don't even know the word cinematography????
Maybe I should get to movies earlier and watch those Fun Move Facts like Virginia mentioned. That could help me out a lot.