Blu-ray Review The Phantom of the Opera (1989) Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

The Phantom of the Opera (1989) Blu-ray Review

Almost every decade, someone has created a film adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s popular novel, The Phantom of the Opera, starting with Lon Chaney’s masterpiece in 1925, Claude Raines in 1943, Hammer Studios in 1962, and more recently Joel Schumacher’s adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical in 2004. In 1989, just as Phantom Phever began to catch fire here in the states as Webber’s musical hit Broadway, producer Menahem Golan hired Dwight Little (hot off Halloween 4) to direct a new take on the subject matter with Robert Englund (also hot off the Nightmare on Elm Street movies as Freddy Krueger) in the title role, using sets left over from Golan’s Three Penny Opera, which had just wrapped production in Budapest. The result was a lavish, often confusing horror film that has gained a cult following.

Studio: MGM

Distributed By: Scream Factory

Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HDMA, English 5.1 DTS-HDMA

Subtitles: English SDH

Rating: R

Run Time: 1 Hr. 33 Min.

Package Includes: Blu-ray

Amaray Blu-ray Keepcase

Disc Type: BD50 (dual layer)

Region: A

Release Date: 02/17/2014

MSRP: $24.97

The Production Rating: 3/5

In modern day New York, Christine Day (Jill Schoelen) and her friend Meg (Molly Shannon) search an old library for an original piece of music for Christine to use at her audition. They come across an unfinished opera, Don Juan Triumphant by composer Erik Destler. At the audition, Christine is knocked unconscious by a falling sandbag on stage, only to awaken and find herself in turn on the century London on stage in an opera house during rehearsal of Faust. She is the understudy to La Carlotta (Stephanie Lawrence), who is jealous of Christine, and wants her removed from the production. But the Phantom of the opera house, Erik Destler (Robert Englund), has fallen in love with Christine, who has unwittingly become his muse, allowing him to further complete his opera in the depths of London. But theater producer Martin Barton (Bill Nighy) has sided with La Carlotta as the leading lady, while his partner, Richard Dutton (Alex Hyde-White) has rekindled his relationship with Christine. This does not sit well with the Phantom, who begins to exact his revenge on those who get in his way and kidnaps Christine, trapping her in the cavernous catacombs until she fights back and escapes, awakening back on stage in modern day New York, finding that she has landed the lead role first hand from the show’s producer, who looks a bit familiar.

Director Dwight Little and screenwriter Duke Sandefur made a wise choice by using the original novel as their source material, rather than try to remake any of the previous movie versions (although, as Little notes in both the commentary and featurette on this disc, he wanted to pay homage to the Hammer Studios). This is a much darker story, although the film does have a definite late 1980s and early 1990s horror vibe by showcasing many of the makeup effects in the film (such as the Phantom stitching new patches of skin directly on his face and a man who is still barely alive after being skinned). Where the movie really shines is in the lavish sets, both those leftover from Golan’s Three Penny Opera and redressed actual locations such as the opera house just outside of Budapest, as well as the cinematography by Peter Lyons Collister, using lighting techniques to bring life to the actors’ eyes. Robert Englund fares very well in the role, only delving into Freddie-isms on one or two occasions. Jill Schoelen makes do as the young American actress in London, while Bill Nighy provides some glimpses into his scenery-chewing roles in Pirates of the Caribbean and the Underworld films. Phantom of the Opera is an often fun and frightening ride that is quite beautiful to look at, even if the modern-day bookends (which were supposed to set up a modern-day sequel) feel a bit out of place.

Video Rating: 3.5/5  3D Rating: NA

The 1080p transfer provided to Shout! Factory by MGM is an above average affair, retaining the film’s intended theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and compressed using the AVC codec (at a healthy bitrate of 38 Mbps). Detail is very good, although film grain sometimes compromises it during darker sequences (and there are a lot of them). Colors are consistent and not overly saturated, and blacks are deep and inky with very little visible crush. The print, however, does contain some occasional dirt that, while noticeable, is never distracting.

Audio Rating: 3.5/5

Scream Factory has provided both 5.1 and 2.0 stereo DTS-HD Master Audio sound mixes, based on the film’s original Ultra*Stereo theatrical release, resulting in a mostly front-heavy listening experience regardless of which track you choose. The 5.1 track wins ever so slightly by providing the score by Misha Segal more breathing room, opening it up to better envelop the listener. Dialogue is clear and understandable, directed mostly to the center channel. Bass response is quite good, but LFe is virtually non-existent.

Special Features Rating: 4/5

Audio Commentary with Director Dwight Little and Actor Robert Englund: The two reminisce quite fondly over making this film in Budapest, but also touch on the marketing of the film (“First he was Freddy, now he’s The Phantom), and the reaction from critics and fans.

Behind the Mask: The Making of “The Phantom of the Opera” (1080p; 37:43): Shout! Factory rarely disappoints with their newly-created featurettes, and this one is no exception, featuring interviews with Dwight Little, Duke Sandefur, Kevin Yagher, John Carl Buechler, Misha Segal, Robert Englund, Jill Schoelen, and Alex Hyde-White.

Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:53): It’s a bit odd that the trailer here is in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio, but clips from the trailer in the documentary are 1.85:1.

TV Spot (upconverted 1080i; 0:31)

Radio Spots (2:04)

Still Gallery (1080p; 5:26)

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

The Phantom of the Opera may not be one of the best movie versions of Gaston Leroux’s novel, but it may be the more faithful, even though the location was moved from Paris to London to make use of the sets in Budapest and the modern day bookends seem out of place. As with most Scream Factory releases, the video and audio are as good as can be expected for a licensed catalog title, with some exceptional bonus features.

Reviewed By: Todd Erwin

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