The Phantom of the Opera (2004) on DVD May 3 (1 Viewer)

[Kelly Grannell]

Wow, somebody's ego just got busted.

It has nothing to do with "ivory tower academe".

Up to a certain point, subjectivity counts, but beyond that point, only objectivity, calculated, formulaic things count.
Besides, U2 and Frank Sinatra follows the "ivory tower academe" rules.

Besides, I like Britney's music, even moreso my husband. Does it make them academically good? no. Do I still like it? yes. Right and wrong does not have anything to do with likes and dislikes.

 

[Patrick H.]

Bingo, Ernest...these were some of my exact complaints over in the discussion thread. I thought Schumacher brought little vision to the material, aside from a stifling case of Moulin Rouge-envy. Now I like Moulin Rouge just fine, but I felt that style just didn't work for this story...I was expecting a more stately and gothic approach, like the old horror films it was originally inspired by. (Of course, this is exactly the element which Schumacher stripped OUT of the Batman franchise when he took over, so I shouldn't have been surprised.)

Between the direction and the casting, it just came off as a couple of old guys (Schumacher and Webber) trying to play it "cool" to lure in the teen crowd. They ended up with an overwrought style and a good-looking lead who couldn't carry the songs. As pointed out above, if anything needed "updating," it was the 80s pop-rock elements!

This coming from someone who's never seen the stage version, BTW.

 

[Ernest Rister]

Up to a certain point, subjectivity counts, but beyond that point, only objectivity, calculated, formulaic things count.

I disagree completely. I used to believe that, but I now find that the exact opposite is true. At the end of the day, in matters of art and creative endeavours, the only thing that matters to an individual is their own subjective personal appreciation. In fact, if artists never broke establishment rules and went with their gut instincts, there would be no evolution or growth in the arts at all. There'd be no Rite of Spring ballet, no Citizen Kane. Heck, Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along is a piece of theater that proceeds backwards in time, scene by scene. Was it good? I didn't like it much, but I'm glad he took the chance and made it.

I'm glad artists break the rules, I'm glad artists create works that are "academically flawed". When people take such flawed works to heart, maybe there is something else going on that is more interesting, making such considerations of academia or craftsmanship moot.

 

[Lee-M]

Even though most of this discussion would be better served on the appropriate thread in the "Movies" section (where I've put in my own .02), I will say that my family generally dislikes musicals, but liked this one.

We don't really care about the artistic or technical "requirements" for a musical... don't care if musical themes should not be re-used throughout. The truth about our enjoyment of this film is that the songs and music are still in our heads two weeks after seeing it.

Anything else that I have to contribute to this discussion has already been written in the "Movies" thread for POTO...

... with the exception of, I thought that this film was marketed horribly, the ad campaign and the limited release were its deathknells; and I wish the viewing public would have told the critics where to stick it, just as they did with National Treasure.

 

[Chris Will]

Thank you Ernest. You said exactly what I was feeling. the only "rule" that artist have to follow is the limits of there mind. You don't tell a painter his painting sucks b/c he broke the rules of painting. If there are true "academic rules" in the arts then anything that broke those rules should not be successful. You may not like Phantom which just fine, thats your opinion. To say that Phantom is a bad musical b/c it broke some stupid rule, basically saying that those who like it do not know what a "real" musical is, is just offensive. I just hate that there are classes in the world that tell people if you are going to paint you have to do it this way, or if you write music you must write it like this. No you don't, it's your canvas. I do not believe that Beethoven followed any rules, he wrote from his heart. Some so called scholar years later looked back and created some rules based on his and other classical composers work. Who says that he was right? What if Phantom was the first piece of music ever written, would the "rules" be different?

 

[Steve Tannehill]

And the DVD will be released on May 3rd...

- Steve

 

[Ernest Rister]

... with the exception of, I thought that this film was marketed horribly, the ad campaign and the limited release were its deathknells; and I wish the viewing public would have told the critics where to stick it, just as they did with National Treasure.

I read some good notices of Phantom, I don't think it was received as poorly as National Treasure.

As for the performance, I think the studio was banking on a rolling tide of word of mouth, critical raves, and award nominations, I guess following the Chicago model. Heck, I was hearing the film touted as a major awards contendor last summer. The film played well in limited release, but it didn't pick up either great critical acclaim or much notice by the award groups.

 

[Michael Reuben]

They were banking heavily on word-of-mouth from fans of the stage show. Maybe the strategy would have worked better at a less competitive time of the year. Then again, as is obvious from the range of comments on HTF, not every fan of the stage show was happy with the film.

M.

 

[Jay Gunn]

I knew there was a reason this thread was in the software forum!

 

[AlanP]

They should have tried different leads.
I think an actual singer in the PHANTOM role,
Like BONO of U2. Playing the Phantom, may have helped the lead.
And someone like Catherine Zeta Jones as Christine, might have upped the ante, somewhat. I found EMILY, too flat,and young as Christine, and not that attractive.
I LOVE CHATHERINE ZETA JONES IN "CHICAGO", I would love to see her do another musical role.

 

[Ernest Rister]

Christine is supposed to be 16 or some such. As talented as Ms. Jones is, I can't see her pulling that off.

Would have made a good Carlotta, though.

 

[Adam_WM]

How about we get this back on DVD discussion or we move this to MOVIES...?

 

[Geoff S.]

This was just recently posted over at the offical site for the stage production:

"The Phantom of the Opera DVD – Extra Features


The forthcoming release just under 4 hours* of fabulous Phantom extras…




A bonus DVD containing –




Material relating to the history of the Phantom on stage, including:

Original promotion videos
A featurette on the music of The Phantom of the Opera




"Behind the Mask: The Story of The Phantom of the Opera" documentary (this will also be available as a "stand alone" DVD through our online shop), including -

Rehearsals
The original London production (Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman)
Interviews with Andrew Lloyd Webber, Cameron Mackintosh, Hal Prince, Richard Stilgoe, Charles Hart and others
Behind the scenes
Original set and costume designs
And more…



Material relating to the feature film, including –

The Making of The Phantom of the Opera
Trailers
Swarovski featurette
Special effects
Visual effects
Music/recording
Trailers
Teasers
Deleted scene "No One Would Listen"
Emmy Rossum screen test
Cast & Crew singalong
And more…."

Keep in mind that these are merely the confirmed specs for the UK release, but we can probobly expect the specs to be the same over here in the US. Also, the offical website for the BBFC has some DVD features listed that have passed classification. Just seacrh for phantom of the opera to find them.

Here's to posing something of value on this thread again!

 

[Jordan_E]

I hope that the DVD SE does show some of the Michael Crawford performances as the Phantom (although it will blow the socks off the movie version), because although I never had the pleasure of seeing him I know the stage soundtrack well and would like to see what I missed.

 

[Billy Fogerty]

I thought Phantom was AWFUL!!. Not even close to the Broadway play,which I saw twice. The only other films that come to mind,that were as bad are,Shakespear in Love and Moulin Rouge. They were such awful films.

Glad you said that Jordan. I originally saw it the first time With Crawford And Sarah Brightman. The film isn't even close.

 

[PaulP]

Check out the Limited Collector's Edition being released in R5 (and maybe others too?). It's probably the same 2-disc edition, plus the soundtrack CD, all encased in a deluxe carton/cloth box along with a lyric leaflet and a book about the film!

http://www.ozon.ru/context/dvd_detail/id/2292122/

 

[Ron-P]

I sure hope we get somethig that that for the R1 release.

 

[Ryan Wong]

Is that the DTS logo on the main disc artwork?

 

[PaulP]

Yes, details are sketchy but this version supposedly has both English DTS 5.1 and DD 5.1, as well as Russian 5.1.

Here's the cover of the 2-disc DVD case inside the deluxe box:



Seems the release date for this one is May 31.

 

[Everett S.]

It's still playing at First run theatres in Maryland and it is running both Mat.'s and Evening, so it must be doing good at some locations.I will be picking this up.