MovieChat Forums > The Phantom of the Opera (2005) Discussion > Movie released 20 years ago today

Movie released 20 years ago today

posted a month ago by Gaylesyboo54 (63)
1 reply | jump to latest

A FB poster mentioned that the movie came out 20 years ago today. Can’t believe it has been that long. I still remember the impact that first viewing made on me. The performances, especially Butler’s Phantom, connected emotionally for me, especially when unmasked during the Point of no Return and the Final Lair scenes. I felt the torment of someone so gifted yet also cursed in the most horrible way. Emmy Rossum’s Christine perfectly conveyed her confusion and conflicting emotions. Patrick Wilson was a fine, dashing hero whose deep feelings for Christine redeemed a character who could have been shallow.

I also love the spectacle of the film. Visually it was dazzling. Finally, I enjoyed the singing by all three leads. Could Butler have performed it successfully on Broadway? No, but his acting through singing was perfect for the screen. His singing was emotionally rich if not technically perfect. Emmy Rossum’s singing was emotionally pure. No, she’ll never be a Met soprano but she didn’t need to be for Phantom. Patrick Wilson could perform in a musical on stageand has won a Tony for The Full Monty.

I wish the film had been released for a 20th anniversary celebration so I could once again see it on the big screen. I will have to content myself with watching the Blu Ray.

[–] Ace_Spade (9615) 14 hours ago

I think Gerard Butler and Patrick Wilson are both underrated as actors and they do great work here. I agree with you 100% on Butler's performance: he put the acting first. I think that's why some musical theatre people don't like it as much. Musical theatre tends to put the emphasis on singing-dancing-acting, and Butler went with acting-singing (he doesn't really dance). I thought he drew out flavours that I haven't seen either from original cast recordings or live performances - not that I'm ripping on those; they're superb in their own way.

Recently I learned that this movie was kinda boiled by critics, who mostly gave it "meh" reviews. I don't get this. I've seen it on stage and it looks like this. This movie is bombastic and spectacular. It embraces its rudimentary story and plays it to the hilt. It's never been a musical about plot twists and originality, it's just a great, classic story of a love triangle with all of this sumptuous art design and melodrama and it's fun.