The music plays a major role in the movie and frankly, if you like the songs you will probably like the movie.....it sounds to me that you didn't really enjoy the music - hence what you said about it being reptitive.....

I think Eagle's right, this movie resonates on so many levels that you can find a piece of it in yourself (this is a special movie for me because it reflects and portrays so splendidly my inner feelings - and connects to that deeper place which other movies can't, including LOTRs)....i've seen it 5x already, and not once did i feel i don't want to see this again....it's a really special movie for me...

And is it true, does the Phantom thread really take up 32% of KJ's bandwith , im so sorry

No No arch ... he was just joking because its a huge thread. I wouldn't have it any other way, a great movie deserves a great thread.

Where's the AVP thread, then? :razz:

^ Awwww! And for a second I thought Zingy saw Phantom of the Opera! :razz: I could just see the F rating. *sigh*

Well, after I watched Hotel Rwanda I watched the last hour of Phantom since Sideways started in an hour, I desperately want to watch it again. The DVD better come out near May...

I really think Emmy Rossum was robbed for a Best Actress nomination at the Oscar's. Her performance and her voice was just spectacular. While I don't think this is one of the best pictures of the year, but of course another viewing of the film could change that, I would have loved for it to get some recognization at the Oscar's, it really deserves it.

8/10 (B+)

A mesmerizing film, that failed to dissapoint. The music was superb, the acting incredible and the production quality among the best of recent memory. There were, however, a few moments when the film did not quite deliver, notably in the "epic" sword fight between Raul and the Phantom, which felt far to rushed, and almost out of place. The "Masquerade" scene more then made up for it however a compelling sequence. Overall, the film was mesmerizing and well worth the wait. A few areas could have used some more polish, but the remainder was excellent. 7.4/10 (B+)

*giggles* Looks like I was right, May 3rd it is. :mrgreen: And hopefully many others will get to see this, as there's probaly less than 10 people who have on here.

10/10 (A+)

Moving, magical and beautiful. 2004's 4th best film.

The DVD is out today! I don't get to watch it till my DVD arrives in the mail in a few days... *sigh* Damn.

Anyways, I hope more people get to see it and at least like it.

Since PublicEnemy#1 thinks I'm going to give it a C- or low, I should just slap a D on it right now and not bother to rent it. :wink:

[-X

Hmph. Just watch it. :razz:

I bought the two-disc special edition today. Can't wait to watch it!

I had a big review written, but I don't want to attack it, because I actually don't think it's as bad as people say it is. Rossom sings well (whether she acts well I won't get into here) and the rest of the cast differs (I really liked Miranda Richardson's Giry, and I absolutely hated Patrick Wilson's Raoul). But I'm getting off track! I'll guess I will just hone in on two things I did not like about The Phantom of the Opera.

One is in the first half, it delves into that mid-1980s disco-sounding pop music rock opera which completely, utterly takes me out of the film. I know, I know, I know... this is in the musical, but as an adaptation, they made the choice to keep it as part of this adaptation. When the Phantom is leading Christine through the swamps you can hear the drum beat, disco beat, and that STUPID electric guitar. The second half of the film stays more faithful to time and place, but this isn't satire and it isn't Moulin Rouge, and it takes me out of the film in a most unpleasant way.

The second beef with the film is that all the songs aside from "Masquerade" and "Point of No Return" are horribly shot. Most of them are the characters just standing there singing to each other. Witness the whole "Angel of Music" thing while Christine sits on the boat for 8 minutes while The Phantom prances around his cave. Or the rooftop encounter with Raoul singing to Christine as The Phantom hides behind a statue... OR Christine walking around in the (poor stage!) graveyard for 5 minutes singing. There is nothing visually interesting going on in these shots, and this is where the adaptation to film for totally fails. It's one thing to be watching a live performance, on stage, live watching the musical (which I have seen), it's another to be sitting in a theater watching a carefully edited piece of film that is trying be visually stimulating. Just poor film making here.

There are other problems too... like the lack of momentum, and the film being about 30 minutes too long... but I'd like to concentrate replies to my comments regarding the two issues above.

I bought the two disk edition as well. I'm sure my rating could definetely go up, so I'll have a full review up in a couple of days when I watch it.

I just got the 2 disc in the mail, the transfer looks gorgeous. :mrgreen:

Keep the reviews coming for those of you who will be renting it.

A beautiful movie.



And like it seems all too common now one that tries to use that to distract us from the fact that there is very little underneath the surface.


The songs are pretty enough but they are forgotten 5 minutes after you hear them, the exception being the the Minnie Driver-performed "Learn to Be Lonely" but that doesn't even play til after the movie. On top of that they are reallllly really cheesy most of the time and at times almost completely laughable.

I had rather hoped that you would come. And now my wish comes true

No DUH!!! It jsut doesn't work in the movie.


I did enjoy like the last half hour of it, but with everything else leading to it being so lifeless I enjoyed it but didnt care much for it, if it makes sense.

C

Gorgeous and epic, but the pacing needed some work after the first hour. The performances are great, and Minnie Driver gives one of the memorable performances of 2004. The songs, for the most part, are catchy. I was a little disappointed, but it's still a very good film.

B+

That was exactly my problem with the film, Rod.

Grandeur (overblown grandeur, actually) doesn't compensate for lack of nuance.

Agreed. I pretty much said the same thing in Archangel's thread: http://worldofkj.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=153294



You're so right. You can take Shakespeare and "modernize" it with Shakespeare's original lines because the stories are simple and the selling point is his lines. You wouldn't take Shakespeare and perform the adaptation, would you? However, Phantom of the Opera's songs/scenery/plot depends on the particular time period. "Rockifying" it shows little appreciation for what Webber/the author created.

I agree completely. It was almost like a marvelous cake of some kind that is designed so elegantly on the outside, yet actually tastes bad once you eat it.

I mean, the production design is gorgeous and some of the music is nice, but I didn't feel like there was a whole lot there.

About a C from me.

I'm sorry, PE. I went through an hour of it, and turned it off.

It's definitely not my kind of movie. I won't even grade it.

Beautiful yes, but it plasy like a play being filmed for a movie, and as such it has no emotional connection. It looks all the power and emotion of the play.

Why is this one a sticky?

Argh...where's the grade?

Starting this week, the new releases in theaters and DVD will be stickied. Plus, any popular holdovers.

After the major bump of about 50 threads, all the new movies were pushed back. :wink: