The Phantom of the Opera (2004 film)

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The Phantom of the Opera
Poto2.jpg
Directed by Joel Schumacher
Produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Screenplay by Joel Schumacher
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Based on The Phantom of the Opera 
by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Charles Hart
Richard Stilgoe
Starring Gerard Butler
Emmy Rossum
Patrick Wilson
Miranda Richardson
Minnie Driver
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Cinematography John Mathieson
Editing by Terry Rawlings
Studio Really Useful Films
Joel Schumacher Productions
Odyssey Entertainment
Scion Films
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date(s)
  • December 10, 2004 (2004-12-10) (United Kingdom)
  • January 21, 2005 (2005-01-21) (United States)
Running time 143 minutes[1]
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Budget $70 million[2]
Box office $154,648,887[2]

The Phantom of the Opera is a 2004 film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.

Directed by Joel Schumacher, the film was also produced and co-written by Lloyd Webber. The Phantom of the Opera stars Gerard Butler in the title role, Emmy Rossum as Christine Daaé, as well as Patrick Wilson as Raoul, Miranda Richardson as Madame Giry and Minnie Driver as Carlotta Giudicelli.

The film was announced as early as 1989, but production only started in 2002 due to Lloyd Webber's divorce and Schumacher's busy career. It was entirely shot at Pinewood Studios, with scenarios also being depicted with the help of miniatures and computer graphics. Rossum, Wilson, and Driver had singing experience, but Butler had no experience and had to receive music lessons. The Phantom of the Opera grossed approximately $154 million worldwide, and received mixed reviews, praising the visuals and acting but criticizing the writing and directing.

Contents

Plot [edit]

For a more detailed Plot, go to The Phantom of the Opera (1986)

In 1919, the dilapidated Paris Opera House holds an auction. Raoul, the Viscount of Chagny, now an old wheelchair-bound man, purchases a coveted music box in a shape of a monkey wearing Persian robes and playing cymbals. During the auction, Raoul spots a familiar figure: Meg Giry, whom he met as a young man. Meg is now an elderly woman, almost 50 years later. Their attention is called on by the next piece for auction, lot 666: a chandelier in pieces which has been restored and newly electrically wired. As the auctioneers display the restored chandelier, which illuminates and slowly rises to its old place in the rafters the opening crescendo of music wipes away the years of decay from the opera house as the black and white turns into color, and the audience is transported back in time to 1870, the beginning of the story, when the opera was in its prime.

A disfigured musical genius called "The Phantom" lives within the deepest recess of the opera house. Tormented by his scarred face due to his memories of being abused as a child, the Phantom lives in the watery labyrinths beneath the Opéra Populaire in Paris. After nearly ten years of quiet obsession with the delicate, ethereal voice of Christine Daaé and the beautiful young soprano herself, he plots to place his protégé at center stage.

Christine is caught between her love for Raoul, her childhood sweetheart who has returned into her life, and her fascination and pity for the Phantom. Angry and possessive, the Phantom plots to make Christine his, resorting to stalking her wherever she goes as well as killing Joseph Buquet, a stagehand. A swordfight later ensues in the cemetery, where Raoul eventually disarms him and is about to kill him when Christine pleads for him not to, "not like this." His rage seemingly augmented, the Phantom angrily states as Christine and Raoul walk away: "Now, let it be war upon you both." During the night's play, he steals Christine away, kills Piangi, the lead male singer in almost all of the Opera's productions, and avoids the trap to be captured by Raoul and the managers. After a series of tense, chaotic sequences, including dropping the chandelier (the one from the beginning of the movie) and setting the opera house on fire, the Phantom imprisons Raoul, who attempts to save Christine, and threatens to strangle him to death if Christine does not choose the Phantom.

Christine kisses the Phantom in order to save Raoul's life, while displaying her pity and compassion for him. Ashamed of what he's done, he begs Christine and Raoul to leave for he realizes if he really loves Christine he should set her free. Just before she departs with Raoul on the boat, Christine approaches the Phantom, who tells her that he loves her, and gives him the diamond ring from her finger. Christine and Raoul row away singing to each other as Christine glances back at the Phantom. After they leave, the Phantom then uses a candelabrum to smash every mirror in his underground lair and he disappears behind a velvet curtain into an empty glass mirror portal, before the police arrive. Upon entering, Meg, the ballet mistress's daughter, finds only the Phantom's white mask.

Later, the grainy black and white picture dominates as the elderly Raoul rides to a cemetery where he goes to visit Christine's tomb, which reveals that she died only two years before, in 1917, at age 63. Her tombstone says "Vicomtess of Chagny" and "beloved wife and mother", suggesting she married Raoul, had children and died of old age. He lays the monkey music box at her grave site, and notices that on the left of the tombstone lies a red rose with a black ribbon tied around it (a trademark of the Phantom) with the engagement ring attached to it, implying that the Phantom is still alive, and will always love Christine.

Cast [edit]

Production [edit]

Casting [edit]

Hugh Jackman was offered the chance to audition for the Phantom, but he faced scheduling conflicts with Van Helsing. "They rang to ask about my availability," Jackman explained in an April 2003 interview, "probably about 20 other actors as well. I wasn't available, unfortunately. So, that was a bummer."[3] "We needed somebody who has a bit of rock and roll sensibility in him," Andrew Lloyd Webber explained. "He's got to be a bit rough, a bit dangerous; not a conventional singer. Christine is attracted to the Phantom because he's the right side of danger."[4] Director Joel Schumacher had been impressed with Gerard Butler's performance in Dracula 2000.[5] Prior to his audition, Butler had no professional singing experience and had only taken four voice lessons before singing "The Music of the Night" for Lloyd Webber.[6]

Katie Holmes, who began working with a vocal coach, was the front-runner for Christine Daaé in March 2003.[7] She was later replaced by Anne Hathaway, a classically trained soprano, in 2004. However, Hathaway dropped out of the role because the production schedule of the film overlapped with The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, which she was contractually obligated to make.[8] Hathaway was then replaced with Emmy Rossum. The actress modeled the relationship between the Phantom and Christine after Suzanne Farrell and George Balanchine.[9] Patrick Wilson was cast as Raoul based on his previous Broadway theatre career. For the role of Carlotta, Minnie Driver devised an over-the-top, camp performance as the egotistical prima donna. Despite also lacking singing experience, Ciarán Hinds was cast by Schumacher as Richard Firmin; the two had previously worked together on Veronica Guerin.[10] Ramin Karimloo also briefly appears as the portrait of Gustave Daaé, Christine's father. Karimloo had previous played the lead role as well as the role of Raoul in London's West End. He later reprised the role in the sequel to the original stage musical Love Never Dies, and was also cast as The Phantom for the 25th Anniversary Concert of the musical in October, 2011.

Development [edit]

Warner Bros. purchased the film rights to The Phantom of the Opera in early 1989, granting Andrew Lloyd Webber total artistic control.[6] Despite interest from A-list directors, Lloyd Webber and Warner Bros. instantly hired Joel Schumacher to direct; Lloyd Webber had been impressed with Schumacher's use of music in The Lost Boys.[10] The duo wrote the screenplay that same year,[4] while Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman were cast to reprise their roles from the original stage production. Filming was set to begin at Pinewood Studios in England in July 1990, under a $25 million budget.[11]

However, the start date was pushed to November 1990 at both Babelsberg Studios in Munich, Germany and Barrandov Studios in Prague, Czech Republic.[12] Production for The Phantom of the Opera was stalled with Lloyd Webber and Brightman's divorce.[13] "Everything got tied up in settlements", Schumacher reflected. "Then my career took off and I was really busy."[14] As a result, The Phantom of the Opera languished in development hell for Warner Bros. throughout the 1990s.[15] In February 1997, Schumacher considered returning, but eventually dropped out in favor of Batman Triumphant, Runaway Jury and Dreamgirls.[16] The studio was heavily interested in John Travolta for the lead role,[17] but also held discussions with Antonio Banderas, who undertook vocal preparation and sang the role of the Phantom in the TV special, Andrew Lloyd Webber: The Royal Albert Hall Celebration.[18]

Schumacher and Lloyd Webber restarted development for The Phantom of the Opera in December 2002.[4] It was then announced in January 2003 that Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group had purchased the film rights from Warner Bros. in an attempt to produce The Phantom of the Opera independently.[18] As a result, Lloyd Webber invested $6 million of his own money.[9] The Phantom of the Opera was produced on a $55 million budget. A further $15 million was used for marketing, bringing the final budget to $70 million.[2] Warner Bros. was given a first look deal for distribution; the studio did not sign on until June 2003, when the principal cast was chosen.[19]

Filming [edit]

Principal photography for Phantom of the Opera lasted from September 15, 2003 to January 15, 2004. The film was shot entirely using eight sound stages at Pinewood Studios,[20] where, on the Pinewood backlot, the bottom half exterior of the Palais Garnier was constructed. The top half was implemented using a combination of computer-generated imagery (CGI) and a scale model created by Cinesite. The surrounding Paris skyline for "All I Ask of You" was entirely composed of matte paintings.[10] Cinesite also created a miniature falling chandelier, since a life-size model was too big for the actual set.[21]

Production designer Anthony D. G. Pratt was influenced by French architect Charle Garnier, designer of the original Paris opera house, as well as Edgar Degas, John Singer Sargent, Gustave Caillebotte, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Schumacher was inspired by Jean Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast (1946), where a hallway is lined with arms holding candelabra. The cemetery was based on the Père Lachaise and Montparnasse.[22] Costume designer Alexandra Byrne utilized a limited black, white, gold and silver color palette for the Masquerade ball.[10]

Reception [edit]

Release and awards [edit]

The Phantom of the Opera was released in the United States on December 22, 2004. With a limited release of 622 theaters, it opened at tenth place at the weekend box office, grossing $6.5 million across five days.[23] After expanding to 907 screens on January 14, 2005[24] the film obtained the 9th spot at the box office,[25] which it retained during its 1,511 screens wide release on January 21, 2005.[26][27] The total domestic gross was $51,225,796. With a further $107 million earned internationally, The Phantom of the Opera reached a worldwide total of $158,225,796.[2] A few foreign markets were particularly successful,[28] such as Japan, where the film's ¥4.20 billion ($35 million) gross stood as the 6th most successful foreign film and 9th overall of the year.[29][30] The United Kingdom and South Korea both had over $10 million in receipts, with $17.5 million and $11.9 million, respectively.[2][31]

Anthony Pratt and Celia Bobak were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction, as was John Mathieson for Cinematography. However, both categories were awarded to The Aviator. Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Charles Hart were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ("Learn to Be Lonely") but lost to "Al otro lado del río" from The Motorcycle Diaries.[32] The song was also nominated for the Golden Globe but it lost to Alfie's "Old Habits Die Hard". In the same ceremony, Emmy Rossum was nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, losing to Annette Bening in Being Julia.[33] At the Saturn Awards, Rossum won for Best Performance by a Younger Actor,[34] while The Phantom of the Opera was nominated for Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film and Alexandra Byrne was nominated for Costume Design.[35]

Critical analysis [edit]

The film received generally mixed reviews from film critics. Even though 86% of the general audience liked the movie, based on 384,463 audience reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, only 33% of the critics enjoyed The Phantom of the Opera, with an average score of 5/10. "The music of the night has hit something of a sour note: Critics are calling the screen adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s popular musical histrionic, boring, and lacking in both romance and danger," the consensus read. "Still, some have praised the film for its sheer spectacle."[36] By comparison, Metacritic calculated an average score of 40/100 from its 39 reviews collected.[37]

"The film looks and sounds fabulous and I think it's an extraordinarily fine document of the stage show. While it doesn't deviate much from the stage material, the film has given it an even deeper emotional center. It's not based on the theatre visually or direction-wise, but it's still got exactly the same essence. And that's all I could have ever hoped for."
— Andrew Lloyd Webber[4]

Despite having been impressed with the cast, Jonathan Rosenbaum of the Chicago Reader wrote that "Teen romance and operetta-style singing replace the horror elements familiar to moviegoers, and director Joel Schumacher obscures any remnants of classy stage spectacle with the same disco overkill he brought to Batman Forever."[38] Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com believed that Phantom of the Opera "takes everything that's wrong with Broadway and puts it on the big screen in a gaudy splat."[39]

In a mixed review for Newsweek, David Ansen praised Emmy Rossum's performance, but criticized the filmmakers for their focus on visual design rather than presenting a cohesive storyline. "Its kitschy romanticism bored me on Broadway and it bores me here—I may not be the most reliable witness. Still, I can easily imagine a more dashing, charismatic Phantom than Butler's. Rest assured, however, Lloyd Webber's neo-Puccinian songs are reprised and reprised and reprised until you're guaranteed to go out humming."[40] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly believed Schumacher did not add enough dimension in adapting The Phantom of the Opera. "Schumacher, the man who added nipples to Batman's suit, has staged Phantom chastely, as if his job were to adhere the audience to every note."[41]

Roger Ebert reasoned that "Part of the pleasure of movie-going is pure spectacle—of just sitting there and looking at great stuff and knowing it looks terrific. There wasn't much Schumacher could have done with the story or the music he was handed, but in the areas over which he held sway, he has triumphed."[42] In contrasting between the popularity of the Broadway musical, Michael Dequina of Film Threat magazine explained that "it conjures up this unexplainable spell that leaves audiences sad, sentimental, swooning, smiling—in some way transported and moved. Now, in Schumacher's film, that spell lives on."[43]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. '^ "ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER'S THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 2004-08-26. Retrieved 2013-03-04. 
  2. ^ a b c d e "The Phantom of the Opera (2004)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 18, 2013. 
  3. ^ Michelle Zaromski (2003-04-29). "An Interview with Michael Jakson". IGN. Retrieved 2009-09-25. 
  4. ^ a b c d DVD production notes
  5. ^ Lynn Hirschberg (2005-03-13). "Trading Faces". The New York Times. 
  6. ^ a b Staff (2004-08-10). "Movie Preview: The Phantom of the Opera". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-09-25. 
  7. ^ Michael Fleming (2003-03-13). "'Men' treads carefully into sequel territory". Variety. Retrieved 2009-09-20. 
  8. ^ "Anne Hathaway: Biography". TV Guide. Retrieved October 19, 2009. 
  9. ^ a b Phoebe Hoban (2004-12-24). "In the 'Phantom' Movie, Over-the-Top Goes Higher". The New York Times. 
  10. ^ a b c d The Making of The Phantom of the Opera, [DVD, 2005], Warner Home Video
  11. ^ Susan Heller Anderson (1990-03-31). "Chronicle". The New York Times. 
  12. ^ Lawrence Van Gelder (1990-08-10). "At the Movies". The New York Times. 
  13. ^ Staff (2004-08-10). "Movie Preview: The Phantom of the Opera". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-09-25. 
  14. ^ Todd Gilchrist (2004-12-20). "Interview: Joel Schumacher". IGN. Retrieved 2009-09-26. 
  15. ^ Michael Fleming (2003-04-01). "'Phantom' cues Wilson for tuner's adaptation". Variety. Retrieved 2009-09-20. 
  16. ^ Michael Fleming (1997-02-21). "Helmer's 3rd At Bat". Variety. Retrieved 2009-09-19. 
  17. ^ Michael Fleming (1997-05-15). "Krane Takes Bull By Horns". Variety. Retrieved 2009-09-19. 
  18. ^ a b Michael Fleming (2003-01-09). "Lloyd Webber back on 'Phantom' prowl". Variety. Retrieved 2009-09-19. 
  19. ^ Adam Dawtrey (2003-06-13). "'Phantom' pic announces latest castings". Variety. Retrieved 009-09-20. 
  20. ^ Staff (2003-10-01). "Production Commences On 'Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera'". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2009-09-26. 
  21. ^ Skweres, Mary Ann (2004-12-22). "Phantom of the Opera: A Classic in Miniature". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2009-12-23. 
  22. ^ Missy Schwartz (2004-11-05). "Behind the Music". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-09-25. 
  23. ^ Gentile, Gary (2004-12-28). "Audiences glad to 'Meet the Fockers'". Associated Press. Retrieved 2011-02-16. [dead link]
  24. ^ Snyder, Gabriel (2005-01-13). "'Fockers' finds foes". Variety. Retrieved 2011-02-16. 
  25. ^ Blank, Ed (2005-01-18). "'Coach Carter' tops local, national box office in slow weekend". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 2011-02-16. 
  26. ^ Gans, Andrew (2005-01-21). ""The Phantom of the Opera" Opens Nationwide Jan. 21". Playbill. Retrieved 2011-02-16. 
  27. ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for January 21–23, 2005". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-02-16. 
  28. ^ Bresnan, Conor (2005-02-02). "Around the World Round Up: 'Fockers' Inherit the World". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-02-16. 
  29. ^ "MOVIES WITH BOX OFFICE GROSS RECEIPTS EXCEEDING 1 BILLION YEN". Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan. Retrieved 2011-02-16. 
  30. ^ "2005 Japan Yearly Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-02-16. 
  31. ^ "The Phantom of the Opera - International Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-02-16. 
  32. ^ "The Phantom of the Opera". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2009-10-14. 
  33. ^ "Phantom of the Opera, The". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved 2009-10-14. 
  34. ^ "Past Saturn Awards". Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. Retrieved 2009-10-14. 
  35. ^ "2005 Saturn Awards Nominations". Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. Retrieved 2009-10-14. 
  36. ^ "Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2009-09-19. 
  37. ^ "Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera". Metacritic. Retrieved 2009-09-19. 
  38. ^ Jonathan Rosenbaum (2004-12-20). "The Phantom of the Opera". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2009-10-06. 
  39. ^ Stephanie Zacharek (2004-12-22). "The Phantom of the Opera". Salon.com. Retrieved 2009-10-06. 
  40. ^ David Ansen (2004-12-20). "The Phantom of the Opera: Into the Night". Newsweek. Retrieved 2009-10-09. 
  41. ^ Owen Gleiberman (2005-01-15). "The Phantom of the Opera". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-10-09. 
  42. ^ Roger Ebert (2004-12-22). "The Phantom of the Opera". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2009-10-09. 
  43. ^ Michael Dequina (2004-12-22). "Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera". Film Threat. Archived from filmthreat .com/Reviews.asp?Id=6784 the original on 2005-04-11. Retrieved 2009-10-09. 

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