phantom of the opera movie review new york times

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The question at this point is whether " The Phantom of the Opera " is even intended to be frightening. It has become such a product of modern popular art that its original inspiration, "the loathsome gargoyle who lives in hell but dreams of heaven," has come dangerously close to becoming an institution, like Dracula, who was also scary a long, long time ago.

Lon Chaney's Phantom in the 1925 silent had a hideously damaged face, his mouth a lipless rictus, his eyes off-center in gouged-out sockets. When Christine tore off his mask, she was horrified, and so was the audience. In the Lloyd Webber version, now filmed by Joel Schumacher , the mask is more like a fashion accessory, and the Phantom's "good" profile is so chiseled and handsome that the effect is not an object of horror but a kinky babe magnet.

There was something unwholesome and pathetic about the 1925 Phantom, who scuttled like a rat in the undercellars of the Paris Opera and nourished a hopeless love for Christine. The modern Phantom is more like a perverse Batman with a really neat cave. The character of Raoul, Christine's nominal lover, has always been a fatuous twerp, but at least in the 1925 version, Christine is attracted to the Phantom only until she removes his mask. In this version, any red-blooded woman would choose the Phantom over Raoul, even knowing what she knows now.

But what I am essentially disliking is not the film, but the underlying material. I do not think Lloyd Webber wrote a very good musical. The story is thin beer for the time it takes to tell it, and the music is maddeningly repetitious. When the chandelier comes crashing down, it's not a shock, it's a historical reenactment. You do remember the tunes as you leave the theater, but you don't walk out humming them, you wonder if you'll be able to get them out of your mind. Every time I see Lloyd Webber's " Phantom ," the bit about the "darkness of the music of the night" bounces between my ears, as if, like Howard Hughes, I am condemned to repeat the words until I go mad. (I have the same difficulty with "Waltzing Matilda.") Lyrics like:

Let your mind start a journey through a strange new world/Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before/Let your soul take you where you long to be/Only then can you belong to me.

Wouldn't get past Simon Cowell, let alone Rodgers & Hammerstein.

Yet Schumacher has bravely taken aboard this dreck and made of it a movie I am pleased to have seen. To have seen, that is, as opposed to have heard. I concede that Emmy Rossum , who is only 18 and sings her own songs and carries the show, is a phenomenal talent, and I wish her all the best -- starting with better material. What an Eliza Dolittle she might make. But the songs are dirges or show-lounge retreads; the dialogue laboriously makes its archaic points, and meanwhile, the movie looks simply sensational. Schumacher knows more about making a movie than the material deserves, and he simply goes off on his own, bringing greatness to his department and leaving the material to fend for itself.

I recently attended a rehearsal of the Lyric Opera's new production of " A Wedding ," and talked with its co-writer and director, Robert Altman . "I don't know $#!+ about the music," he told me. "I don't even know if they're singing on key. That's not my job. I focus on how it moves, how it looks, and how it plays." One wonders if Schumacher felt the same way -- not that it would be polite to ask him.

He has a sure sense for the macabre, going back to his 1987 teenage vampire movie " The Lost Boys " and certainly including his " Flatliners " (1990), about the medical students who induce technical death. His " Batman Forever " was the best of the Batman movies, not least because of its sets. Here, working with production designer Anthony Pratt (" Excalibur "), art director John Fenner (" Raiders of the Lost Ark "), set decorator Celia Bobak (Branagh's " Henry V " and "Hamlet") and costume designer Alexandra Byrne (" Elizabeth "), he creates a film so visually resonant you want to float in it.

I love the look of the film. I admire the cellars and dungeons and the Styx-like sewer with its funereal gondola, and the sensational masked ball, and I was impressed by the rooftop scenes, with Paris as a backdrop in the snow. The scarlet of the Phantom's cape acts like a bloodstain against the monochrome cityscape and Christine's pale skin, and she rises to an occasion her rival lovers have not earned. She responds to more genuine tragedy than the film provides for her. She has feelings her character must generate from within, and she is so emotionally tortured and romantically torn that both Raoul and the Phantom should ask themselves if there is another man.

I know there are fans of the Phantom. For a decade in London, you couldn't go past Her Majesty's Theater without seeing them with their backpacks, camped out, waiting all night in hopes of a standby ticket. People have seen it 10, 20, 100 times -- have never done anything else in their lives but see it. They will embrace the movie, and I congratulate them, because they have waited too long to be disappointed. Some still feel Michael Crawford should have been given the role he made famous onstage; certainly Gerald Butler's work doesn't argue against their belief. But Butler is younger and more conventionally handsome than Crawford, in a GQ kind of way; Lloyd Webber's play has long since forgotten the Phantom is supposed to be ugly and aging and, given the conditions in those cellars, probably congested, arthritic and neurasthenic.

This has been, I realize, a nutty review. I am recommending a movie that I do not seem to like very much. But part of the pleasure of moviegoing 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. This is such a fabulous production that by recasting two of the three leads and adding some better songs it could have been, well, great.

Ebert's Great Movie review of "The Phantom of the Opera" (1925) is online at rogerebert.com. His serial "Behind the Phantom's Mask" (1993), a murder mystery involving an alcoholic understudy to the Phantom, is nowhere near selling out at Amazon.com.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera (2004)

Rated PG-13

143 minutes

Directed by

• Joel Schumacher

Produced by

• Andrew Lloyd Webber

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Andrew lloyd webber's the phantom of the opera, common sense media reviewers.

Slightly stiff but sumptuous and faithful production.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Suspenseful with one graphic scene.

Sexual undertones in the Phantom's obsession.

Parents need to know that this movie includes peril and violence, with some graphic images. There are mild and non-explicit sexual situations with predatory implications.

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Based on 22 parent reviews

Powerfully Beautiful Musical

Phantom of the opera- the best musical of our time, what's the story.

In this musical based on Gaston Leroux's story, a brilliant masked madman (Gerard Butler) who lives under the opera house falls in love with the exquisite young soprano Christine, (Emmy Rossum). She believes he is the angel of music, sent to teach her by her dead father. But he's no angel and will do anything to make Christine a star and possess her. At first, Christine is mesmerized by the Phantom. He brings her his cavernous home deep below the stage and sings to her, inspiring her to sing with passion. And just as the theater owner sells the place to two scrap metal dealers, the phantom arranges to have Christine get the starring role in the opera's newest production. The new team has a new patron -- a handsome young nobleman named Raoul (Patrick Wilson) who was once Christine's childhood sweetheart. He and Christine fall in love but the Phantom will not allow Christine to be with anyone else, even if it means destroying everything he cares about.

Is It Any Good?

Despite lavish settings and costumes, and sweeping camera movement, the sumptuously produced PHANTOM OF THE OPERA feels static, stuffy, and stagey. Much of it takes place on a stage and there's very little action -- people stand still and sing rather than move, or, well, act.

Overheated emotions set to Andrew Lloyd Weber's purplish music are so inherently "theatrical" that the film cannot be as effective as the stage play, and the performances are more about the music than the story. Christine, Raoul, and the Phantom sing in the theater, they sing in the caverns, they sing in a graveyard, and they sing at a masked ball. But the bland Gerard Butler as the Phantom never conveys the menace or the allure of the brilliant madman who hears the music of the night.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about what the Phantom loved about Christine. Can you love people without really seeing who they are? Families could also talk about the way the two key songs in the movie are used to illuminate different relationships and different emotions.

Movie Details

• In theaters : December 22, 2004
• On DVD or streaming : May 3, 2005
• Cast : Emmy Rossum , Gerard Butler , Minnie Driver
• Director : Joel Schumacher
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Warner Bros.
• Genre : Musical
• Run time : 143 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : brief violent images
• Last updated : May 24, 2024

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Phantom Of The Opera Review

01 Jan 1989

Phantom Of The Opera

This 80s version of Phantom rehashes bits from the 1925 Lon Chaney, 1943 Claude Rains and 1963 Herbert Lorn movies in a vehicle for Nightmare on Elm Street's Robert Englund. It does, however, have better music in Gounod's Faust than the Andrew Lloyd Webber version.

It opens with a soprano (Schoelen) sent back to an earlier incarnation in Victorian London. She is being coached for her big break by a mysterious "angel" who dwells behind her dressing room mirror. He is, in fact, the Phantom, a cloaked and masked type who hangs out in the sewers under the theatre and is rumoured to have sold his soul to the Devil for musical genius. The Phantom skins his victims and sews bits of their faces onto his own to cover the not-terribly-horrifying scars inflicted by a Satanic dwarf in a silly flashback.

After sundry murders and arias, the Phantom kidnaps the girl and takes her to his lair, pursued by the hero and the police. "There must be hundreds of miles of tunnel down here," exclaims one bobby as they go through the same mile of sewer for the hundredth time. We get several climaxes, none very worthwhile, and a set-up for the sequel, The Phantom Of New York, which was never actually shot.

Dwight Little laces the Victorian huffing and puffing with Elm Street wisecracks and lovingly applied ketchup. As for the two good scenes traditionally to be found in Phantom movies, Little has several ineffective unmasking and omits the chandelier altogether. Shame.

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Movies | 04 11 2014

Culture | Theatre

The Phantom of the Opera: I take it all back - this West End spectacular more than deserves its classic status

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Here’s an embarrassing secret: I love nothing more than an 80s mega-musical with a synthesiser-heavy soundtrack. Les Misérables? Sobbed through it more times than I can remember (it’s a downward spiral from I Dreamed a Dream, which arrives… about 15 minutes into a near three-hour marathon). Chess? You had me at “music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus from ABBA.” Blood Brothers? It’s an anti-Thatcher parable showcasing Scouse accents of varying quality - extremely On Brand (I am yet to meet anyone outside my Merseyside secondary school who also had to study it as part of GCSE English).

All of those musicals name-checked above are edging towards (or in the case of Chess, happily exist within) the realm of the uncool, but I have always written off one West End show as too kitsch even for my own dubious tastes. The Phantom of the Opera is a production that I’ve spent years avoiding as assiduously as I’d dodge, well, a creepy man in a half-mask trying to make me take a haunted gondola ride down to his sewer because he just, like, really wants me to listen to the songs he’s written.

What were my grounds for this aversion? None, really, aside from the vague notion that Phantom, with its massive light fixtures, made-up operas and dry ice, is the most Andrew Lloyd Webber of Andrew Lloyd Webbers, and therefore something to be endured, not enjoyed. And yet one question kept haunting me, like a disembodied voice terrorising a theatre: surely a show doesn’t run for 35 years on the West End without good reason?

With Phantom returning after an 18-month Covid-imposed hiatus, complete with a new cast, an even bigger chandelier and tweaked staging, it was time to boldly go where many daytrippers have gone before in search of answers.

Based on the 19th century novel by Gaston Leroux, the tale of the Phantom is objectively bonkers - but the packed auditorium of Her Majesty’s Theatre seemed to already know that, because this is a musical that, like my beloved Les Mis, inspires devoted fans to return again and again; none of my neighbours seemed to flinch at a handful of surprisingly dark moments (why did no one tell me that this show has so many garrotings?)

Here is the abridged version. A masked Phantom (played by Killian Donnelly) haunts a Parisian opera house and gets a monthly stipend of several thousand francs and a spare seat in box five for the privilege of scaring off the top soprano and generally causing mayhem (lurking is lucrative). He has also been teaching chorus girl Christine (Lucy St Louis) how to sing via distance learning; his protegée has no idea who he is, or what he looks like.

When she lands a leading role then falls in love with posh boy Raoul (Rhys Whitfield), who exclusively wears dinner jackets, Phantom gets jealous and drags her to his watery underworld (red flag: he has a wedding dress, pure Havisham couture, waiting there for her). A quasi-love triangle emerges, culminating in the Phantom forcing the terrified theatre company to perform his new opera, a truly novel way to jumpstart your career in the arts.

From the moment that the huge chandelier went careening from the stage up onto the ceiling as that organ riff played, I was hooked on the high-camp melodrama. This is a show that makes no apologies about being bombastic and revels in being extra, from the pyrotechnics to the eye-catching costumes to the jaw-dropping ensemble numbers.

Second act opener Masquerade is especially dazzling, while that gondola journey down into the depths, lit by hundreds of candles that emerge from the darkness, makes an unforgettable set piece. This is the West End at its crowd-pleasing best, buoyed by a standout turn from St Louis as Christine, who flits effortlessly through the show’s many musical styles. Her character is hardly an empowered heroine, yet the actress makes her vital and engaging; Donnelly, meanwhile, makes a nuanced Phantom, despite the part’s cartoonish trappings.

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Much has been made of the decision to scale back the orchestra (previously the biggest in the West End) from 27 performers down to 14; I don’t have the original set-up as a point of comparison, of course, but the score still feels suitably epic.

Is the Phantom an incel? Absolutely. Is the love triangle convincing? Not entirely. But for a glorious slice of camp escapism, executed at the highest possible standard, this show is hard to beat. You’ll find me agitating for a West End revival of Love Never Dies.

The Phantom of the Opera, Her Majesty’s Theatre; thephantomoftheopera.com

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Paris’ Olympics opening was wacky and wonderful — and upset bishops. Here’s why

Paris Olympics organizers apologized to anyone who was offended by a tableau that evoked Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” during the glamorous opening ceremony, but defended the concept behind it Sunday. Da Vinci’s painting depicts the moment when Jesus Christ declared that an apostle would betray him. The scene during Friday’s ceremony featured DJ and producer Barbara Butch — an LGBTQ+ icon — flanked by drag artists and dancers.

Delegations arrive at the Trocadero as spectators watch French singer Philippe Katerine performing on a giant screen, in Paris, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024 in Paris. (Ludovic Marin/Pool Photo via AP)

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It’s Day 10 of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Here ’ s what to know:

• Gymnastics: Simone Biles wraps up her 2024 Olympics gymnastics competition by seeking more gold in the balance beam and floor exercises. Follow live updates here.
• Boxer bullying backlash: Olympic boxer Imane Khelif said the wave of hateful scrutiny she has faced over misconceptions about her gender “harms human dignity,” and she called for an end to bullying athletes
• 100 meter final : American Noah Lyles won the Olympic 100 by five-thousandths of a second, among closest finishes in history.
• In photos : Some of the best pictures from the Summer Olympics , updated daily.
• Catch up : Follow along with our Olympics medal tracker and list of athletes who won today . Check out the Olympic schedule of events and follow all of AP’s coverage of the Summer Games .
• Want more? Sign up for our daily Postcards from Paris newsletter.

PARIS (AP) — Paris: the Olympic gold medalist of naughtiness.

Revolution ran like a high-voltage wire through the wacky, wonderful and rule-breaking Olympic opening ceremony that the French capital used to astound, bemuse and, at times, poke a finger in the eye of global audiences on Friday night.

That Paris put on the most flamboyant, diversity-celebrating, LGBTQ+-visible of opening ceremonies wasn’t a surprise. Anything less would have seemed a betrayal of the pride the French capital takes in being a home to humanity in all its richness.

But still. Wow. Paris didn’t just push the envelope. It did away with it entirely as it hammered home a message that freedom must know no bounds.

A practically naked singer painted blue made thinly veiled references to his body parts. Blonde-bearded drag queen Piche crawled on all fours to the thumping beat of “Freed From Desire” by singer-songwriter Gala, who has long been a potent voice against homophobia . There were the beginnings of a menage à trois — the door was slammed on the camera before things got really steamy — and the tail end of an intimate embrace between two men who danced away, hugging and holding hands.

“In France, we have the right to love each other, as we want and with who we want. In France, we have the right to believe or to not believe. In France, we have a lot of rights. Voila,” said the audacious show’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly.

Jolly, who is gay, says being bullied as a child for supposedly being effeminate drove home early on how unjust discrimination is.

The amorous vibe and impudence were too much for some.

“Know that it is not France that is speaking but a left-wing minority ready for any provocation,” posted far-right French politician Marion Maréchal, adding a hashtagged “notinmyname.”

Here’s a closer look at how Paris both awed and shocked.

A 21st-century update of Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper’

DJ and producer Barbara Butch, an LGBTQ+ icon who calls herself a “love activist,” wore a silver headdress that looked like a halo as she got a party going on a footbridge across the Seine, above parading athletes — including those from countries that criminalize LGBTQ+ people. Drag artists, dancers and others flanked Butch on both sides.

The tableau brought to mind Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper,” which depicts the moment when Jesus Christ declared that an apostle would betray him.

Jolly says that wasn’t his intention. He saw the moment as a celebration of diversity, and the table on which Butch spun her tunes as a tribute to feasting and French gastronomy.

“My wish isn’t to be subversive, nor to mock or to shock,” Jolly said. “Most of all, I wanted to send a message of love, a message of inclusion and not at all to divide.”

Still, critics couldn’t unsee what they saw.

“One of the main performances of the Olympics was an LGBT mockery of a sacred Christian story - the Last Supper - the last supper of Christ. The apostles were portrayed by transvestites,” the spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, posted on Telegram.

“Apparently, in Paris they decided that since the Olympic rings are multi-colored, they can turn everything into one big gay parade,” she added.

The French Catholic Church’s conference of bishops deplored what it described as “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity” and said “our thoughts are with all the Christians from all continents who were hurt by the outrage and provocation of certain scenes.”

LGBTQ+ athletes, though, seemed to have a whale of a time. British diver Tom Daley posted a photo of himself recreating the standout Kate Winslet-Leonardo DiCaprio scene from “Titanic,” only with the roles reversed: He was at the boat’s prow with arms outstretched, as rower Helen Glover held him from behind.

Is that a revolver in your pocket?

When a giant silver dome lifted to reveal singer Philippe Katerine reclining on a crown of fruit and flowers, practically naked and painted blue, audiences who didn’t think he was Papa Smurf may have guessed that he represented Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and ecstasy.

But unless they speak French, they may not have caught the cheekiness of his lyrics.

“Where to hide a revolver when you’re completely naked?” he sang, pointing down to his groin. “I know where you’re thinking. But that’s not a good idea.”

“No more rich and poor when you go back to being naked. Yes,” Katerine continued.

Decades after Brigitte Bardot sang “Naked in the Sun,” this was Paris’ reminder that everyone starts life in their birthday suit, so where’s the shame?

Paris museums are full of paintings that celebrate the human form. Gustave Courbet’s “Origin of the World” hangs in the Musée d’Orsay. The 16th-century “Gabrielle d’Estrées and one of her sisters,” showing one bare-breasted woman pinching the nipple of another, hangs in the Louvre.

France sends a message

Clad in a golden costume, French-Malian pop star Aya Nakamura strode confidently out of the hallowed doors of the Institut de France, a prestigious stronghold of French language, culture and commitment to freedom of thought. Even without a note being sung, the message of diversity, inclusion and Black pride was loud.

The most listened-to French-speaking artist in the world was a target of fierce attacks from extreme-right activists when her name emerged earlier this year as a possible performer at the show. Paris prosecutors opened an investigation of alleged racism targeting the singer.

Nakamura performed with musicians of the French military’s Republican Guard, who danced around her.

Au revoir, closed minds and stuffy traditions.

Off with their head!

When London hosted the Summer Games in 2012, it paid homage to the British monarchy by giving Queen Elizabeth II a starring role in the opening ceremony. Actor Daniel Craig, in character as James Bond, was shown visiting the head of state at Buckingham Palace before the pair appeared to parachute out of a helicopter over the stadium.

The French love to joyfully tease their neighbors across the English Channel and, perhaps not incidentally, took a totally different, utterly irreverent tack.

A freshly guillotined Marie Antoinette, France’s last queen before the French Revolution of 1789, was shown clutching her severed head, singing: “The aristocrats, we’ll hang them.” Then, heavy metal band Gojira tore the Paris evening with screeching electric guitar.

Freedom: Does anyone do it better than the French?

AP journalists Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Jim Heintz in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed.

For more coverage of the Paris Olympics, visit https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games .

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The Phantom Of The Opera: 5 Accurate Scenes From The Book (& 5 Inaccurate Details)

Glen powell’s amazing 2024 complicates top gun 3 after maverick's tom cruise replacement setup, 9 roles dave bautista could play in the dcu (other than his dream dc villain).

• The Phantom of the Opera has been adapted into various TV and film versions, but not all have been successful.
• Some adaptations deviate from the original book and focus more on the Phantom as a slasher villain.
• The 1989 horror version with Robert Englund is confusing and does not follow the book closely, resulting in a critical and financial failure.

The Phantom of the Opera has been adapted for television and movies for almost a century, and some productions have been far better than others. This includes several horror versions and ones based on the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical that premiered in the 1980s. There have also been many famous faces behind the masked men, including Ramin Karimloo and even the late Julian Sands.

The Phantom of the Opera started as a book published by Gaston Leroux in 1909. The story follows a disfigured musical genius named Erik Destler, or the Phantom, who lives in the Paris Opera House and is obsessed with a beautiful singer named Christine Daaé. Over the years, there have been many variations of the classic book, with some versions trying to stay as close to the book as possible while others follow the musical.

12 The Phantom of the Opera (1989)

Starring robert englund (erik/the phantom/mr. foster), jill schoelen (christine), meg (molly shannon), alex hyde-white (richard dutton), bill nighy (martin barton), terence harvey (inspector hawkins), stephanie lawrence (la carlotta).

The 1989 horror version with Robert Englund deviated from the book by having the story set in the modern day and later transitioning over to the 1880s. Similar to the classic tale, it follows Christine Day as she goes for an audition at a New York opera. She later gets hit on the head with a sandbag during the audition and goes back in time to the 1880s, where she is a rising opera star being taught by a disfigured musical genius who is falling in love with her.

While the music in the film is very well done, it is too focused on making Phantom Robert Englund into a slasher villain rather than a tragic anti-hero and does not follow the book. The movie's use of transitioning from the present to the past also makes it more confusing for those who have not read the book. It is one of the few Phantom of the Opera films on this list with an R rating and was a critical and financial failure, with a 33% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

11 The Phantom of the Opera (1998 Film)

Starring julian sands (the phantom), asia argento (christine daaé), andrea di stefano (raoul, baron de chagny).

Having the Phantom be a slasher villain was a popular choice back in the '70s, '80s, and '90s, with this version being no exception. The 1998 film version of The Phantom of the Opera was a complete flop, garnering a 10% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and is the second movie on this list with an R rating. With the late Julian Sands starring as the tragic Phantom and Asia Argento starring as Christine, this movie lets the actors down. Having the Phantom raised by rats makes the movie completely unrealistic to the original Leroux tale and is one of the worst movies that Argento has been in.

10 Love Never Dies (2012)

Ben lewis (the phantom), anna o'byrne (christine daaé), maría mercedes (madame giry), simon gleeson (raoul), sharon millerchip (meg giry), jack lyall (gustave).

Love Never Dies is the sequel to Andrew Lloyd Webber's version of The Phantom of the Opera and is also loosely based on the book The Phantom Takes Manhattan . It takes place 10 years after the musical, with Christine coming to America to perform at Phantasma, a new sideshow in Coney Island run by the Phantom. The only good thing about this version is Ben Lewis and Anna O'Bryne's singing. Despite having a good reputation as a composer, this is one Lloyd Webber show that completely misses the mark.

The stage version of this sequel makes the already-sad tale even sadder with Christine being the only fatality at the end of the story and adding in a lot of out-of-character elements for everyone else, especially Meg and Raoul. The story takes away everything from the original Lloyd Webber musical and gives the characters little purpose. Critics who saw the show in London and Australia also agreed that the show served little purpose and did not add anything to the original story.

9 The Phantom of the Opera (1983)

Starring maximilian schell (the phantom), jane seymour (maria gianelli/elena korvin), michael york (michael hartnell), jeremy kemp (baron hunyadi), diana quick (madame brigida bianchi).

The 1983 story stars Maximilian Schell as the Phantom and gives him more of a tragic backstory. This version of the Phantom sees him as a promising orchestra conductor who is married to a singer who later commits suicide. While it is a well-done movie for its time, it was not well-received by audiences or by the critics. Schell's portrayal of the Phantom is the only saving grace for this movie, but the entire movie feels like the filmmakers attempted to have it be the next big thing and failed.

8 Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

Starring paul williams (swan/the phantom's singing voice), william finley (the phantom), george memmoli (arnold philbin), jessica harper (phoenix).

Phantom of the Paradise is a bit unusual in that it does not take place in the 1880s, but rather in the present day. Starring William Finley as Winslow Leach or the Phantom, it covers the story of a record producer who steals Leach's music, causing Leach to get revenge after the producer frames him for doing drugs and puts him in jail. After an accident wrecks his face, Leach becomes the Phantom with the sole intent of getting revenge on the producer, while tutoring an up-and-coming singer.

While the story works well for audiences who may like rock and roll music, it can be hard to swallow for audiences who want to see the classic Phantom story. The film uses the inspiration of multiple stories instead of just one, including Faust and Oscar Wilde. The film was a box office failure but has since reached cult status in the years since and is known as one of Brian de Palma's best films. In fact, it could be argued that it is better than 1975's Rocky Horror Picture Show .

Joel Schumacher's 2004 adaptation of the epic The Phantom of the Opera might have missed the mark on some details, but nailed a few as well.

6 The Phantom of the Opera (1962 film)

Starring herbert lom (the phantom/professor petrie), heather sears (christine charles), edward de souza (harry hunter), michael gough (lord ambrose d'arcy).

Herbert Lom's Phantom is another horror version of the story, but unlike later versions, it is not overly gory or overly scary. Unlike the Leroux book, the 1962 film does not take place in Paris, but in London. The Phantom is portrayed as a more sympathetic man and eventually dies saving Christine from a falling chandelier, rather than letting Christine go with another man. This more sympathetic approach works for the movie and keeps it suspenseful while giving it heart.

5 The Phantom of the Opera (2004 film)

Starring gerard butler (the phantom), emmy rossum (christine daaé), patrick wilson (raoul), miranda richardson (madame giry), minnie driver (carlotta giudicelli).

The 2004 version of The Phantom of the Opera is based solely on the stage musical. Starring Gerard Butler as the Phantom and Emmy Rossum as Christine, it is a fresh version of the musical with modern faces. It is one of the few Phantom stories that have the Phantom stay alive throughout the entire story. While Butler may not be a trained singer, his rough and raw voice is perfect as the Phantom and a then-teenaged Rossum succeeds as Christine. Critic reviews at the time of the premiere were mixed, but it was well received by audiences worldwide, most of them probably teenagers themselves.

4 The Phantom of the Opera (1990 Miniseries)

Starring charles dance (the phantom), teri polo (christine daaé), adam storke (comte philippe de chagny), burt lanchester (gerard carriere).

This is the only television series on this list and is based on Phantom, a 1991 musical by Andrew Kopit. Despite some changes made to the plot, this version of Phantom stays as true to the original book as possible but allows for creative liberties without feeling forced. The film does not show the Phantom as a slasher villain who thrives on kills but rather as a tragic anti-hero who has not been shown the kinder things in life. Portraying the Phantom as a tragic anti-hero works well for this television series and makes his actions understandable.

3 The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall (2011)

Starring ramin karimloo (the phantom), sierra boggess (christine daaé), hadley fraser (raoul), wendy ferguson (carlotta giudicelli).

Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess have had a long history with the musical version of The Phantom of the Opera , so it only made sense to have a filmed version of the stage production starring them rank high on this list. Filmed at the Royal Albert Hall in 2011, this version came out to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the musical. With only a few minor differences from the original musical version due to timing constraints, it is a powerful performance by both Karimloo and Boggess, especially in the title song.

2 Phantom of the Opera (1943)

Starring claude rains (the phantom/erique claudin), susanna foster (christine dubois), nelson eddy (anatole garron), edgar barrier (raoul dubert).

1943's Phantom of the Opera was a box office success despite mixed reviews when it was released. Even though it is only loosely based on the original Leroux tale, the story is compelling enough to make audiences not worry about it. Unlike Christine in other adaptations of the Leroux tale, Susanna Foster's Christine is independent and determined, eventually choosing not to pursue suitors and dedicating herself to her singing career. The film is also the only Universal horror film to win two Oscars, one for Art Direction and another for Cinematography.

1 The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

Starring lon chaney (the phantom), norman kerry (vicomte raoul de chagny), mary philbin (christine daaé), arthur edmund carewe (ledoux), virginia pearson (carlotta).

The first movie of The Phantom of the Opera , Lon Chaney's 1925 silent film version, is a classic for audiences who love the silent horror films of the late 1920s. Known as the Man of a Thousand Faces, Lon Chaney did his own makeup for the film, creating a spooky, Frankenstein-like effect that left audiences appropriately terrified. There are no changes to the plot or the characters and any violence is implied, never shown, making it successful and true. The film was a critical success on its release in 1925 and was added to the United States National Film Registry in 1998.

• Phantom of the Opera

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The Phantom of the Opera Reviews

As I was sitting in the auditorium alone watching this film, I kept looking around hoping there was a chandelier above me getting ready to plummet to the ground.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4.0 | Sep 20, 2020

Rossum is a stunning beauty and very effective, but the movie's biggest problem is Butler. He comes off rather dull in a role that requires someone a lot more dynamic.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Nov 18, 2019

Visually impressive, at times to the point of mesmerizing and emotionally stimulating, the film touches the heart and soul...and once again reaffirms Hollywood's (and the public's) love of the movie musical.

Full Review | Nov 14, 2019

A solid retelling of the musical, giving Webber's wonderful music a chance to shine for a wider audience than they ever have before.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 5, 2019

Too much of that film clung to the theatre experience, which ultimately appears wildly ingenuine on the silver screen.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jan 17, 2016

Commit one unforced error after another on its way to becoming one of the sloppiest major musicals of contemporary times.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/10 | Apr 27, 2015

cinematically translated Webber's musical adaptation as well as humanly possible,

Full Review | Original Score: C | Feb 4, 2013

The whole production feels cut and pasted, and it doesn't translate well to the big screen...

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Apr 29, 2009

Fans of musical theater will work themselves into a lather over Joel Schumacher's by-the-book film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's monotonous play, but most audiences will either fall asleep or hit the cinema doors running.

Full Review | Original Score: D+ | Apr 18, 2009

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 20, 2008

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 7, 2008

Fantastic sets, costumes, great art direction and imaginative camera work make this a visually stunning film. The musical score, not so much.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Apr 10, 2008

Without a proper Phantom, the entire enterprise sags monumentally, and, unfortunately, Butler is a disaster here.

Full Review | Mar 1, 2007

Most fans are bound to be disappointed to some degree, and non-aficionados of musical theater will find it tedious and silly. Do yourself a favor and see this on stage

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Sep 1, 2006

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 6, 2005

Deserves to be locked up in a dank, water-filled dungeon and left to molder.

Full Review | May 3, 2005

Tecnicamente impecável; no entanto, a adaptação medíocre de Weber não justifica mais de duas horas de projeção para apenas três canções aceitáveis (e Butler não sabe cantar).

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 19, 2005

The movie is so overblown, so much is meant to dazzle the eye, that it overwhelms the characters and the music.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Apr 19, 2005

Fans of the musical "The Phantom of the Opera", however, will find plenty to like in this filmic adaptation but its faults could have easily sunk the entire production.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Apr 17, 2005

'Pésele a quien le pese, es una de las mejores películas del 2004. Injustamente ignorada en Estados Unidos pero que el tiempo seguramente la convertirá en un clásico'

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Apr 4, 2005

The Phantom of the Opera Tickets

This lush romantic smash is Broadway’s longest-running show.

This show is closed.

Performances ended on Apr. 16, 2023.

News & Features

About the phantom of the opera on broadway, video & photos.

The longest-running show in Broadway history, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera debuted in 1988, winning seven Tony Awards® including Best Musical. Based on Gaston Leroux’s horror novel, it tells the enticing story of the Phantom, who haunts the stage of the Paris Opera and subsequently falls in love with a beautiful young soprano. Audiences are in for a thrilling night of spectacle and romance, accompanied by Broadway’s most unforgettable score.

Know Before You Go

Both romantic and scary, The Phantom of the Opera is a thrilling night of theater with grand emotions. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s score, with its beloved signature song “Music of the Night,” sets the mood, but you may also find yourself humming the gorgeous period costumes and simple yet grand sets (even the famous chandelier, which probably falls slower than you’d expect, is a thrill).

"Phantom rules! It remains as fresh and spectacular as ever. Andrew Lloyd Webber's score has a visceral tug more than almost any score written in the past 20 years. Beautiful and romantic, I have to tip my hat: The Phantom of the Opera has aged divinely." NY1 Roma Torre

"Phantom still delivers the goods! Judging by sheer invention, emotional punch and onstage talent, the venerable blockbuster still beats out almost all of the shippersnappers currently on Broadway. Maria Bjornson's flamboyant gothic design and Harold Prince's fantastical staging still have the gleam of finely polished professionalism." The New York Times Jason Zinoman

"Phantom is still wonderful and isn't showing its age one bit! The chandelier still falls on cue and the show still rises to the top of all the musicals ever to appear on Broadway. I hope I listen to the music of the night forever!" WOR Radio David Richardson

"It may be possible to have a terrible time at The Phantom of the Opera, but you'll have to work at it. Only a terminal prig would let the avalanche of pre-opening publicity poison his enjoyment of this show, which usually wants nothing more than to shower the audience with fantasy and fun, and which often succeeds, at any price. The physical production, Andrew Bridge's velvety lighting included, is a tour de force throughout–as extravagant of imagination as of budget." The New York Times Frank Rich

Frequently Asked Questions

Grand opera and lush romance might not be their cup of tea. And the Phantom is a frightening guy. There are old-fashioned scare moments throughout—a dead corpse plunging from a noose, shrieking-for-their-lives ballerinas, that disfigured face... Such sights will either send your kid burying their face in your arm or thinking it’s the coolest show in town.

Cast & Creative

Ben Crawford was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona and received a BFA in Music Theatre from The University of Arizona. His Broadway credits include  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory  (Mr. Salt), the titular character in Shrek The Musical , Big Fish (Edward Bloom u/s, Don Price), Les Misérables (Javert/Valjean u/s) and On the Twentieth Century (Bruce Granit u/s). Phantom marks Ben’s sixth Broadway show and he is beyond grateful to be able to jump into this iconic role. Ben has also starred in over twenty regional theatre productions ranging from Che in Evita (Studio Tenn), Starbuck in 110 in the Shade (Ford’s Theatre), Luther Billis in South Pacific (Ogunquit Playhouse), Frederick Barrett in Titanic (MUNY) and Jud Fry in Oklahoma! (Fox Theatre).

Emilie is making her Broadway debut in  Phantom . Recent credits include  Unknown Soldier  (Playwrights Horizons);  Oklahoma!  (Broadway at Music Circus, Sacramento, CA);  Merrily We Roll Along ,  Passing Strange ,  Me and My Girl ,  Violet ,  A Man of No Importance  (University of Michigan);  Sweeney Todd  (Connecticut Repertory Theater). Graduate, University of Michigan’s Musical Theatre program. She is extremely grateful for the love and support from her family, friends, team at CGF Talent and everyone who has supported her throughout the years. 

John Riddle has been seen on Broadway in Frozen (Hans),  The Visit (Young Anton) and on the national tour of  Evita . Other favorites credits include Tony in West Side Story (Casa Mañana), Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees (PCLO), Eric in The Little Mermaid (Muny), Little Dancer (Kennedy Center) and My Paris (Long Wharf). He has appeared in the concert performances of  The Secret Garden (Lincoln Center) and with the Cincinnati Pops, as well as performed his solo show Keep It Simple at Feinstein’s/54 Below.

Sara is honored to be joining the  Phantom  legacy! Former soloist with Miami City Ballet, Princess Grace Fellowship Award recipient for dance. Broadway/First National:  An American in Paris  (Lise Dassin). Other:  Brigadoon  (Jean, NYCC Encores!),  A Chorus Line  (Maggie, Encores!; Cassie, Cape Playhouse),  Marie Dancing Still  (5th Avenue, Seattle),  Alien/Nation  (Williamstown Theater Festival, Forest of Arden Co. Member). Film/TV:  West Side Story  (dir. Steven Spielberg), Fosse/Verdon, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel . Love to BRS/Gage and my family! F+A,NMW. For Nana.

Raquel Suarez Groen is thrilled to be making her Broadway debut with  Phantom ! Off-Broadway: Roxanne Conti,  iFigaro (90210)! (Duke Theater); Grand Dame in Vox Lumiere’s  Phantom of the Opera . Opera: Marzelline, Fidelio  (Opera Carolina); Frasquita,  Carmen  (Opera San Antonio, Venture Opera); Susanna,  Le nozze di Figaro  (Opera on the James); Lauretta,  Gianni Schicchi (Opera on the James, DiCapo Opera); Opera Lyra Ottawa; Syracuse Opera. Awards: Giulio Gari International Vocal Competition, Prize Winner; Florida Grand Opera YPO Competition, Prize Winner. Special thanks to my loving mom and dad, Tara Rubin Casting, Renée Fleming, Joan Lader, Diana and Bernard Uzan and my team at UIA!

Maree Johnson is thrilled to be returning to  The Phantom of the Opera  and making her Broadway debut! Born in Sydney and now living in Manhattan, Maree played Christine Daaé in Cameron Mackintosh’s Australian production. Other Australian credits include  Cats  (Grizabella),  Les Misérables ,  West Side Story  (Maria),  My Fair Lady  (Eliza),  Scrooge  (Isabel/Helen), two concert productions of  Follies  (Young Heidi, Young Sally) and the lead in Sondheim’s  You’re Gonna Love Tomorrow  at Sydney Opera House. Maree’s U.S. credits include  Z orba (The Widow),  Passion  (Fosca, Barrymore Award nomination) and  Myths & Hymns  (Emily). As always, love and thanks to Jason, Audra and Helena.

Craig Bennett's Broadway credits include  The Last Ship (Billy Thompson), A Tale of Two Cities (Jerry Cruncher), South Pacific (Thomas Hassinger) and  Miss Saigon (Sgt. Schultz). Off-Broadway: Music in the Air (City Center Encores!), Citizen Ruth (NY Fringe Festival). National tour: The Phantom of the Opera (Monsieur Firmin), The Light in the Piazza (Signor Naccarelli), Billy Elliot (Big Davey), Mamma Mia! (Bill Austin), Ragtime (Willie Conklin), Les Misérables (Combeferre). Regional: A Little Night Music (Fredrik), Randy Newman’s Faust (Michael), House of Martin Guerre (Jehannot), all at The Goodman Theater, Chicago. Thanks to Steve and Dale. Love to Sala and Mako.

Broadway:  All My Sons ,  Phantom of the Opera  (closing cast),  Flying Over Sunset ,  School of Rock ,  Gettin ’ The Band Back Together ,  Les Miserables  (Original Revival Cast),  Threepenny  Opera .  Off-Broadway includes:  Cyrano ,  Working  (2008 revision),  Grand Hotel  (Encores!),  Three Sisters .  Regional credits includes Arena Stage, Dallas Theatre Center, Goodman Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, The Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Kennedy Center.  Video Game: World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.  Film/TV: Law & Order SVU (NBC), The Wire (HBO), Search Party (HBO),  Blackout .

Heralded by  The New York Times  as an “ardent tenor,” Carlton Moe debuted at Carnegie Hall with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 2013. A native of Portland, Oregon, he has performed with such organizations as the Oregon Symphony, Walla Walla Symphony, Aspen Music Festival, Napa Music Festival, Savannah Voice Festival, Opera in Williamsburg, Charlottesville Symphony Society, and the Martina Arroyo Foundation. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Portland State University and a Master of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music, where he attended on a full scholarship.

 To come.

• Broadway Shows
• The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Metacritic reviews

The phantom of the opera.

• 75 Rolling Stone Peter Travers Rolling Stone Peter Travers Phantom, still running on Broadway after sixteen years, is a rapturous spectacle. And the movie, directed full throttle by Joel Schumacher, goes the show one better.
• 70 Variety Derek Elley Variety Derek Elley Sumptuous pic version, which evokes the original show while working as a movie in its own right, is lit by a radiant, vocally lustrous perf by teenaged Emmy Rossum.
• 60 Empire Empire The end result, although entertaining and well-crafted, certainly isn't on the same breathtaking scale of, say, Alan Parker's epic "Evita."
• 60 The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt What the film most damagingly lacks though is a sense of mystery and danger.
• 50 Newsweek David Ansen Newsweek David Ansen It's sometimes hard to tell the characters from the candelabra. This lavish screen version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical is so chockablock with decorative detail the human figures are often competing with the decor for attention.
• 40 L.A. Weekly Scott Foundas L.A. Weekly Scott Foundas Watching the passionless Phantom, with its geriatric story-framing device, gooey dimestore romanticism and tawdry pop ballads about unrequited yearning, feels akin to dying and waking up in your parents’ easy-listening-radio hell.
• 30 Village Voice Village Voice This Phantom's an overblown mess of ostentatious razzmatazz. Sure, all the ingredients of camp are there (oh, the hubris!), but this isn't a so-bad-it's-good classic. It's worse.
• 30 Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano The real problem with "Phantom" is the problem with Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals in general. It's a slow-moving orgy of lowbrow grandiosity that's as tedious as it is overblown and pretentious.
• 30 The New York Times Dana Stevens The New York Times Dana Stevens Lord Lloyd Webber's thorough acquaintance with the canon of 18th- and 19th-century classical music is not in doubt, but his attempt to force a marriage between that tradition and modern musical theater represents a victory of pseudo-populist grandiosity over taste - an act of cultural butchery akin to turning an aviary of graceful swans and brilliant peacocks into an order of Chicken McNuggets.
• 20 Slate David Edelstein Slate David Edelstein Made for the most excruciating two-and-a-half hours I've ever spent in a theater.
• See all 39 reviews on Metacritic.com
• See all external reviews for The Phantom of the Opera

More from this title

More to explore, recently viewed.

Exclusive interview with cast and creative team of 'The Phantom Of The Opera'

Jonathan Roxmouth plays Phantom for the second time, seen here with soprano Meghan Picerno as Christine Daae (All photos: The Phantom of the Opera World Tour)

Since the chandelier first rose from the stage to the iconic and haunting overture at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End on October 9, 1986, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom Of The Opera has chalked up a multitude of impressive achievements, accolades, and records. Most notably, the US production is the longest running musical in Broadway history and at 33 years and counting, the UK production is the second longest running musical in London’s West End.

Marking another first, the musical — which is inspired by French author Gaston Leroux’s 1909 novel — will make its debut in Kuala Lumpur this June, as part of an ongoing world tour. Having just completed its foremost engagement in Manila, the Philippines, this week sees its month-long run in Singapore begin and after the stop in Malaysia, the show will travel to Tel Aviv in Israel and Dubai.

Known for its ardent fandom — perhaps comparable to the hypnotic spell the phantom casts on his ingénue Christine Daae — there has been no end to discussions on the enduring popularity of the show. Certainly, when Options was invited to visit the cast and creative team of the tour in Manila, the show’s larger-than-life legacy loomed over our conversations about the production itself.

Options is the award-winning lifestyle pullout of The Edge Malaysia, the country’s premier business and investment weekly publication.

The Phantom of the Opera Broadway Reviews

Reviews of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. See what all the critics had to say and see all the ratings for The Phantom of the Opera including the New York Times and More...

Critics' Reviews

The Phantom of the Opera

The London audiences aren't wrong. 'The Phantom Of The Opera' is romantic musical theater hokum in the grand manner - hokum cordon blue - and it justifies the feverish buildup that has given it a $16,500,000 advance. It's good for a Broadway run of several years. Andrew Lloyd Webber has taken the Gaston Leroux potboiler about the love-crazed disfigured genius who lives in the catacombs of the Paris Opera and fashioned it into a thrilling and musically rich mass legit entertainment. The 19th century period spectacle, scenic legerdemain, soaring melodies and exceptional singing are at the service of an involving and piquantly offbeat love story, all of it staged with brilliantly organized flair by Harold Prince, back in top form.

Link no longer active

Technically it is a piece of impeccably crafted musical theater, with theme, music and staging in perfect accord. They combine as a total statement that depends for its potency more on the sum of its parts than on the strength of any individual component.

A grand 'Opera'

It is a spectacular entertainment, visually the most impressive of the British musicals. Perhaps the most old-fashioned thing about it is it's a love story, something Broadway has not seen for quite a while. To say the score is Lloyd Webber's best is not saying a great deal. His music always has a synthetic, borrowed quality to it. As you listen you find yourself wondering where you've heard it before. In this case you've heard a lot of it in Puccini, in the work of other Broadway composers and even the Beatles. Nevertheless he seems to be borrowing from better sources, and he has much greater sophistication about putting it all together. There are some droll opera parodies, several beautiful songs, an impressive septet and a grand choral number, all richly orchestrated.

Stage: Phantom of the Opera

It may be possible to have a terrible time at 'The Phantom of the Opera,' but you'll have to work at it. Only a terminal prig would let the avalanche of pre-opening publicity poison his enjoyment of this show, which usually wants nothing more than to shower the audience with fantasy and fun, and which often succeeds, at any price. It would be equally ludicrous, however - and an invitation to severe disappointment - to let the hype kindle the hope that 'Phantom' is a credible heir to the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals that haunt both Andrew Lloyd Webber's creative aspirations and the Majestic Theater as persistently as the evening's title character does. What one finds instead is a characteristic Lloyd Webber project - long on pop professionalism and melody, impoverished of artistic personality and passion - that the director Harold Prince, the designer Maria Bjornson and the mesmerizing actor Michael Crawford have elevated quite literally to the roof. 'The Phantom of the Opera' is as much a victory of dynamic stagecraft over musical kitsch as it is a triumph of merchandising uber alles.

To look on the bright side first, The Phantom of the Opera is a terrific technical achievement. If you want scenery and costumes, sight gags and sight thrills, they're all there—$8.5 million worth of them—on the aptly named Majestic stage. And who doesn't want to see candles sprout all around an underground lake (even if it does not make technological sense) and a giant chandelier almost crash into the audience below (even if it looks more like a giant balloon changing courses in midair)? It is good, mindless fun, and costs less than a trip to Disney World... The only areas in which The Phantom of the Opera is deficient are book, music, and lyrics.

STAGE VIEW; Now, About That Chandelier That Goes Crashing

In the end, The Phantom of the Opera can be no more than the sum of its pictorial effects. It's no opera (not with those bland melodies, not with lyric phrases like 'Be My Guest' and 'Make My Night'), it's not a display case of serious acting, it's not humor (not even self-mockery). It's pyschologically lightweight, long on melodramatic grotesquerie, and it can only on its visual chills. Will three chills, plus candles that swarm like fireflies, do you?

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