Movie Review - The Phantom Of The Opera

Another stage musical remade for the big screen, following the likes of Les Miserables and Chicago, The Phantom of The Opera could prove to be another shocker. Simply for the fact that all members of the cast are talented enough to back up the vocals for the famed Andrew Lyodd Webber score.

Initially, it was widely believed that the actors were all lip-syncing to songs, because it was so obvious that they were lip-syncing. After some research on the internet, I found out that each and every of the cast members contributed their singing talents to the soundtrack, including veteran actor Gerard Butler (as the Phantom) and Minnie Driver (as Carlotta). The most amazing trivia was that the lead actress Emmy Rossum, who stars as Christine Daae, is only 18 years old, and yet possesses a powerful voice as such. Thus making the soundtrack unique from the former recordings of the London and Broadway cast.

The movie sets are intricately designed to follow as close to the theatre production as possible. A lot of detail went into the set of the Phantom's underground dungeon, with a magnificently done sewer complete with dark moulding walls. This is one detail that would be impossible to create in the stage version of the musical.

Although many still presume that this movie remake of The Phantom Of The Opera still lacks a particular element in comparison to the original stage version, I strongly recommend that little details throughout the movie should be given credit. The production crew needs to pay special attention to costumes and sets as the story is played out on the big screen, where every little detail can be seen clearly by the audience, unlike the theatre version. The casting must have been difficult too, to be able to find good acclaimed actors who, at the same time, possess a vocal prowess worthy of this famously evergreen musical.