Phantom of the Opera

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Matthew D @OceanSage Sep 6 Mostly all long opera performances with Claude Rains carrying the beginning and end. Arthur Lubin's direction is so flat and stagey that he wastes all these beautiful sets, gowns, cinematography, lighting, hairstyling, makeup, and music. What an odd way to direct Phantom of the Opera by turning it into mostly a drama. It's not very romantic and all the horror is gone. Claude Rains is fantastic as a sympathetic version of the Phantom, but he's barely in the movie! He looks like he really cares about Christine. Nelson Eddy sings powerful opera singer Garron, but he cannot really act well. He's so much of this movie. Susanna Foster is pretty and can sing, but not in an engaging way. Her acting is terribly boring. Edgar Barrier is awful at acting as the captain of the guard Raoul. He's in way too much of this one. Jane Farrar is a stunning redhead, who is more gorgeous than Susanna Foster. She should have been Christine. Her powerful operatic voice is prettier than Foster's. She should have been Christine! What strange casting! In short, Phantom of the Opera (1943) lacks the romance of the 2004 version as well as the horror of the 1925 monster movie classic. See more Queralt T @RT48282939 03/09/2025 This adaptation focuses more on Christine's relationship with Raoul (who is somehow a policeman?) and Anatole (a random singer) and their dispute to win Christine's heart. In the mix we can find Erik, bue he is quite irrelevant. A little bit disappointed. But even so I enjoyed the music, scenes and performances, so no need to complain. As a music student, the Lizt "cameo" was very fun. Sit back and enjoy, Phans. See more Julian S @akajulianscott 01/23/2025 A richly vibrant adaptation, more melodrama than horror, but undeniably effective. See more CodyZamboni Z @CodyZamboni 12/23/2024 Watchable, but not very compelling, Lavish Technicolor production, Huge sets, fancy costumes, mammoth opera scenes, All money is up on the screen, But Phantom is more of a tragic figure, He is shown before he goes psycho, Way too much of his back story, Needed more mystery about his character. The horror should've been amped up and the music sequences edited down, , Claude Rains gives a solid performance, as does girl who plays Christine, See more Henry C @RT13349240 11/22/2024 when people talk about the universal monsters people forget this compelling charecter and his one film See more Jay W @RT52162311 11/21/2024 "The Phantom of the Opera" exists in a special gray area of classic Universal Monsters. The 1925 silent film stars Lon Chaney, the father of "the Wolfman". This one from 1943 stars Claude Rains, who also starred as "The Invisible Man". In a way the Phantom can be seen as both the first of the classic monsters and one of the last of their kind. I admire the fact that, even though is a "remake" of the 1925 film it feels like a completely different film. It would have been so easy for producers to just take the same story, put in color and sound and call it a day. But instead they went above and beyond and crafted a more fleshed out story for the Phantom. And when the story focuses on the backstory of the phantom, it is really good. When the film does the opera parts, it is a real drag. Of course, that will all vary depending on how much you like watching people sing boldly in Italian. Those scenes were just too many and too long. Changing the origin of the phantom does present its own problems, for example his relation to that of Christine suffers due to the change. Claude Raines does a good job as the Phantom. But, knowing how well he can laugh maniacally, I was hoping for a bit more of his over the top villainous performance. There is a running gag about a love triangle for Christine that gets a good number of laughs. Overall, it is admiral how much new they bring to the Phantom story. The movie just suffers from pacing problems, spending too much time focusing on the wrong things. Enough so, that the movie feels like it ends just when the story gets going. But it is good enough that you could call me a fan of the Phantom. See more Read all reviews

Phantom of the Opera

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