Can't wait for this to come out next month

[rallynavvie]

http://pdl.warnerbros.com/wbmovies/phantom/trailer/trailer_hi/trailer_a.mov
Just saw this trailer on the big screen before Alexander. I saw it on stage at the Majestic on Broadway several years ago and it's still easily my favorite musical if not just a great story. I can't wait to see it on the big screen, though I believe it was done before just not as the ALW musical. Sorry, the QuickTime trailer doesn't do justice to the music behind it.

BTW Alexander was boring

[bazooka]

The soundtrack is good.

[offline]

IMO Les Miserables was much better. This "version"
of phantom is quite poor. Gerard Butler is not very
good as The Phantom and the set and direction
is uninspiring to say the least. This is not suprising
given Schumacher's involvement (Batman & Robin)

For purists.. stick with Lon Chaney for the acting
while playing the soundtrack by Michael Crawford.

[rallynavvie]

Just got back from it. Let's start with what I didn't like. I thought they should have tried harder getting the lip-synching right on. We know it's going to happen, these aren't stage actors after all, but at least cover it up better. As it is a musical it would have been nice also to see the leads over-acting more to further dramatize their role. This would have also helped with the soundtrack matching up as it would look more like they were singing as they were playing their part. I don't know yet whether I like the ending or not, they added a footnote onto the ALW stage version that was kind of sweet. The scene with Meg picking up the mask is still in there.

Everything else I liked. I didn't think I was going to like Minnie Driver in the role of Carlotta but she played it well and you could hardly tell it was her. It would have been funny to cast Brightman in that role though. All the vocal tracks were pretty good considering none of them have any serious vocal talent, except of course Emmy Rossum who was fantastic in her role as Christine. The sets were gorgeous and the recreations of the Paris Opera House were close to what I imagined. It was over-the-top like Schumacher but it works for a musical like this. Mr. Mathieson had a lot to do with how well it looked on screen I'm sure (he was responsible for lensing Gladiator), but I have to think that ALW himself gave a lot of guidance to the film. The Masquerade scene was probably the best, followed closely by the last scene in the sewers where the vocals really come out. The opening scene where the chandelier is raised while the opera house comes to life will give you goosebumps.

I went into it hoping to see what the ALW musical would look like with an unlimited set and costume budget and I did get that. Because of the vocal performances it still can't touch the musical set live in a proper theater but it certainly works in its stead. If you liked the musical then you should enjoy this. If you aren't into musicals at all then you may not like it, however this is one of the easiest to take for your first time.