The Phantom of the Opera (2004 Movie Soundtrack)
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Free Music Notes for The Phantom of the Opera (2004 Movie Soundtrack)
Free Music Review: I grew up with Phantom; this is excellent in its' own right.
Hit: 5 Stars
As stated in my title, I did indeed grow up with Phantom of the Opera. Every Halloween, my mother would blare the soundtrack with open windows. She considered this to be ideal "scary" music. My guess is, is that she played the London cast recording. (This was quite a few years ago, so I can't be too sure) While it was playing, she would explain to me the story of the Phantom, what the songs meant, what was happening in the play. I quickly fell in love with the story, and eagerly anticipated Halloween, because she only played that soundtrack at that time of the year.
As an adult, I look back at all of the recordings I have heard. I am a fan of both opera and Broadway musicals, so I have immensely enjoyed the London recording. (Sadly, I have not yet had the opportunity to see the play in person, but the book by Gaston Leroux is coming) That recording was extremely powerful, and I could always sympathize with the raw pain that the Phantom presented.
Now, fast forward to the 2004 movie. The movie was intended to be different from the play, with ALW himself adjusting the music to have more of a rock feel. As such, the style was supposed to be different.
I read many reviews of this product before I finally decided that I would add my own opinion. Quite a few people have complained about Gerard Butler's singing. I feel that his singing was just as full of the raw emotion needed for the role Michael Crawford portrayed. BUT, as the music itself is different, a different, edgier sound was needed to complete it. Gerard does this quite well.
Plese do not compare two completely different formats of a wonderful musical. I would say, buy BOTH soundtracks, the movie version and the London original cast (and any other recordings you care to). Enjoy each for what they are, within the context of WHAT they are (movie vs. stage production). After all, I am sure that the Phantom himself would agree, it is all about the music.
Free Music Review: This Phan Loves It!!
Hit: 5 Stars
I have heard a lot of negative reviews about this CD, but I went out and bought it to find out for myself. I am a hard core Phan and have loved the Michael Crawford version since Jr High. I have seen the musical around 10 times. I began listening to the CD warily, expecting the worst. And I was more than pleasantly surprised to find that I LOVE it. No, Gerard Butler is not Michael Crawford, but I love what I have heard of his portrayal of Erik. His accent is wonderful and his voice has the haunting quality of Crawford's that most singers cannot pull off. His voice portrays his emotions wonderfully from anger to sadness you can feel his emotions through his voice.
Emmy Rosum as Christine does not have the force that Sarah Brightman does, but she has an innocence that Brightman lacks which closer follows the original story. In many ways Rossum is much better at the part than Brightman, especially if you know the story and know that Christine is supposed to be a naive young woman whose voice is untrained. With time under the Phantoms instructions her voice gets better, which you can definitely hear in Rossums wonderful performance. By the end of the CD her voice is strong, carrying the "Past the Point of No Return" song wonderfully! Butler and Rossum do a wonderful job on "Phantom of the Opera", it is just as haunting as the original, and the orchestrations are amazing!
Patrick Wilson as Raoul does a good job, his voice is strong and blends well with Christine's in "All I Ask Of You." I find that listening to the soundtrack of the movie is vastly different since the whole thing is not sung, as with the musical. It is a pleasant difference, in my opinion. As for the added music and changes to the original score, I think they simply enhance an already wonderful score, they do not ruin it.
All in all I was very pleased and cannot wait to see the movie. If it is half as good as the soundtrack, it will definitely be one of my favorites!
Free Music Review: Perfect Companion To The Movie.
Hit: 5 Stars
I bought the soundtrack last night after listening to samples of the tracks on this website and, as I LOVED the movie (see my review on it), I was EAGER to own the soundtrack to one of the greatest musicals of all time, now a major motion picture. It features all of the major songs which are in the film (minor ones like "Little Lotte" and "Don Juan Triumphant" have been omitted, for convenience of those who haven't seen the film), with dialogue bits from the film which, fortunately, don't reveal anything close to climactic (because some may not have seen the movie and bought the soundtrack, anyway just to get an idea if the film would be good; that's what I did before I saw "Titanic" [see my review on it]: heard the music before I viewed the movie). It's like you're seeing the images from the movie (those who've seen it, of course) that correspond to the song you're hearing). If you haven't, you're just hearing the music and IMAGINING what happens on screen, which is great. I enjoyed the soundtrack as much as the movie itself. All the songs on it are great, but my personal favorites are: the riveting "Overture," the lovely ballad "Think Of Me," the wickedly dark title song "The Phantom Of The Opera," the heartwarming and tender love song "All I Ask Of You" (as well as the reprise), the soft "Angel Of Music," the heart-wrenching lament "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again," the seductive "The Mirror (Angel Of Music)," the passionate "The Point Of No Return," the climactic "Down Once More/Track Down This Murderer," the sad "Learn To Be Lonely," (performed by Minnie Driver over the end credits of the film; the only song written by Andrew Lloyd Webber exclusively for the movie) and of course, the Phantom's love song, "Music Of The Night" (the famous song from the Broadway musical, the one that everybody remembers). All in all, great film, excellent soundtrack. Can't wait for the DVD release of this film. Rated E for Easy Listening.Free Music Review: Beautiful
Hit: 5 Stars
I saw The Phantom of the Opera when it first came out in theaters when I was 12. The week before I saw it, my world geography teacher had played part of the soundtrack in class and told us about the story to encourage us to see it. I loved the music so much that I bought it and listened to the rest of the songs. I cried, especially at the end of Point of No Return and all through Down Once More. Each voice captured such emotion. I didn't need to see what was going on to understand the pain and desperation of each character. The Phantom of the Opera has always been a favorite of mine since then and I've talked with a lot of people who also love the story in general. The fan base is so broad because of all the different versions, and people tend to disagree on what is better when it comes to either the book, the stage play, or the movie. Especially when comparing the stage play to the movie.
A lot of people who love the stage play were disappointed with the movie because it wasn't a literal translation of the material, and also because the original cast was not featured on screen. Personally, I'm happy for this. I've listened to a lot of different stage casts and I've even seen Phantom on Broadway (it was awesome!) But Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman have never captured the essence of Phantom like Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum have. Gerard Butler is not musically trained to the same degree as Michael Crawford, but Gerard did a better job of conveying the phantom's emotions and helping us to understand why he acts the way he does.
For people who are interested in listening to the movie soundtrack or learning more about the Phantom of the Opera, I would suggest you keep an open mind and not listen to what everyone else has to say about how horrible/wonderful the movie is, etc. Everybody has their own opinion on which Phantom version is best.
Free Music Review: Awesome!
Hit: 5 Stars
I found the "Phantom of the Opera" while picking through the used DVD bins of a rental store about a year ago. You could get three DVDs for only 25 bucks, so what the hey? I watched it that evening and I was totally overcome.
I guess Gaston Leroux's 1911 novel, "The Phantom of the Opera," has been filmed seven times. Its surefire formula also lends itself to a strong stage presence. One critic suggested that with total estimated box-office receipts of $3.2 billion, "Phantom" may be the biggest grossing theatrical presentation of all time. In general, critics tend to regard this movie rather lowly; I'm not sure why. I thought it was excellent. It was absolutely first rate! One of the problems (or blessings), I had was that I can't recall ever hearing of it so this wonderful drama unfolded before fresh new eyes and ears and I didn't read the critical comments until after the viewing.
First of all, the movie is obviously a film translation of a stage presentation. It's quite well done, I should hasten at add. The cast is excellent, the visuals are elegant and splendorous and the story flows along with an exquisite romantic power. It just totally overpowered me. If you asked me what the best part of the production was, I'd say it was the music. I've mentioned this before at least a half dozen people and, low and behold, a CD of the film score was found in my Christmas stocking.
This is just wonderful music. I can listen over and over. Would I prefer the DVD or the CD? Well, it depends. If you want to watch, opt for the DVD. The CD is good for the car or when you've got a lot to do. It has a wonderful full-bodied presentation. Put it on a good stereo or home theater system and TURN THE VOLUME UP. Awesome!
Gary Peterson