The Phantom of the Opera (The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
|
List Price: Our Price: $12.47 You Save: $3.48 (22%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $5.87 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for The Phantom of the Opera (The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Free Music Review: truely superb
Hit: 5 Stars
to begin with, when i first went to watch this movie i thought it would be terrible based on all the reviews here on amazon. but the truth is the exact oppistite. the music (which is what everyone fixated on) was nearly flawless. and i must say that i preffered emmy rossum and gerard buttler to sarah brightman and michael crawford, here's why.
emmy rossum was much more believable in the role. her youth gave her singing a great innocence adn her voice certainly was capable of hitting the proper notes. that said, sarah brightman was the greater of the two on the finales of "think of me" and "the phantom of the opera" her range made those two songs' climaxes supereour. but emmy's smoothness and clearness even in the higher register made songs like "wishing you were somehow here again" absolutely stunning.
the most controvercial casting was that of gerard buttler, and he was amazing... in a good way. his voice was filled with all the emotion that michael crawford missed out on. his lower voice made his songs richer and bolder. it also played off of emmy rossum's soprano voice better than michael crawfords tenor and sarah brightman. however, crawford was supereor on "music of the night" his softness made the song much eerier and haunting. but buttler's rendition of "the point of no return" was much more powerful and passionate than the original duet.
finally, this pairing had much more chemisty and passion in ther songs and together. this only helped matters and made the relationship feel that much more disturbing. this also helped it play against christine and raoul's relationship. (by the way, the supporting cast here is also supereour) yes, these actors have their flaws in certain songs, but over all they top the original cast, so if you must buy either this or the original cast album, CHOOSE THIS ONE!!!
Free Music Review: Soaring soundtrack - Despite ignorant bashing
Hit: 5 Stars
I'm an operafan and not into musicals that much but "The Phantom of the Opera" is a good example of lovely music, a heartbreaking story and a world-famous production. Of course the famous recording featuring Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman and Steve Barton is a must for every Phantom-Fan BUT: The abuse this new movie and soundtrack has received to promote the classic is a shame and a disgrace. Plus a recording as great as the original recording of Phantom doesn't need cheap and tasteless bashing to promote it. Scared that the new version might overtake the original? Oh please! Just be open to a new interpretation and stop being so close-minded!
To clear up some lies and other issues: Gerard Butler can sing and he DID have voice-lessons. (Plenty of them) Now where is the difference? First of all, unlike Crawford, he's a baritone and has an edge to his voice that can cut you to the core because it's so intense. The vocal colours he adds to Webber's famous songs even outshine Crawford who sounds monotone, if angelic on the older recording. So I really couldn't make a choice here.
Emmy Rossum is a diamond in the rough. Her voice is lovely if not yet fully developed, yet she can sing circles around some other Christines, Dale Kristien for example who butchered the role in LA with poor Michael Crawford being her Phantom. (He saved the show the night I saw them) Her middle and low register is rich and sultry but her upper register needs work. Still, for a 17 year old she did a brilliant job.
As for the rest: Patrick Wilson's Raoul is perfectly arrogant and loving, Miranda Richardson is a compassionate Madame Giry and Margaret Preece is a wonderfully hysterical Carlotta. (She dubbed Minnie Driver)
So the original or this one? Depends on your preferences but I'd buy both!!!
Free Music Review: Wonderful acting through song
Hit: 5 Stars
I am generally not a fan of musicals, and I have never seen "POTO" on stage or heard all of the music until this soundtrack. I am a fan of Gerard Butler, so I wanted to hear how he sang this demanding part with a baritone range. (I have heard MC sing before, and his voice is beautiful!)
Gerry did a tremendous amount of work to sing as well as he could for this movie. And while technically, Gerry isn't as good a singer as Crawford, since this is a film and apparently a different interpretation of the original Lloyd-Webber piece, I was not disappointed in any way with the performances. I really like Butler's rough, sexual and totally monstrous Phantom. He is a lot like the Phantom I remember from the novel in some ways -- so dark, tortured and yes evil after a life filled with death and despair. He is mostly acting through song, and at least in my opinion, perfect singing is not the point in this case, but rather conveying a character through song. Thus if the character is angry, he shouts or growls; if he is sad, his voice breaks.
I also enjoyed Rossum's Christine; her voice, like her character's mind, is fragile and innocent, but toward the end she has deeper, stronger bits that convey a newly forming strength of will to fight the Phantom's control over her. Patrick Wilson's picture-perfect singing is great for his character, who here is supposed to be the archetype of nobility and heroism in direct contrast to the rough and dark Phantom.
I am greatly looking forward to the film. I have the feeling that while I'm not that into musicals, the rich story and incredible emotion conveyed in the singing voices of the main players will enthrall me on screen as much as when I listen to this soundtrack.
Free Music Review: Breathtaking movie, amazing soundtrack!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
I saw this movie as soon as it came to my local theatre and was completely engaged in the beauty of the film. It is a wonderful version of the classic, and is stunning in every way, both visually and acoustically. As someone who collects soundtracks and enjoys various types of music, I decided to purchase the soundtrack. I went ahead and purchased the double disc extended version because it had 11 extra songs, and I thought that would be much more enjoyable. Plus, there was a special edition booklet included that I knew would include some pictures from this visually stunning film. It was worth the money. It is a truly amazing soundtrack, with moving pieces of music, both sung and orchestrated... and some spoken sequences are also featured on the soundtrack. I am pretty sure all of the songs from the film are included on this (around) 2 hour collection of music. Gerard Butler is absolutely fabulous as the Phantom, and brings an undeniable sensuality and mysteriousness to his character and voice. Emmy Rossum shines as an amazing soprano singer and actress. Patrick Wilson is also amazing as Raoul. Even though Minnie Driver did not sing the part of Carlotta, she was fabulously amazing! I love her very much and reccomend her solo album, "Everything I've Got In My Pocket," she is an extremely talented singer/songwriter. Her contribution the album was singing the new song, "Learn To Be Lonely." It's truly amazing and perfect for the film. Go Minnie!!! Among this, the lively and upbeat "Phantom of the Opera" and the classics such as "All I Ask Of You" and "The Music Of The Night" are highlights on these amazing two disks. Bottom line... if you enjoyed the film, or just enjoy wonderful and diverse music... buy this album! You won't regret it!Free Music Review: Beautiful
Hit: 5 Stars
Boy, am I tired of hearing people trash this soundtrack and the movie! If you prefer the stage interpretation, fine, stick the CD in your headphones and travel back to the 1980's and stay there; by all means. The film soundtrack brings the music into the 21st century (where we are now, perchance you Butler-Rossum haters missed that) and the vocals are wonderful. If everyone wanted to see a filmed version of the stage presentation, the filmmakers could have simply taken a camera to the theatre. OF COURSE that movie was going to be different!! To my surprise, it was very, very close to the play and was only different in ways it needed to be. Let's face it, if Crawford and Brightman had been in a film interpretation, now or 20 years ago, it would have been terrible. They are STAGE actors. Granted, some actors do both very well, but while the original cast was great on stage, they probably would have ruined it on camera. I was never particualry fond of Brightman's "acting," and her overblown vocals are at times almost painful. Rossum sings beautifully. Period. Not "despite her age" or anything else, but beautifully. And Butler? Whoa. I prefer listening to him sing than Crawford screeching that horrible falsetto. Does anyone remember Jordan Knight doing the same thing in New Kids On The Block? I do, and it ain't pretty. The Phantom is SUPPOSED to project an aura of sexuality. Butler does that part very well, and his voice is wonderful. And so what if Minnie Driver's vocals were dubbed? So were Audrey Hepburn's in "My Fair Lady" and nobody came after her with pitchforks and torches. Can't everyone just enjoy this soundtrack and film for what it is; a perfect FILM interpretation of a musical. NOT an opera. A musical.