alternate phantom of the opera review 2

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
aka
IL FANTASMA DELL 'OPERA
(1998) 106 mins
FOCUS FILM ; BUDAPEST

Dario Argento's new film, "The Phantom of the Opera" is a bold re telling of the oft told tale of a tortured man living in the catacombs of the Paris opera house. When I say tortured I mean mentally, he has no disfigurement other than a bad wig and some weird friends similar to Jennifer Connelly's character in 'Phenomena' only furrier.

Argento's daughter Asia is cast as the damsel in distress role of Christine Daae, and she does a fairly competent job of the almost nonexistent role here. Julian Sands is cast as The Phantom, and as many of your know if you have seen any of the Warlock films in which he starred, it's all too familiar territory here for him. He broods around and doesn't say much but when his mouth does open he whines and complains in a monotonous drone. Not to smash the film to pieces. There are some clever characters and moments. Christine's adversary Carlotta is played with relish here by Nadia Rinaldi, she clucks and stomps her way through the scenery with glee. One moment I really got a chuckle at was after the ill fated chandelier incident...you will know what I am speaking of when you see it.

The contraption the rat catcher concocts is rather ingenious and fun. Also of note is the chandelier sequence itself. It is beautifully shot and rather graphic and the melee that ensues is a near riot which I thought appropriate when other film versions are less riotous in this scene. With that taken care of the film itself is as usual a big piece of eye candy with Argento's usual bloody bodies thrown in here and there for good measure (and thrown literally in one case). If you are wondering about the body count it is a little higher than say "Inferno" and the effects are very good in this film which surprised me because they must have spent on the shooting locations alone. The opera house in the film is in Budapest and is amazing to behold. The catacombs and underground lake are real and are even more beautiful for their sheer size and natural beauty.

Finer points aside I would say that this "phantom" is the most exotic and maligned versions to date. Fans of Argento should enjoy the visual and audio extravaganza (if you have a surround sound hookup that is..the sound is mixed fairly low and the dialogue is much too quiet at times). Ennio Morricone's score is AMAZING...some of his best work in years. Fans of the classic story however will be let down by the plot holes and shifts in character development, some things are just never explained.

So, I would suggest watching with open ears, eyes, and mind to fully gleam all the little gems in this flawed but otherwise enjoyable film. Oh, and be sure to take particular note of the Turkish bath sequence it will make you squeamish for sure.

reviewed by Derek Botelho

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