The Phantom of the Opera
in Movies ·
When I actually sit down and think about it, the stage production truly is superior... even if the movie is excellent in its own right...
- In the theater, the opening remains the same—the auction and all that. But once they mention the chandelier, that's when the magic happens. It’s identical to the one in the movie, but it rises from the floor and takes flight; it's rigged with chains and manipulated throughout the entire show, moving left, right, forward, back, up, or down as needed. Even the Phantom himself descends and ascends on it a few times...
So, just like in the film, the chandelier falls, though obviously, it never actually hits the floor and shatters; it just simulates the impact very convincingly...
- The Phantom only commits his murders on stage, but since the stage itself often depicts an opera being performed with an audience present, he uses it to intimidate them. Of course, there isn't a real audience watching him do it 🙂 unfortunately 😢
However, the film is almost identical to the play. It features that mirror scene at the beginning where he calls out to Christina Aguilera, and later, he rows across the stage through rising fog (simulating water) while candelabras emerge from the floor...
Then, just like in the movie, there is a sequence where the Phantom vanishes through a trapdoor in the floor. It is brilliantly executed because there is a sudden flash of light at the exact moment he disappears...
Furthermore, the scene where he hangs Joseph also takes place on stage; there are suspended walkways built above the platform where the two struggle before he hangs him (causing the dummy to fall onto center stage)...
The production is genuinely spectacular. Everything you see in the film is present in the play, except that while the movie relies on cinematic special effects, the stage version does everything live, right before your eyes. 🙂
I actually saw the show in New York City at the Majestic Theatre, where they have been running it nightly for years. The entire interior of the hall is customized specifically for this production; you have the orchestra in front of the stage, and the stage setup mirrors the atmosphere of the Opera seen in the film...
The question remains: what is the experience like in other theaters???
If anyone else has attended a performance, I would be glad if you could provide a brief description...
- In the theater, the opening remains the same—the auction and all that. But once they mention the chandelier, that's when the magic happens. It’s identical to the one in the movie, but it rises from the floor and takes flight; it's rigged with chains and manipulated throughout the entire show, moving left, right, forward, back, up, or down as needed. Even the Phantom himself descends and ascends on it a few times...
So, just like in the film, the chandelier falls, though obviously, it never actually hits the floor and shatters; it just simulates the impact very convincingly...
- The Phantom only commits his murders on stage, but since the stage itself often depicts an opera being performed with an audience present, he uses it to intimidate them. Of course, there isn't a real audience watching him do it 🙂 unfortunately 😢
However, the film is almost identical to the play. It features that mirror scene at the beginning where he calls out to Christina Aguilera, and later, he rows across the stage through rising fog (simulating water) while candelabras emerge from the floor...
Then, just like in the movie, there is a sequence where the Phantom vanishes through a trapdoor in the floor. It is brilliantly executed because there is a sudden flash of light at the exact moment he disappears...
Furthermore, the scene where he hangs Joseph also takes place on stage; there are suspended walkways built above the platform where the two struggle before he hangs him (causing the dummy to fall onto center stage)...
The production is genuinely spectacular. Everything you see in the film is present in the play, except that while the movie relies on cinematic special effects, the stage version does everything live, right before your eyes. 🙂
I actually saw the show in New York City at the Majestic Theatre, where they have been running it nightly for years. The entire interior of the hall is customized specifically for this production; you have the orchestra in front of the stage, and the stage setup mirrors the atmosphere of the Opera seen in the film...
The question remains: what is the experience like in other theaters???
If anyone else has attended a performance, I would be glad if you could provide a brief description...