Phantom of the Opera

For quite some time now I had been hearing many dubious and unpleasant reports regarding Dario Argento's interpretation of Gaston Leroux's classic Phantom of the Opera. Most recently I had exited the Dead by Dawn festival's screening five minutes into the film as not only had it been pushed to the end of the all-night bill (like an unwelcome guest) but the audience already had a pre-emptied poor view of the film before it commenced. I wanted to wait and judge the film on its own merits when the DVD arrived here at SGM.

So, with much trepidation, I sat down with a colleague who is also a long, long time fan of Argento's work and to say (at least) we were very, very surprised.

Forget everything you have seen or read regarding Argento's Phantom, this is a GREAT movie. The story (for the few that dont know) involves a baby that has been abandoned in the sewers beneath an Opera House that is saved and brought up by the rats that breed there. This classic yarn sees the now grown up phantom (played by Julian Sands) stalking the Opera House hypnotically romancing a young protege opera singer (played brilliantly by the beautiful Asia Argento).

After all the condemnation, Argento's Phantom was surprisingly an absolute treat to view. Argento doesn't let his fans down at all with an excellently witty and perverse script full of interesting sub-characters that keeps the interest flowing throughout the movie, and some fantastic gory death sequences that will have you cheer out loud. Argento's direction (as always) is stylish and though maybe not as entertainingly brash as his earlier movies was as delightful as ever. And Ennio Morricone's soundtrack fits the bill (and atmosphere) a treat.

Maybe not for everyone, but fans of Argento's work should delight in this movie. I reckon the problem that some people had with Phantom was that they were holding it up against films like Deep Red and Suspiria looking for comparisons. But to approach it with an open mind you will be thoroughly entertained.

This disc itself is well produced (though strangely when loading into your player it wont play until you enter your Parental Lock code!!? - a minor glitch but I thought you better be warned so you dont get heart failure when it happens!). The quality of the picture and sound is great (more so if you crank it up through a surround sound system) and there are all the usual welcome extras - trailers, photos and a couple of short behind the scenes and interview clips.

Argento fans and Phantom fans alike, pick this one up - you'll be surprised and happy! Nice one.