The Phantom of the Opera (1990)

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Movie
German title The Phantom of the Opera
Original title The Phantom of the Opera
Country of production USA , France , Italy , Germany
original language English
Publishing year 1990
length 176 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Tony Richardson
script Gaston Leroux (literary source) ; Arthur L. Kopit (play / screenplay)
production Haim Saban , Edgar J. Scherick ( Executive Producers )
music John Addison
camera Steve Yaconelli
cut Robert K. Lambert
occupation

The Phantom of the Opera is a two-part TV miniseries first broadcast in 1990, loosely based on the novel of the same name by Gaston Leroux , broadcast by NBC and by Hexatel and Saban / Scherick in collaboration with Starcom , TF1 , Reteitalia , Beta-Film , BR and ORF was produced. Directed by Tony Richardson .

action

The action takes place at the Paris Opéra Garnier in the late 19th century . Part 1 begins with the female main character Christine Daee, who, poorly dressed, goes to the opera (visibly impressed by the imposing building) to ask the director Gérard Carrière for singing lessons, which the Count de Chagny, who heard her sing, gave her has promised. The other women who belong to the opera's ensemble get this and tell Christine that they are all friends of the count.

At the same time it turns out that Carrière has just been sacked by the new owner of the opera, Alain Cholet. Christine found out this news from the porter Jean-Claude. He wants to help her and bring her to Cholet so that he might grant her singing lessons. The two are there when Carrière publicly announces that he is leaving the opera house without saying he has been fired. The employees are anything but enthusiastic about the new director and his wife Carlotta, who is the new star of the opera. Suddenly a piece of paper flies onto the stage: a message from the phantom, as the employees are worried. Cholet demands an explanation from Carrière, which he also receives in the opera hall: A ghost lives in the vaults of the opera and no one is allowed to enter it, because that is only the realm of the phantom, as he likes to call himself. Carlotta's costume manager, Buquet, whom she had sent to the vaults to draw up an inventory list, entered the kingdom without permission. Now he's gone. But not even Carrière knows that the man is dead, murdered by the phantom. Cholet does not believe Carrière and mocks him. This now arrives through a secret passage to the phantom, who reports that Buquet is dead. Carrière informs him that he has been released. This is bad news for Erik, as the phantom is called, because the new director does not believe in ghosts and is not in awe of him and his rules. Carrière forged a letter of resignation from Buquet so that Carlotta would not ask questions. After Christine Cholet asked for singing lessons and he and Carlotta refused it despite their advocate, the Count, Carlotta allows her to be her new cloakroom. Jean-Claude allows her to sleep in a corner of the vaulted cellar, as Christine has no money for accommodation. During the night Christine walks through the opera singing despite Jean-Claude's ban. Erik hears her beautiful voice and finds it far more pleasant than the Carlottas. He observes them long and carefully during their work.

One evening he finally speaks to her and offers to give her a lesson, as her very beautiful voice still sounds untrained. His only condition is that he keep his anonymity and keep his mask on. Christine accepts. Meanwhile, Cholet complains to Inspector Ledoux about the harassment of the phantom: He constantly writes letters in which he criticizes, for example, Carlotta's cast as the main character and also demands that box 5 be reserved for him at every performance. Despite Ledoux's objection, pointing out that the old director always did that and that everything went well, Cholet refuses to adhere to these conditions.

The evening of Carlotta's Paris debut has come. On the schedule is Norma with her in the title role. Of course, the phantom manipulates the performance: He puts an itch powder on her wig, so that Carlotta gets itchy on stage, at first just rolls her eyes wildly, then scrapes her head on the set and finally tears the wig off her head, which the audience agrees with a lot of laughter. Only she and her husband do not find it laughable. In Cholet's office, the two hear the phantom's voice telling them that they have been warned and that they should leave as soon as possible, then their torments will be over. However, Inspector Ledoux tells them it is delusional because of their overworked nerves. The next piece is also manipulated in such a way that Carlotta is embarrassed, so she refuses to perform in the future. Then Phillippe de Chagny comes to Paris and invites the entire ensemble to a place where everyone traditionally sings. He especially encourages Christine to come and apologizes for the fact that she only became a cloakroom.

For Christine it is the chance to show her skills, because Erik cannot teach her anything more. He gives her a dress for her performance and helps her get ready. In the bistro, Carlotta learns that her husband has put the opera Faust back on the program, with her as Margarethe, but she doesn't want to sing again until the phantom has been captured. The count asks her to give his niece (he means Christine) singing lessons. In return, he wants to support the opera financially. Then Christine comes along and Carlotta mocks her because she doesn't believe that the "niece" can sing. Christine starts to sing, but Carlotta also comes on stage to triumph over her, but Christine manages to keep a higher pitch and sing very virtuoso, so that Carlotta finally leaves the stage and Cholet is enthusiastic and wants to hire Christine . The count introduces Christine Carrière, who tells her that she reminds him of a singer who Christine does not know. She and Phillippe leave the bistro together in his carriage, watched by the phantom who has been listening to Christine's singing outside.

Phillippe and Christine drive into the countryside, where they finally discover that they know each other: Christine was once a kitchen maid in the Chagny house when she was young, and her father, a talented violinist, also worked there. There she met young Phillippe and the two became friends, but when his governess discovered their friendship, Christine's father was fired and the two had to leave the property.

Christine and Phillippe kiss, but then she remembers Erik, who is waiting for her in her music room, and she lets herself be driven to the opera. But Erik is already gone. In her hiding place she is visited by Carlotta, who wants to know who Christine's teacher is. When Christine is harassed so much, she finally reveals that she does not know his name and that he is wearing a mask. Carlotta brings this information to her husband, who now knows that it is the phantom and offers Christine the role of Margarethe in Faust , knowing that Ledoux may be able to catch the phantom.

This reports Christine Erik, who is very pleased. But Christine lies to him and claims that she didn't go away with Phillippe, but with Carlotta. Now she gets a guilty conscience, tells him the truth and falls into his arms with gratitude, which throws Erik completely off track.

Before Christine's first big gig, Carlotta manipulates her to make her incredibly nervous and offers her an "herbal drink" to calm her nerves, but instead he makes Christine's voice fail on stage. Erik is completely beside himself and Ledoux, who has been keeping an eye on Lodge 5, sends his men to catch the phantom. When Christine desperately wants to flee from the stage because the audience is booing her, Erik makes sure that the massive chandelier falls from the ceiling.

Part 2 starts right where the first part left off. The chandelier has fallen from the ceiling, panicking the entire opera house. Erik intercepts Christine and kidnaps her into his underground realm. Phillippe follows the two, but he doesn't know the secret passages and therefore can't find them. Erik brings the astonished Christine deeper and deeper into his realm to a bed in which she lies exhausted and sings her to sleep. The injured are carried out of the opera after the accident. Cholet thinks he is ruined. Meanwhile, Ledoux leads his men into the Phantom's vault to arrest it, but when the group splits up, three police officers die in Erik's traps.

When Christine wakes up, she walks through the vaults and finds his realm more and more eerie, especially since there are pictures everywhere depicting a woman who looks so confusingly similar to Christine.

Meanwhile, Erik finds out that Christine has been manipulated and takes revenge on Carlotta by showering her with rats. Then he is visited by Carrière, who asks him to let Christine go, but Erik persistently refuses and even threatens to blow up the opera house.

Carrière speaks secretly to Christine, who only now finds out what her maestro is called and that the others know him as the phantom of the opera. He begs her to flee because Erik would keep her locked in the vaults forever. Then he tells her that Erik is not only in love with her, he also sees a great deal of resemblance in her to his mother, the woman in the pictures who died early and whose voice is very similar to Christine's. Now she wants to find out why he lives in these vaults, and Carrière tells him that it is his face that he always hides. But Christine wants to know who looked after him when his mother died, and Carrière confesses to her that it was him because he was Erik's father. Now Carrière tells her about Erik's mother: she was a ballet student and he a kind of temporary worker. Although she could have had any man, she fell in love with him. She had an extraordinary voice that she only shared with him because she found singing something very intimate. But he persuaded her to audition, which she passed straight away, and she became a Parisian opera star. But she didn't care about fame, she just thought of it. Eventually she became pregnant by him and wanted to get married, but he was already married when he came to Paris. In his homeland a girl was supposedly expecting a child from him and he had therefore married her; since they did not love each other, he had left with her consent. Since he didn't answer her, she wanted to drown herself, but he was able to save her and left. He only saw her again when, in ragged clothes, she bought a dubious drink from a gypsy woman, which was supposed to abort the child. She only took a sip, then he took it away from her, but it had started the labor and since the two of them had no better place to stay, he took her to the stable next to the opera, where she gave birth to Erik. The boy had an extremely disfigured, disgusting face, but she couldn't see it. She sang to him for hours and his eyes shone. She died one night, Erik survived the fever. Missing her very much, he cried, and this is how the legend of a ghost in the cellar came about. When Carrière became director, he was advised by Erik, who did not know that Carrière was his father. Carrière asks Christine once more to leave the opera house. But she refuses: she wants to speak to Erik beforehand and doesn't want to believe that he will never let her go. Carriére cannot do anything; he leaves the vault and meets Ledoux. He wants to learn something about the phantom. Carrière finally agrees to help him.

Christine seeks out Erik, who is having a picnic with her in his realm. She asks him to take off the mask and he is finally convinced. Christine faints when she sees his face. Then Erik begins to destroy all the statues in his vault, to mess everything up. When Christine, awakened again, tries to flee, he locks her up.

Carrière asks Phillippe for help and wants to go back downstairs. Meanwhile Christine is able to free herself and runs away, but the phantom pursues her. At the last second she can escape to the entrance hall, where the two men are already waiting to take her to the count's country house. There Christine takes the blame and wants to go back, because she doesn't want to hurt Erik any more. She insulted Phillippe, who said to Carrière that he had always loved Christine. Carrière explains to Phillippe that Christine loves Erik differently from how she loves him. But when Christine dreams that Erik is dying, Phillippe tries to prevent her from going to see him. He lets himself be persuaded to do it out of love for her. In Paris, Carrière goes back to Erik while Christine and Phillippe speak to Cholet and ask him to help her in her plan to calm the Phantom. Her plan is to sing Faust to convince Erik of her love for him.

Carrière talks to Erik and tells him that he has already seen his face and that he is his father. Erik isn't surprised, he just says that he was wondering when Carrière would say that.

Erik hears the singing and with the last of his strength reaches box 5. Christine discovers him in the dungeon scene and sings for him, whereupon he takes over the singing from Faust. He discovers that the police are about to shoot him and kidnaps Christine on the roof, pursued by Philippe, Carrière, also armed, and the police. On the roof there is a fight between Phillippe and Erik, but at the last moment Erik does not kill him, at Christine's pleading. Erik is powerless: Christine is safe in Phillippe's arms, the police could shoot him, but Ledoux forbids it because he wants him alive and he doesn't want to surrender. Therefore he means to his father to shoot him. Carrière does this because of his son's silent pleading. Erik falls and lands not far from Carrière, who keeps the police away and holds him in his arms. Now Christine comes too, who, despite Erik's weak resistance, removes the mask from his face and kisses him on the forehead. Erik dies in his father's arms. Christine begins to cry and lets Phillippe lead her from the roof of the opera.

Awards (selection)

criticism

“A theatrical film adaptation of the classic material that has been extensively modified compared to the original novel. Impressive in terms of performance, but sometimes clichéd and draped into the grotesque, the (television) film is becoming increasingly psychopathological and therefore less credible and absurd. "

music

Operas

Singers

Opera singers were used for the singing, doubling the actors.

  • Michele Lagrange for Teri Polo (Christine)
  • Helia T'Hezan for Andréa Ferréol (Carlotta)
  • Gérard Garino for Charles Dance (The Phantom)

Music used

  • The music composed for the film is by John Addison. It was recorded with the Hungarian State Opera.
  • In addition to this music and opera music, there are also French folk songs, for example Auprès de ma blonde .
  • The aria that Christine sings in the bistro is called Par le rang et par l'opulence and comes from the opera La fille du régiment .
  • There are also pieces from the following operas in the film: La traviata , Norma and Faust .

Differences from other adaptations

  • The phantom is friendlier than in most of the films and the book, where it is often portrayed as evil and devious. In this version, he has human traits, helps Christine, and has reasons for his anger and withdrawal that lie in his past.
  • Unlike most versions, this film is based on the play by Arthur L. Kopit .
  • In this version, Phillippe de Chagny and Christine are a couple. Otherwise it's Raoul de Chagny, Phillippe's younger brother.
  • Christine's lover is shown differently here. In the majority of the versions he is rather calm and shy, in this one he is a bon vivant, which would correspond to the older brother in the other versions.
  • The character of Madame Giry appears here only marginally and has no significance for the course of the story; her daughter's character, Meg Giry, is completely absent.
  • The phantom's face can never be seen, except for the sequences where you see him as a child, but you can't see anything for sure.
  • The phantom has numerous masks here.
  • Carrière, the former director, is Erik's father.
  • Christine reminds the phantom of his mother, who loved him very much. This relationship does not exist in the other versions; his mother also cast him out.
  • This is the only adaptation that was shot on the original location of the novel, the Opera Garnier.
    • Only the “lagoon” of the phantom was a studio set.
    • In 1963 Marc Chagall created a new, more modern ceiling painting for the dome and thus no longer the one at the time of the action.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. The Phantom of the Opera. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed September 26, 2018 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used