The Phantom of the Opera (1989)
Genre: Horror / Drama
Duration: 93 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: Dwight H. Little
Stars: Robert Englund and Jill Schoelen
IMDb score:
5,5 (4.896)
Releasedate: 4 November 1989
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
The Phantom of the Opera plot
"Only love and music are forever."
Young Broadway singer Christine Day auditions for a show that features a piece written 100 years ago by the unknown composer Eric Destler. Then suddenly Christine is taken to the year 1881 in London, where she is the star of the London Opera House. There is one person who will do anything to make her a big star and he will not even shy away from murder to achieve this...
Actors and actresses
Erik Destler / The Phantom
Christine Day
Richard Dutton
Martin Barton
La Carlotta
Insp. Hawkins
Davies
Harrison
Meg (New York)
Meg (London)
Reviews & comments
Chainsaw
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- 8845 messages
- 3576 votes
This Phantom of the Opera is not really very special, but it sure is amusing.
The film has a dark atmosphere and great music. There is also little to criticize about the acting, Robert Englund in particular does an excellent job. Here and there the film is a bit on the slow side, but generally manages to captivate.
Just good entertainment.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Aapje81
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- 2227 messages
- 5199 votes
Always found this to be one of the lesser versions. Robert Englund is an overrated horror icon anyway.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Bobbejaantje
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- 2301 messages
- 2092 votes
- Are you going to kill me?
- Everyone dies. I only choose the time and place for a few.
The latter could have just been a Freddy Krueger one-liner, but it is an answer from The Phantom. The cozy wit isn't the only similarity between Freddy and The Phantom. Both like to walk around with a hat in the semi-darkness. And The Phantom has the same kind of weathered face as Freddy (pizza margaritha style). Moreover, the bulk of the story takes place in Jill Schoelen's dream world. What disturbed me a bit about the dream version here is the superhuman powers of The Phantom (again, Freddy style). How he pulls hard with his bare hands, his acrobatic feats… Nothing against Robert Englund's Freddy of course, but just leave that character with its own franchise.
The screenplay is a mix of opera culture and gory horror. That's a daring combination because these are 2 quite different worlds with not necessarily the same fan base. Although both genres have something in common: it can go quite over the top. The gore was well fleshed out. But sometimes I also thought: less is more. The strength of the 2 primal versions of this story (one with Lon Chaney and the other with Claude Rains in the lead role) I found precisely their poetic-romantic touch. And that is not the case here. Although they are still doing their best to crank up the spark between Christine and The Phantom. It is lost in the midst of the blood spatter. Everything of value is defenseless, to quote Lucebert.
The final is actually hit or miss. Or should we assume that Christine's character in her unconsciousness experienced a previous 'other' life from an earlier era or something. Yeah.
Fun movie, but not very fun. It's that I like to see Jill Schoelen and Robert Englund at work.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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