The filmed version of Lloyd Webber's "Phantom" premieres later this year at Christmas.

I'm really looking forward to this even with Joel Schumacher as director. I hope he didn't camp it up too much, but from all that I've read (including reviews by preview audicene members) the movie is very faithful to the musical. This trailer clip (from a Japanese website) seems to confirm this, at least for the beginning, with the auction, the unveiling of the broken chandelier, and the transformation of the opera house. Looks and sounds pretty good to me.

http://www.opera-movie.jp/

I've only seen the preview at the theaters, but it looks pretty good and quite the production. This isn't really my genre, but I plan on seeing it! Should be a great Christmas at the movies (at least for me......I rarely go see movies) with Meet the Fockers and Ocean's 12 also coming out.

We'll see it several times. My partner loves Webber musicals, especially Evita and Phantom.

Official website.

From the trailer it looks like it might be good. Interesting casting. While bigger names have been associated with the project (Michael Crawford, Antonio Banderas and Hugh Jackman as the Phantom, Katie Holmes as Christine), the leads went to lesser known performers.

The Phantom... Gerard Butler
Christine... Emmy Rossum
Raoul... Patrick Wilson
Carlotta... Minnie Driver

Another clip is available online. Check out the Mirror Scene.

I got the recording today. Interestingly, there is quite a bit of dialogue on it. It has been a few years since I last saw the show, but it seems to me that most if not all of the script is heard on the recording. It is a 2-CD set, so it’s possible.

This might be a turn-off for you. If you prefer just the songs, you should probably get the 1-CD highlights recording. But if you’re a musical theater junkie like me, well, you will probably enjoy this.

The music seems very, very similar. Some slight changes, and some parts (such as the “Overture”) are longer. No new music per se, just the same themes. There is a nice song at the end, “Learn to Be Lonely,” the one new song written for the movie (obviously to add a song to Oscar contention since the rules state only *new* work can be nominated.) It is sung by Minnie Driver (her Carlotta opera vocals are dubbed), and it is a sweet song. There is also a new track narrated by Madam Giry that gives a bit of background about the Phantom’s history at a circus.

The two leads sound weak to me, at least weaker compared to the stage performers. Of course it’s not a good idea to compare. And besides, I read that Joel Schumacher was going for a younger angle (no doubt, also to draw a younger and wider audience) so it seems fitting that the voices sound younger, not as mature, and a bit more fragile and vulnerable.

The CD’s are packaged in a non-traditional manner: they are stored in sleeves inside a small, hardcover booklet that has several pages of pictures from the movie (including some “behind the scenes” pics). The “Hannibal” scenes look great. The whole movie looks opulent and rich and like no expense was spared.

The movie comes out on December 22nd in “Selected Cities.” I’m really looking forward to it!

PS: If you order the recording through Amazon, be sure to get to Amazon from the link on the Outsports homepage!

They did the same thing for Madonna for the "Evita" movie.

And in "Chicago" too ("I Move On").