Phantom of the Paradise is a movie that's set in either the future or in space, I'm not sure. A man sells his soul to the devil for a recording contract, if I'm not mistaken, and falls in love with a rising star. The only time I was ever able to get hold of it, it was on HBO and half-over. To me, it seemed stupid and the Christine character was loose (for refusal of a worse word), but that's just my opinion.
Since you've already read Leroux's and Kay's novels, I'd like to reccomend some different books that might hold your interest.
~Journey of the Mask - Nancy Hill Pettengill
~Phantom of Manhattan - Frederick Forsyth
~After Twilight - Amanda Ashley, Christine Feehan, and Ronda Thompson
*NOTE* this book is a three story deal, so...yeah.
And, as to movies, I would reccomend
~ Phantom of the Opera, circa 1989 (featuring Robert Englund and Jill Schoelen), and
~ Phantom of the Opera, version 1943 (featuring Claude Rains and Susanna Foster).
'89 is a horror movie with a plenty of violence. In case you want to know the rating, it happens to be R. A young woman named Christine Day auditions for the part of Christine Daae in the musical Phantom of the Opera. What she doesn't know is that the musical piece she mysteriously finds in the Rare Books section of the library was written by the Phantom. While singing the piece, a sandbag comes loose and knocks her unconscious. She's sent back to Victorian England, her last lifetime, where she's singing with the (Metropolitan?) Opera. Her tutor is Erik Destler, the Opera Ghost. His hobbies include writing Don Juan Triumphant (the piece Christine sang from), buying some time from ladies of the evening, and killing people to skin them for his mask which he sews onto his face. {Is the eww necessary, or is it a given?} The reason for the last is that, like Faust, he made a deal with the devil to make himself and his compostitions immortal. The devil scarred his face horribly in payment - as well as taking his soul - and now Mr. Destler gets by with his roommates the rats in his lovely dark, dank, cramped, underground cavern, in which exists only the pipe-organ, his vanity table, and the numerous candles and winding passages strewn about. It's a pretty okay movie. Good overcomes evil and all that. It also includes Faust as the play backdrop. The soundtrack is lovely and has the Don Juan Triumphant bit, as well as the Jewel Song.
As to '43 with Claude Rains, it's quite out of character with the book. He's not deformed at birth, but later in life, and falls in love with Christine DuBois ~notice funky last name ~ (understudy of some pompous prima donna NOT by the name of Carlotta) while playing violin in the orchestra. Erique Claudan attempts to get his blood-sweat-'n-tears concerto published. An unfortunate misunderstanding leaves him acid-scarred and wanted by the police. He had earlier been paying for Christine's music lessons with a famous teacher. And when he runs out of money + getting a face fulla acid, he decides to secretly teach her himself. In this version, as well as having the Phantom vie for her affections, she has two other men hanging on to her as well. A baritone whose name I can't rememeber but starts with an A, and Raoul the chief of police or some such high position. It is odd, but still enjoyable. It's normally grouped with the old Classic Monster Collection along with Dracula and Frankenstein, if you search for it in general.
El Fantasma de la Opera is the Spanish version of the musical. The soundtrack reminds me exactly of how it felt when I saw the Broadway production. Music, not lyrics. Hopefully you understand the point I'm trying to convey.
One last reccommendation - because you must be sick of me by now - is to watch the 2004 (if you have the right DVD) in French. I'm still trying to find the name of the woman who sang Christine's part. She. Is. SPECTACULAR. There aren't many greater words to describe how she sings. I've been debating with myself all afternoon about who's got the better pipes - Emmy Rossum, or the Mystery Girl.
I'll leave you alone now.
I'm new to this place, and if you feel the slight inclination to contact me, just email me at
[email protected].
Sincere Reply-er,
WM