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I finally saw this movie yesterday and was very pleased with the outcome. However, there were several others in the theater who were commenting on the movie after by comparing it to the London and Broadway production. All I have to say to those kinds of people is: Were you really expecting to see something that would rival Broadway for $7.00-$12.50? In it's own right, the movie was exceptional. I thought that Minnie Driver (even though she didn't sing) was great comic relief. Gerard Butler gave a mesmerizing performance as the Phantom. Emmy Rossum as Christine was amazing. If you are looking for a good musical movie, I would highly recommend Phantom. If you are looking for a Broadway musical, I suggest you go to New York.

For years, all I knew about Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera was that song "The Music of the Night" as performed by Michael Crawford on various variety shows of the time. So now that I've seen the whole movie version as directed by Joel Schumacher with Gerald Butler in the title role, Patrick Wilson as Raoul, and Emmy Rossum as Christine, and also hearing them sing the music of Lloyd Webber with lyrics by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe, and then seeing the spectacle as produced by Lloyd Webber, all I can say is WOW! I mean, the whole thing was just awesome scene after awesome scene especially the back and forth of the color and then black & white for period transitions. Really, all I'll say now is I highly recommend this astounding movie musical version of The Phantom of the Opera.

I am not one for the classical musicals but this one touched me deeply. The casting was amazing! The Phantom and Christine were both stupendously done, but even the smaller characters were amazingly detailed! Kleenex is a must and so is a friend or boyfriend to share in the woes of the film. The depth to which the emotion is performed is absolutely stunning and so realistic even though it is done to music. You would not expect a musical to seem realistic but this one pulls it off with honors. The costumes, sets, lighting, and effects were all wonderfully done especially the opening scene(s). The only thing that I can tell you is that it is amazing and you should go see it for yourself!