Thursday, October 11, 2018

Phantom Of The Opera (1962)

It seems we always get a Phantom movie every 20 years, which is good news for me.


I think Hammer Studios did a fine job with this movie, most of the people who know of Hammer horror films think of this as a lesser film but it's quite good. The story starts off very well with lots of suspense as a new opera is making it's debut and subsequently being sabotaged, where we meet our main characters Harry and Christine as they try to piece together the mysterious disruptions at the opera. The Phantom is made into a more sympathetic character who was once a professor who sold his entire life's work to a real swine of a man named Ambrose D'Arcy, and I actually quite like the fact that the reasons as to why The Phantom attacks this man is kept a mystery till near the end. Herbert Lom makes for a great Phantom, he has the presence, the voice, a genuinely creepy design, and a genuine feel of insanity. Some people complain that in this version The Phantom doesn't love Christine but honestly I don't mind, until he hears her voice he doesn't want his symphony done so the man wants musical perfection and not love, which is no bad thing. You would think with so many iterations of this story it would pretty much be the same story everytime, but every version has a unique twist to it so it never feels boring. This movie may not be as well known as the Hammer Dracula or Frankenstein series, but it deserves some attention and love. It has a creepy, grim, almost gothic look, the actors are all awesome, this version actually has a genuine lovely romance between Harry and Christine which is rare cause either the romance is sickening or just kinda whatever, great costume design, and Lord Ambrose D'Arcy is the only Michael Gough role I know where he plays a villain and it is glorious. Maybe not a must see movie, but worth the time if you are interested. And tomorrow we cap off the week with a rather unexpected actor to play The Phantom, and no it's not friggin' Gerald Butler.

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