Dario Argento's Phantom of the Opera
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Actor: Andrea Di Stefano, Asia Argento, Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni, Julian Sands, Nadia RinaldiBrand: Ardustry Home Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 99 minutes
Published: 1999-11-01
DVD Release Date: 1999-11-23
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Model: 27013
Studio: Allumination
Product features:
- PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (DVD MOVIE)
DVD Reviews of Dario Argento's Phantom of the Opera
DVD Review: "I am a Rat!" Argento's Phantom Folly
Summary: 3 Stars
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1998)
Cast: Asia Argento, Julian Sands.
Director: Dario Argento.
Paris Opera understudy Christine Daae (Asia Argento) is mesmerized and corrupted by a human rat and indiscriminate killer known as The Phantom (Julian Sands) who lurks in the bowels of the opera house. However, the mindless prima donna cannot decide between her weird seducer and an equally unappealing nobleman, and the threesome's tiresome sexual excesses eventually result in a nasty mess.
This visually striking but ludicrous film version of Gaston Leroux's famous story unaccountably proved to be the nadir in the illustrious career of Dario Argento, successor to Mario Bava as the master creator of such ultra-violent and brilliantly cinematic Italian "giallo" thrillers as THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE, DEEP RED, TENEBRAE/UNSANE and THE STENDAHL SYNDROME. Argento had stumbled before (FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET, TWO EVIL EYES and TRAUMA) but never with such promising material and on such a grandiose scale. The debacle of PHANTOM seemed to indicate a premature decline, resulting in a schism among the director's admirers that persists to this day and has negatively impacted acceptance of such superior recent films as MOTHER OF TEARS and GIALLO.
It's been my understanding that Dario Argento made this film under duress, the subject having been chosen for him in a contest-poll of fans. Argento had already created his variation on the theme as one of his best gialli, OPERA/TERROR AT THE OPERA, which displays all the passion, energy and genuine artistry his PHANTOM lacks.
I don't pretend to know what goes on in Argento's bizarre head, but my gut feeling is that he expressed his disinterest and resentment for this unwanted project by deliberately trashing it. It is uninspired, disorganized, and never begins to express the genuinely surreal mystique of Argento's ambitious art films such as SUSPIRIA, INFERNO and PHENOMENA. Most of this unfocused mess could have been "directed" by any hack [Luigi Cozzi?], as only a few scenes and choice moments display evidence of the Maestro's usual creativity and high style.
The ill-conceived project shows every sign of having been further botched in the editing process, usually one of Argento's strong points. Unlike most of the artist's films, PHANTOM is based on a literary source, but the narrative structure is hopelessly choppy and confused, with events occurring out of order and a sense of much story footage having been deleted. Far from the mesmerizing, dream-like effect often achieved by the director, the film's sense of flow is undone by the barrage of barely-related scenes crashing one upon the other like a traffic pile-up.
The main problem is the script, written with former Roman Polanski collaborator Gerard Brach, which treats the material as unfunny comedy and unromantic romance and focuses almost entirely on extraneous episodes, and unworkable "ideas" such as the Phantom's relationship with rats, while the central story is left to die miserably. Argento and Brach plainly intended a burlesque but turned out a dismal travesty, not "absurdist" but abjectly absurd. The notorious low-points are the effete leading man's visit to a sleazy brothel, a slapstick sequence involving the rat-catcher's phallic Ratmobile, and the so-called Phantom's infamous rat-masturbation scene.
Even the obligatory, overdone gore scenes do not grow out of the substance of the piece but seem perfunctorily shoe-horned in. Not only is gross-out gore inappropriate to this story but there is not sufficient blood and guts on display to satisfy the jaded expectations of a contemporary Horror audience likely to be bored silly by the film's dreary pretensions.
The best aspects of the production are the gorgeous Budapest locations, at a sumptuous opera house, in the cellars of a real castle and in actual caves featuring a genuine underground lake. Costumes, except for the Phantom's chintzy-looking cape, are attractive. And there is an appropriately eerie and bittersweet, if listless, music score by the great Ennio Morricone (more absorbing when heard separately on CD). Although several classical pieces are excerpted, there is a notable absence of operatic production.
Even the visual and aural grandeur are diminished by the flat video-photography, poor dubbing and the film's air of cheapness, carelessness and haste. There is also some really awful CGI imagery and a ridiculous animatronic Mother Rat that only a desperate Phantom could love. Overall the film looks suspiciously like a made-for-TV movie that went to theaters instead.
Such a fiasco might have been salvaged if the film offered a reasonably effective Phantom. Although the character wears no mask in this version, there is something unbearably ghastly about his face: it is that of Julian Sands, whose ugly-pretty features (in a fright-wig) are seen throughout. Sands' dire miscasting is the production's central death-blow. Supporting casting and performances are not much better.
Unaccountably, Dario Argento even fumbles the project's golden opportunity as a showcase for his actress daughter, Asia Argento, who appears to have gone through this experience entirely on her own. Generally she is in control, but too often is allowed to flop awkwardly about as if unguided by the director or even a coach. There are also disturbing scenes in which Asia has been instructed by her creepy father to behave like a depraved porno starlet. Still, Asia's distinctive screen presence and offbeat characterization are among the film's primary assets; a forlorn remnant of grace and beauty left standing in the ruins.
Seen in perspective, it is clear that period Gothic Romance is not Dario Argento's gig. Yet such a perverse artist as Argento can make only a fascinating failure. Any viewer interested in the Argentos, the classic story or Euro-Horror cinema should see this film at least once, and some will be drawn back to fathom its odd mysteries.
RATING: **½ FAIR.
NOTE: Be aware that the 5.1 Dolby track on the 2003 Ardustry Home Entertainment DVD is out of synch, wreaking especial havoc with the dubbed arias. The 2.0 Stereo track is correct.
Description of Dario Argento's Phantom of the Opera
Mysteriously, a series of terrifying accidents and brutal murders leaves a bloody body trail in the subterranean caverns of an opera house basement. Born into the murky sewer waters below the theater stalks a man/monster raised by creatures of the underworld. This Phantom's dark and grotesque life is shattered when he becomes obsessed with a beautiful young singer, seducing her with his chilling but exotic presence. The blood-curdling terror and disturbing eroticism of this classic story make this horror film one that will haunt your dreams forever.Leaden horror costumer that takes its tenuous starting point from the classic Gaston Leroux novel of the same name. The twist in this variation is that the Phantom was raised by telepathic rats in the subterranean caverns beneath the opera house. Thus our feral Phantom (Julian "Ratboy" Sands) develops an obsessive love for up-and-coming diva Christine (Asia Argento), and sets about to seduce her to his dark, rodent existence. Although beautifully photographed, with lots of ornate period detail to catch the eye, this is largely a by-the-numbers supernatural horror story with scant gory set pieces as diversions. Fans of Dario Argento will yell "Rats!" and all else will merely shrug. And why are the rats telepathic, anyway? Screenwriting credits go to Gerard Brach, best known for his many collaborations with Roman Polanski, most notably Repulsion. However, none of his absurd sense of humor comes through in this film, which really needs it. A shame all around. The DVD includes a short interview with the film's star, Julian Sands, as well as a photo gallery, some dispensable making-of clips, spliced together to appear as a featurette (mostly in untranslated Italian) and a very informative article from Fangoria Magazine. --Jim Gay
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