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| Horror, frights and sexy Asia Argento are promised on this poster for Dario Argento's The Phantom of the Opera |
An abandoned baby is raised by rats in the Paris sewers and goes on to become a much feared serial killer in its opera house.
The Phantom of the Opera is written by Gérard Brach (Bitter Moon (1992)) and Italian master filmmaker, co-writer/director Dario Argento (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage/ L'Uccello dalle Piume di Cristallo (1970)), adapting the same-titled 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux (Le Sept de Trèfle (1921)). It is Argento's 13th feature.
It is not a terribly successful film, and markedly one in which Argento finds himself noticably out of his Italian home-field. The use of modern CG special effects in the film look very misplaced today, and the phantom is revealed right up front, so that there is no continuous suspense to speak of.
Regardless of these issues the film is highly entertaining: Argento gives the often dusty, respectful screen adaptations a kick in the balls with his version here! Asia Argento (The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (2004)) is adorable, and The Phantom of the Opera also has some highly memorable scenes; a rat chase, a sex harem in a Turkish bathhouse - and a guy getting spiked on a cliff.
Related posts:
Dario Argento: Demons/Dèmoni (1985) or, Cinema of Death! (co-writer/producer)
Dawn of the Dead (1978) or, Mall of Death! (co-composer)
The Cat O'Nine Tails/Il Gatto a Nove Code (1971) - Solid genetics-themed giallo murder puzzle
Documentary about Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror (2002) - Bio. doc. of Dario Argento
Watch a 2-minute clip from the film here
Cost: Estimated 10 mil. $
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertain
[The Phantom of the Opera was released 20 November (Italy) and runs 99 minutes. Shooting took place in January - April 1998 in Budapest, Hungary and in Italy, including in Rome. The film had a limited North-American release in June 1999 and was released in 6 other markets, but details concerning its gross performances are regrettably unknown. Argento's initial cut was reportedly an hour longer than the film eventually released, severely re-cut by the film's producers. Argento returned with AIMI: Vicolo Cieco (1999, short) and theatrically with Sleepless/Non ho Sonno (2001). His daughter Asia Argento returned in La tua Lingua sul mio Cuore (1999, short) and theatrically in Scarlet Diva (2000); Julian Sands (Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks (2014)) in The Loss of Sexual Innocence (1999). Approximately 5,300 IMDb users have given The Phantom of the Opera a 4.3/10 average rating.]
What do you think of The Phantom of the Opera?
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