MovieChat Forums > The Phantom of the Opera (1989) Discussion > Horrible

Horrible

posted 16 years ago by latwell1972
2 replies | jump to latest

Did the guy who wrote this version even read the book?!?

First off, her name is NOT Christine Day. It is Daae. She is NOT dating some dude named Richard. HE is the co-owner of the Opera House. She is secretly engaged to Raoul.

Joseph Buquet was not stabbed by the Phantom and then skinned alive and hung in La Carlotta's closet. He was hung. Although Christine is terrified of the Phantom, she is also drawn to him and has compassion for him.

Erik never had a last name either. He certainly did not sell his soul to the devil who in turn made him hideous. He was born that way. He didn't sew flesh onto his face he wore a mask. And, he certainly did NOT sleep with prostitutes. He was completely devoted to Christine. He had never even felt a woman's touch before she kissed him for the first time. THAT was the first time he felt a woman's touch and felt real love. And, he did not kill an Opera critic for what he wrote in his column.

There is just so much wrong with this movie. I love Robert Englund as an actor but this movie SUCKED. It was horrible!!!!! I hated it!!!!!

[–] fritzfassbender 16 years ago

Fair enough points, but are there any versions of Phantom that have been totally faithful to the book? He wasn't burned by acid, killed by a mob, hire a hunchback, or start singing often for no discernable reason, but these things have happened in different versions.

And, he certainly did NOT sleep with prostitutes. He was completely devoted to Christine. He had never even felt a woman's touch before she kissed him for the first time.

Well, to be fair, he is a deformed opera lover who lives in a sewer, so he's not going to get a lot of action. Everyone has needs, and sometimes you have to be realistic about going out with people you like from afar. Rome wasn't built in a day.

[–] torturedfruit865 15 years ago

You really need to lighten the hell up. The point of an interpretation is that there are going to be changes, sometimes drastic ones. This movie never claimed to be a book-to-film version; it did its own thing and I appreciate the boldness. To be so pissed off that Erik didn't /really/ have a last name, or Christine's love for him wasn't the right kind, is pretty much saying nobody's allowed to put any of themselves into retelling this story. That's half the fun of the Phantom of the Opera -- it can become a lot of different things, all enjoyable in their own way, and doesn't lead to one "perfect" version that everyone should replicate over and over again. If you want everything to be so identical to the book, read the BOOK. That's what it's for. Read it over and over if you'd like. And I would suggest never watching a movie version of anything ever again considering your sensitivity to people exercising their creativity a little.