First Foreign Film: Dario Argento’s Phantom of the Opera

Dario Argento’s Phantom of the Opera. What can I say to describe this film? Well for starters, it is definately not a children appropriate film. If you think that the Phantom of the Opera is this slightly twisted love story, think again. This movie was completely twisted. It certainly was an interesting take on the story, well thought out and had good characters, but it was lacking in a few other areas. Firstly, it had an unnessesary use of gore and nudity that had nothing to do with the story line. This is not coming from a prudish stand point. There were certain scenes that made sense, but overall it was in bad taste. Secondly, there were an over use of point of view shots. I am all for a few scattered throughout the movie, but there were so many I wasnt sure which direction I was looking in at certain times. Thirdly, there were certain scenes where the main characters acted out of their specific role. For example, (spoiler alert) at the end of the film Christine says she wants to get away from the Phantom and she loves Raoul, but then Raoul shoots the Phantom and she gets upset and wants the Phantom back after he abused her and took advantage of her? Sounds like true love to me for sure. Although there were some issues with the film it was alright, certainly not going to be something I watch again though.