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If I had a dollar for every time Phantom of the Opera, or a variation of that theme made it to the silver screen, well I could make my own film version based on Leroux's classic novel!

This time around, Italian horror maestro Dario Argento has had a go at making the fat lady sing for her cavernous dwelling disfigured monster , though this time around the fat lady is none other than his real life daughter Asia Argento, and the monster, aka the phantom (Julian [Warlock] Sands) is not at all disfigured, but is a true evil monster when it comes down to it!

Christine is understudy to Carlotta Altieri (Nadia Rinaldi) of an Opera house in Paris, and if truth be known, Christine is all the more better than Carlotta.  As Luck would have it, the Phantom has heard Christine sing and so sets out to harm Carlotta and a few other unwilling victims along the way, in typical Argento fashion [spell overly gory death sequences].  The best part is this is the UNRATED Director's Cut so there's no holding back!!!

Sadly Argento is NOT in true form here as he was with the likes of Suspira, and his previous similarly themed to this "Opera" aka Terror at the Opera (loved that eyeball sequence..!), though there are many-a Argento trademarks to be had, so is not a total loss of a film, but it's borderline.  Gorgeous camera work and Morricone Music aside, this is one phantom that should have stayed in hiding!

So How Does This Transfer Hold Up?

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VIDEO
Well I have to say I've had a lot of difficulty assessing the quality of this transfer.   You can choice from the Anamorphic Widescreen version which received a somewhat good, though less than stellar transfer, OR the 4x3 Pan-Scan version which is technical far worse than the 16x9 jobbie (I'd swear they used different prints here for the transfer).  The Print used for the 16x9 version has sadly seen a little bit of damage.  There is a fair amount of grit evident, but also that of negative damage (thankfully in only a few sequences).  While it seems as though a little bit of noise reduction has been applied to reduce some problems, and for the most part you're not exposed to image ghosting from overdone DNR'ing, there's something going on when the camera really moves.  It looks as though the image is constantly being grabbed onto and let go in very quick succession (which is kinda how DNR works by grabbing an image for a very quick moment to reduce movement of grain and what not, the more DNR is applied the worse and more obvious it looks.).  While these problems exist, the image is still incredibly sharp with ample definitionl!  AND shadow detail is amazing.  The clarity of the sequences shot underground is excellent .  Image depth is very high, and you can see exactly what needs to be seen.   Though as soon as you step upstairs, the image gets a slightly grubby heavy blackness and colour saturation comes across a little to high.  In short this transfer confused me, in some ways it was superb, in others it wasn't, I still have very mixed opinions of this, but all I can say is, it could have, and should have been better, seeing as this film is just shy of 3 years. 

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AUDIO
As has been the case with previous Argento films, they've been shot on Italian soil and have been a mixture of Italian and English spoken dialogue.  This film is English throughout (sans the opera singing).  Oh the opera singing.  This is something that I was really looking forward to and with the first major operatic moment I nearly died.  In a very tight closeup you have Carlotta rehearsing, and it has to be the WORSE post dub syncing I have ever seen, I mean it is truly horrendous.  Blind freddy could have synced that one better, AND it's not just the singing in that sequence, it's the entire soundtrack that's outta whack!  we're talking almost 1/2 second out of sync!!!!!  The minute the music and singing stop, sync is near to perfect again!  doh!
Undoubtedly the BEST part of the soundtrack overall (available in default Dolby 2.0, or Dolby 5.1) is Ennio Morricone's fabulous music score!  It's subtle and hauntingly beautiful, and I felt compelled to play this one muuuch louder than I normally do.   The 5.1 mix in particular makes great use of ambience as the room was alive with music!.  Sound FX are also very well placed in this film, especially in the 5.1 mix.  You have water dripping all around you, rats squeaking all over the place.   It was a terrific 5.1 mix.  You certainly notice quite a difference going to the 2.0 surround mix which really loses a lot of discrete surround activity.
Dialogue passages throughout had a very post dubbed feel about them (this is an Argento-Italian made movie after all :).  All the main leads had pretty good sync throughout and definitely sounded the most natural, though any Co-stars come off a bit rubbery in sync and not as natural sounding (i think you'll find many italians film in the smaller roles, so i'd say the actor's themselves would have had a harder time lip syncing to their secondary language....maybe :), .  Considering this film carried a budget of $US10 million, Argento's biggest to date, it could have done a bit better in this department.

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EXTRAS
Nothing too serious in the extras department, but this certain has one of my now most favourite animated menus.  It's very groovy!  it starts with a errupting ball of fire (in Dolby 5.1 no less!) and brings up the main menu behind it (see first screen grab above). There you have video motion to the right of screen (of all 3 picture parts) and this woman screaming from the front soundstage, while in the surrounds is rats squeaking and water dripping.  There's also lightning sound FX and some "dramatic music".  When you make a selection it's done via a lightning bolt and when you go to another menu, you get the ball of fire again. 
But the "real" extras include.  a theatrical & Video Trailer, Photo Galley (you can actually see how what picture you are up to which is nice), Filmographies (quite extensive), a Phantom article from Fango horror magazine, Interview with Julian Sands (with a nasty sound problem), and a 10 minute behind the scenes Featurette with on set footage.

NOTE: The Spanish Subtitles do NOT work on the Widescreen Version, only the Full Screen side. You may also be prompted to enter your Parental lock pin number on this DVD as it is flagged as an unrated "Adult DVD". 

While it's not Argento's finest moment as a film maker, there's still some fun to be had, but I really only recommend this for the fans, and anyone who is keen on seeing someone pulling another persons entire tongue out with their teeth! .

Review Equipment
TV: Pioneer SD-T50W1 (16:9 RPTV)
DVD: Pioneer DV717  (using RGB outputs)
Receiver/Decoder: Marantz SR870 & Sony SDP-EP9ES
Speakers:-
     Fronts: Quadral Phonolgue Gold Amun
     Centre: B&W CDMC-SE
     Rears: B&W 602
     Subby: M&K V125 

- Reviewed 16th November 2000

* Screenshots from the Phantom of the Opera DVD remain the property of A-Pix Entertainment