Right from the start you can tell that Argento hasn't lost his touch, with a distinctively unique approach to the colouring of his film which gives it a real period look and feel. And, right from the start, you realise that this isn't going to be one of Argento's best movies. Far from it in fact: it is a film many, many people consider to be his worst film, at least to date. I'm afraid I have to join that camp because there is almost nothing of any worth in this disjointed mess, full of poor judgements and a lack of intelligence all-round. Argento introduces unwanted moronic humour when he should be going for scares, gives us a tragic ending even though its completely unwarranted - why should we suddenly start caring about the Phantom after all his crimes and gore murders? - unbelievable character actions - what is it with Christine? Talk about a love/hate relationship... - extremely poor acting (Argento has never got the best performances from his cast, but this is something else) and dodgy digital effects all over the place which detract from the visual appeal.Sick comedy is something you don't usually find in Argento's movies, but you'll see it in abundance here. Whether the Phantom is ripping the breast of an opera diva or a young girl is being chased through the catacombs by a would-be paedophile, Argento badly misjudges his scenes making for an often distasteful and tasteless movie. The silly comic interludes ruin any attempt at dramatics and one has to wonder whom exactly Argento was aiming at with the introduction of a comic sidekick dwarf (yes, even in a film this recent), intelligent rats, and, in the nadir of his whole career, a rat-shredding machine which drives along and sucks up rats through a huge vacuum cleaner hose at the front. Any fan of Argento's classic gialli movies will simply shake their head at the sorry state of Argento's current directorial career.Acting-wise, the film is dreadful, especially Asia Argento (yes, the girl who was pretty effective in THE STENDHAL SYNDROME) who is just embarrassing as Christine - Dario really doesn't know when to reign in his daughter's overacting and you can't help but feel sorry for somebody when you know they're capable of far more than this. Julian Sands seems to have lost the ability to be naturally creepy like he was in the early '90s and his Phantom is more of an impish wimp than a scary screen horror icon. Bad miscasting alert there! As for the supporting Italian cast, well once again there are fresh-faced youngsters whom you don't give two hoots about and forget instantly once the film is over (what happened to all the up-and-coming actors and actresses that used to star in films and stay in your mind?) and annoyingly whiny female characters the likes of which haven't been seen since the Universal horror cycle of the '30s and '40s, like the stupid maid.Mind you, the script has such bad characterisation and dialogue that you can't pin the blame entirely on the cast. Then there's Ennio Morricone, usually somebody you can rely on for some good music, putting in a score so bland and unnoticeable it's a mystery why Argento hired him in the first place. The famous Argento set-pieces are in short supply here, with the exception of the notorious "chandelier" sequence which should be horrific and instead, incredibly, is played for laughs. Has Argento really lost touch with his audience this much? The computer effects work is lamentable, particularly a really lame "fantasy world" sequence which is so unconvincing as to be downright laughable.Thankfully Argento has stuck with Sergio Stivaletti who supplies some nicely juicy gore effects once again which don't disappoint, including bodies torn in two, a small but excellent effect of a bone protruding from a guy's thumb, tongues being torn out, decapitations, and a stand-out impaling on a stalagmite. Unfortunately these are usually shown in brief only with quick jump-cuts away but you have to make do with what you get in a film this poor. All serious film fans and Argento fans should give this a wide berth, and curiosity-seekers are better off looking elsewhere for entertainment. The only people who should watch this are those looking to write about it such as this unfortunate reviewer...

If you love the Gaston Leroux novel or The Andrew Lloyd Weber musical don't watch this!This movie failed on every level! ~It tried to be scary and it FAILED ~It tried to be romantic and it FAILED ~It tried to be sad and it Failed (I Take that back the movie was pretty pathetic.)If this movie was called anything else besides The Phantom of The Opera I wouldn't be so mad. I've seen other Phantom movies that are totally different yet still great to watch! (Phantom of The Paradise and Phantom of The Mall)This one doesn't even follow closely to the Phantom story about: a young man is disfigured and hides himself from society yet falls in love with a beautiful movie. This movie can't even get that right!The gore was okay(unnecessary at times) and so were the production designs but other than that this movie was a mess!Even the ending was stupid too. It took the Phantom 7 shots and 2 stabbings before he could die?! WHAT?Plus this movie has unlikable characters, pointless scenes, confusing scenes etc.I'm sorry Dario but this is probably the worst Phantom movie I will EVER see. Want true advice from a complete stranger who cares about you?DON'T WATCH THIS MOVIE!!

Having already seen 'Phantom' in several of its incarnations ... the 1925 silent film with Lon Chaney, the 2004 musical film with Gerard Butler, and the 2011 25th Anniversary stage version at the Royal Albert Hall ... I was in the mood to see this quite different version, on Netflix streaming movies. This version has a number of giant differences, while still following the basic story, of a musical genius who lives in the bowels of the opera house in Paris, and who inspires young Christine to become a fine opera singer. First, this Phantom is not disfigured, instead is mentally distressed from having been rescued by rats as a baby floating in the river underground, then raised by rats. Thus his response when he was called a Phantom, "I am not a Phantom, I am a rat."Julian Sands, with very long hair is The Rat (Phantom). Pretty Asia Argento is Christine Daaé, Andrea Di Stefano is Raoul, and Nadia Rinaldi is Carlotta Altieri . But this is not a musical, in that singing is infrequent, and only to further the plot, i.e. a rehearsal or a performance. The Phantom and Raoul never sing. It is really mostly a horror movie. Did I enjoy it? Yes, I did. Does it deserve a high rating? No, it doesn't. But it accomplishes what it sets out to do and, knowing the basic 'Phantom' story,it is fun to see how they changed it with a quite different Phantom role.It was not filmed in English but it is presented in English on Netflix. The dubbing is really done well, I had to look really hard at lip movements to see any irregularities, it looks for the most part that the actors were speaking English.Much of the filming was done in the Pertosa Caves outside Naples, Italy. It makes the underground scenes very attractive.

Dario Argento's Phantom Of The Opera (1998: Starring Julian Sands, Asia Argento, Nadia Rinaldi, Andrea Di Stefano, Lucia Gazzardi, Aldo Massasso, Iztvan Bubik, David D'Ingeo, Zoltan Barabas, Kitti Kerri, Leonardo Treviglio, Enzo Cardogna, Itala Bekes, Tania Nagel, Csilla Ward, Gianni Franco, Gabor Harsai....Director Dario Argento, Written By Dario Argento.Released in 1998, this is Italian cinema director Dario Argento's Phantom but not the Phantom of the Opera as most people are familiar with nor the truest and most faithful adaptation of the old French novel by Gaston Leroux. This one is clearly a horror movie without any touch of romance. Fans of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical and the earlier Phantom movies from Lon Cheney's classic performance to Claude Rains, Herbert Lom and Charles Dance, this film is entirely on a different level. It falls under the category of Italian horror and international casting in an unpleasant, disturbing and gory independent film. No wonder it did not do well in the box office and most Phantom fans aren't even aware of its existence. Dario Argento cast his own daughter in the role of Christine Daee, and British actor Julian Sands as the Phantom. This time around, the Phantom is NOT disfigured, which is the strongest violation of the original premise. Instead of having facial deformities, the Phantom is an abandoned child who was raised by telepathic rats that kill people. Living under the opera house with his rats, he's developed telepathy himself and a dirty, dark, predatory and disgusting personality. He looks like either a vampire or rock star but there is no real sense of romance. His feelings for Christine are carnal and nothing more. She becomes his lover but other than music and her voice, theirs is a purely sexual relationship. Because of this, and because he kills anyone he dislikes, he's not a sympathetic figure. Without the romance, we can't really feel anything for this Phantom who is pure evil. The story is only partially faithful to the original tale. It is set at the Paris Opera of the 1870's and the Count Raoul De Chagny is Christine's choice of a mate, but this time around we genuinely feel that she belongs with the normal, secure and more romantic Count than the sadistic and no good Phantom. The performances are over-the-top and boring, even Carlotta, the fat soprano who thinks she is above all else. The classic chandelier drop is here but this time it's far more bloody than usual. There are scenes of graphic violence that earned this movie an R rating and ought not to be viewed by sensitive audiences or children. The music is beautiful, haunting and evocative of the period (with the use of the aria from Lakme) and the cinematography, costumes and art direction is truly very Phantom, including the "Degas ballerinas" touches, but there is very little to like about this movie. For comic relief, there is a rat exterminator and a midget which seem absurd and out of place for this tale. The real problem is the lack of direction and lack of romanticism. It's just one movie of Dario Argento's dark ouevre that happens to have the Phantom of the Opera as subject, but he twisted it around to make it his work and his style. Unless you're a fan of the Italian director, you'll otherwise find it too dark and disturbing. The only other "horror-themed" Phantom I can think of is the 1989 Robert Englund Phantom, an American film starring the actor of the Freddy Kueger films, but even that one had more interesting qualities. This one is too sick.