THE PLOT THUS FAR
A darker version of the classic Gaston Leroux novel. A young soprano becomes the obsession of a horribly disfigured composer who has plans for those oppose himself or the young singer.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“Phantom of the Opera” came out around the same time as “The Dream Child”. It was cool to see Englund branch out into a literary adaptation that stayed closer to the original text than recent adaptations. Well, you’ve got to forgive the forced tie-ins to the modern day era of 1989. But, if we didn’t have that, then we wouldn’t have seen Molly Shannon’s film debut. That’s the beauty of an HD transfer, you learn new stuff about films that you’ve been watching since you were a kid.
Robert Englund portrays the Phantom as a genius composer who uses his grotesque nature in a far more threatening way than a Rains or Crawford. Kevin Yagher provides the makeup work, as he was the only artist that could make Englund really pop on camera. Check out some of the HD screenshots taken directly from the Blu-Ray. The level of detail once the Phantom’s human mask is removed borders on the insane. I’ve yet to see any modern CG flex and move in the way that Englund could make any appliance contort to his performance. If you’re a fan of the stage show, this movie is going to put you off. I recommend it to all of the other Orion horror fans from the 80s.
The Blu-Ray comes with a commentary, featurettes, interviews and a trailer as the special features. The A/V Quality is quite stunning for a movie that I only remember from my VHS rental days. The 1080p transfer really pops for a film that was obviously shot cheap. What’s even more surprising is the dynamic range of the DTS-HD 2.0 master audio track. In the end, I’d recommend a purchase.
RELEASE DATE: 02/17/2015