The Phantom: You will curse the day you did not do, all that the Phantom asked of you!
When the Phantom first brings Christine to his lair, just as he walks up the steps note the four piece candelabra in the background, it has candles much smaller than they appear later in the scene. See more...
The candles that light instantly as they come out of the water in the Phantom's Lair were not done by computers- special candles were used that were sensitive to air. Luckily, the scene went well and the actors didn't mess up, as when they tried to re-shoot the scene, the candles didn't work a second time. See more...
Directed by Joel Schumacher, starring Ciarán Hinds, Emmy Rossum, Gerard Butler, Minnie Driver, Miranda Richardson, Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Ellison (add more)
Genres: Drama, Musical, Romance, Thriller
The "questions" section is for any random questions that occurred to you while watching this film, or anything you didn't entirely understand, and which Google or the IMDb can't help with. Submit them as a question, and hopefully someone will answer (the bold comments in brackets) - check back regularly. If the answer is wrong, or missing information, please use the "clarify answer" option. Don't feel limited - want to know what music played in a certain scene? Whether this was the first film to use a certain effect? Here's the place to ask!
When I was growing up in the 90's I saw a movie at some point that was pretty much a spin off of Phantom. A man taught a young girl how to sing at his house and I believe he forced her to live with him.anyone know which film I may be talking about? [Rigoletto (1993). You can find information here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107961/]
Answered by Jennifer
I really liked the deleted song, "No One Would Listen". Is it available on any versions of the movie soundtrack? The one I've got only includes "Learn to be Lonely". [There are currently two versions of the movie soundtrack in English. A one disc version contains the primary songs from the movie and a two-disc version that includes a complete production, including dialog. Neither contains (sadly) the song, "No One Would Listen".]
Answered by OneHappyHusky
A thought occurred to me and my mum after we had seen the film at the cinema. Mme. Giry and the Phantom are friends, and probably grew up seeing a lot of each other, and there is never any mention of Meg's father of Mme. Giry's husband. Is it possible the Phantom could be Meg's father? [For the movie, it's one theory that's been put forward. But it's unlikely, because of the lyrics of "No One Would Listen," where he pretty much says (among other things) that he's never been as close to anyone as to Christine.]
Answered by Sereenie
Why is there always a midget version of Piangi's character in the operas? [Midgets were common at the time in that type of shows, where they were used as a comic relief.]
Answered by Sereenie
During "Masquerade/Why so Silent" Raoul looks around and leaves, where does he go? [He goes off to get a sword. When he comes back, he has the weapon and was intending to fight the phantom.]
Answered by SexyIrishLeprechaun
During the "Don Juan" opera, when do Christine and Raoul realize that it's the Phantom onstage, instead of the actor? [Christine recognises him as soon as he opens his mouth–you see her being slightly shocked. Raoul takes a bit more time, and it's not as obvious. I'd say when you see him getting half up, that's when it dawns on him, but that's open to interpretation.]
Answered by Sereenie
In the extras DVD of the deluxe boxset, there are a few videos of Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman performing the opera (and from what I can tell the video looks from around the time or the original stage show). But it looks to be very much done for the camera (rather than just a recording of the show being performed live). Was the whole opera done in this way, using the original cast? And was it released? I can't find any reference to it at all on IMDB. If it has been released, where can I find it? [In 1986-1987, before the show actually premiered, a few songs featuring Sarah Brightman were released to promote it, including the signature theme, featuring both her and Steve Harley (and not, as is often assumed, Michael Crawford). Although the song is from the stage musical, the lyrics used were not the definitive ones and the accompanying video was specially recorded for promotion purposes and was not from the actual show.]
Answered by Sereenie
One mistake refers to Christine's "sexual awakening". Did she actually sleep with the Phantom of the Opera or did she just spend the night there? [She just spent the night there. The whole time while she was asleep he was playing music.]
Between what scenes did they want to put the deleted scene "No one would listen"? [According to the script, right after the Masquerade (you can see his costume lying on a chair).]
Answered by Sereenie
I just wanted to know, in the prima dona song the lyrics say something like "a chorus girl who’s gone and slept with her patron". Are they just making an assumption that they slept together or did they actually do it because in this point of the film she had only just come back from the phantom's lair and had only been in the same room as him in one scene. [They assume Christine spent the night with Raoul. After all, they'd left him in her dressing room right before she disappeared.]
Answered by Sereenie
Is it me or is there a reason why madame Giry has a french accent whereas her daughter Meg has an English one? Considering they live in France shouldn't Meg's accent have been french too? [Mme Giry's accent is not meant to be "French" per se. The various accents used in the movie can be thought of as reflecting of the various accents one would encounter in such a cosmopolitan place as a late-1800s Paris Opera house, with people coming from all over France (yes, there are various French accents like there are various English ones) and Europe. Mme Giry and Meg's accents being different only shows that Mme Giry didn't grown up in the same place where she raised Meg. The same thing happens nowadays with immigrants' families, where parents speak with a different accent than their children's.]
Answered by Sereenie
Among the mistakes, one says that Christine's first line doesn't match her lips. What exactly is she saying, I can't make it out? [She probably says the same thing we hear, but the sound isn't properly synched.]
Answered by Sereenie
Why does the Phantom leave Christine's ring on her grave? It is the only personal possession of hers that he has and therefor very important to him. [That is open to each viewer's interpretation. I like to think it's his way of acknowledging Raoul, to let him know he too is still alive and has kept on loving her during all those years. They both end up leaving something of significance in each other's relationship with Christine.]
Answered by Sereenie
How old is the phantom, because if he was the same age as madam Giry he would no longer be alive. [He is supposed to be five years younger than her. And even if they were the same age, she is still alive, so why couldn't he?]
Answered by Sereenie
What does the Phantom eat and what does he spend his salary on? Presumably he can't just go to the shops etc with his mask on. If he doesn't leave the opera house where does he learn his skills like driving a carriage, who does he practice sword fighting with? Wouldn't his health suffer if he spends decades living in this damp cold rat infested place wading through lakes all the time? He even complains about it being cold himself at one point. Surely if it snowing outside his lair can't be warm but he's not wearing much. [First, it is established in the movie that he is dependant on Madame Giry and it is presumed she does his shopping for him. As for learning skills, it is established he is a genius and one can assume he is very well read. Additionally, for single handed skills, like driving a carriage, he can possibly go out at night to learn them. As for his living conditions, the human body adapts well to continuous conditions, it is how the people in Siberia can tolerate lower temperatures better than those who live close to the equator. Lastly, one can easily assume he has other (warmer) clothes that he wears off camera.]
Answered by OneHappyHusky
In the final scene, when we see the rose and ring that the Phantom have left on Christine's grave, we also see that she died two years before the scene takes place. Why did the Phantom wait two years to leave the ring on the grave? Was he previously unaware of Christine's death? [He expected Raoul would be coming with the music box (don't forget Madame Giry and him were very close, and she is the one who ultimately allowed Raoul win the box at the auction). Just as Raoul, by leaving it on the grave, showed his acceptance of Christine's feelings for the Phantom (she'd talked so much about that music box he loved that Raoul was able to recognise it without having seen it before), leaving the ring was an acknowledgement of what happened, of Christine's conflicted feelings. A sort of peace offering.]
Answered by Sereenie
How old is Raoul? In the film, they mention that he and Christine were childhood friends, but at the auction in the beginning he looks the same age as Madame Giry who is old enough to be Christine's mother. [He is roughly the same age as Christine, who is 17 in the movie. Raoul appears to be in his early twenties. The woman called "Madame Giry" in the opening scene is Meg Giry, who was a few years younger than the others.]
Answered by Twotall
I have seen on many posters that the tagline for this film is " Lorem Ipsum Dolor Sit". Did I read the poster incorrectly, or is there a translation for this? ["Lorem Ipsum Dolor..." is the beginning of a piece of nonsense text that typesetters often use to hold the place where the actual text will be when it is written. You have either vastly misread the posters or seen a lot of pre-production posters.]
Answered by Myridon
I know that Minnie Driver's vocals were dubbed for the singing roles by a true opera singer, but were her speaking roles dubbed as well? Did she lip-sync her entire script? [Margaret Preece provided the "Singing Voice of Carlotta" only (as listed in the closing credits). Minnie Driver provided all remaining aspects of her performance herself as documented in numerous interviews both live and in print media.]
Answered by OneHappyHusky
One of the Trivia entries for Phantom tells of a reference to Cats in "Masquerade." Well, I have yet to find it. Can someone be more specific about where it is, or perhaps include a time code? And are the actors really dressed like cats from the show, or do they only show a vague resemblance? [The scene is at about 01:18:44. It's when they sing "FACES! Drink it up, drink it in..." They are dressed like cats, but not the cats from the show, and they merely strike a pose similar to a promotional poster of the show.]
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