One of the most successful musicals of all time, Andrew Lloyd Webber?s The Phantom of the Opera has been running for nearly twenty years on Broadway and on the West End. It has delighted over 100 million people in 22 countries and is now a major feature film. This book is the definitive account of the award-winning masterpiece, tracing the Phantom legend from its origins in historical fact, through numerous artistic incarnations to the present-day theatre production and film. Divided into three parts, the first section introduces the reader to Gaston Leroux?s classic story, based on the Paris Opera House during la belle epoque; the second section provides a unique insight into the renowned theatre production, with back-stage pictures and enlightening interviews with the director, designers and crew. The final section covers the making of Joel Schumacher?s 2004 film production. Hollywood director Schumacher (whose work has included Veronica Guerin, Phone Booth, Batman Forever and The Client) has brought together an all-star cast to bring this heartrending story to a new generation. This companion book follows the actors ? including Miranda Richardson, Simon Callow, Minnie Driver, Ciaran Hinds, Emmy Rossum and Gerard Butler ? and features reportage photos of them at work; the special effects team talks through the work that goes into recreating turn-of the century Paris and make-up artists show how they turned actor Gerard Butler into the menacing Phantom.
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Editorial Reviews
From the Publisher
One of the most successful musicals of all time, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera” has been playing on Broadway and London’s West End for nearly 20 years. It has dazzled more than 100 million people in 22 countries and has now become a major motion picture. This pictorial companion is the definitive account of the award–winning masterpiece, tracing the Phantom legend from its origins in historical fact, through numerous artistic incarnations, to the present–day theater production and film. Arranged in three parts, the first introduces the reader to Gaston Leroux’s classic story; the second part offers a unique insight into the acclaimed theater production, with backstage photos and commentary from the director, designers, and crew. The final section, which contains the original screenplay, looks at the making of Joel Schumacher’s film. It introduces the cast—Emmy Rossum, Gerard Butler, Patrick Wilson, Miranda Richardson, Minnie Driver, Ciaran Hinds, and Simon Callow—and features exclusive photos and commentary. The Phantom of the Opera Companion is a splendid celebration of a classic story and its modern–day reincarnations.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
110 of 118 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Edited version of a better book...,
By JR Pinto (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Andrew Lloyd Webber's the Phantom of the Opera Companion (Film Companion) (Paperback)
This book is for anyone who is really into the movie version of The Phantom of the Opera. It has a lot of colorful pictures, a history of the Phantom, and the complete screenplay. The problem is that many of these people will all ready own The Complete Phantom of the Opera by George Perry. The first 45 pages of the Movie Companion are simply an edited down, Reader's Digest version of that earlier, better, and longer work. There is some new material here on the movie, but that is painfully thin - consisting mostly of pictures, actor bios, and the screenplay. If you are obsessed with Phantom, you will probably want to own both, but the Perry book has EVERYTHING you always wanted to know about the Phantom.
31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
For any musical theatre fan out there!,
A Kid's Review
This review is from: Andrew Lloyd Webber's the Phantom of the Opera Companion (Film Companion) (Paperback)
I got this for my 11th Birthday and it was just great! Look, you have the whole screenplay of the movie, pictures and notes from the directors, writers and producers, a whole chapter of just the history of The Phantom of the Opera AND another really cool chapter of the Musical [Yes, with screen shots and original artwork!!!!] Give me one good reason why you shouldn't buy this! It is cheap, it is long, it is valuble, it is The Phantom of the Opera! Buy!
I also reccomend the original book of the Phantom of the Opera [The old novel] and for you to go see the show and buy the upcoming DVD! EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT A MUSICAL FAN,YOU WILL LOVE THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA! Here's a good explanation why it's so good: It's the second [Cross you're fingers it will soon be the first] LONGEST RUNNING SHOW ON BROADWAY! So you see why this would be the obvious choice. Thank you.
28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Lavish, but disappointing,
By Mary Monroe (Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Andrew Lloyd Webber's the Phantom of the Opera Companion (Film Companion) (Paperback)
One thing; if you already own George Perry's Complete Phantom of the Opera, you don't need this book! The first two sections of this Companion, which deal respectively with the former versions of Phantom (the original Gaston Leroux novel, the 1925 silent movie and its successors) and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical (the idea, the writing, the casting and the ensuing success) are both very interesting, but are merely summarys of the same two sections in Perry's book. However, it is the part about the movie itself that is the most disappointing: while I expected comprehensive interviews with the cast and crew members, details about the shooting, etc, all we get is 2 pages for each of the followings: an interview with Andrew Lloyd Webber, one with Joel Schumacher, brief bios of the main leads, details about the music, production and set design and ONE page on the costume and make-up. I should speak of half-pages actually, because there are more pictures than text. And all of these are mainly details you'll have read already, the "music" stuff is written word-for word in the booklet of the new extended soundtrack CD, and finally, you get less information than if you go to the movie's website. Two redeemers, though: the pictures are truly wonderful, colorful and lavish, including many never-before-seen from the movie, and the book includes the whole screenplay, which gives away many interesting details and allows to understand the characters better. There are many stage indications and scenes that differ from the final movie version (most have been simply skipped), and reading it, I found myself thinking that it would have made the movie better if they had followed the original script. For the real phanatics only, or maybe the newcomers.
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