Although Sir Weber’s musicals have been staged all over the world, they are really out of reach for Chinese audiences. Most fans still watch and listen through DVDs and CDs; once in a while, they watch it live. Opportunity, the fare is terribly high. I listened to more and watched less. No one else. I just think musicals are easy to listen to. I just grabbed a CD and stuffed it into the stereo, and my favorite music surrounded me.
The movie "The Phantom of the Opera" produced in 2004 is a movie version of the musical produced by Sir Weber himself. This is closer to the original flavor than the "Evita" adapted by the Americans in 1996, even though Madonna and "Evita" starring Anthony Banderas is not bad, but compared to the film version of "The Phantom of the Opera" produced by Sir Weber, it is a layer behind.
As a musical, "The Phantom of the Opera" is undoubtedly a classic. With such a mountain ahead, it is not easy for the movie version to surpass or become a classic as well. Stage play has the performance means of a stage play, but also has its inevitable limitations. Adapting to a movie version is by no means as simple as recording it into a DVD. It’s also Sir Weber’s musical. I’ve seen the theater version and the DVD version of "Cats", and they feel quite different. The DVD can’t keep up with the theater performance anyway. However, after watching the movie version of "The Phantom of the Opera", I think this movie can be classified as a classic. The movie version of "The Phantom of the Opera" breaks through the limitations of stage performance and makes full use of film expression methods. With the language of the movie, the original musical is perfectly recreated. Although the story is still that story, and the music is still those music, the movie version is completely "this one". The sound, light, shadow, and performance of the actors are excellent. It can definitely stand shoulder to shoulder with the stage version.
In addition to the script and music, the reason why "The Phantom of the Opera" has become a classic musical is that the story reveals the complexity of human nature. Eric, the ghost of the opera house, is a genius, but a bit evil, and his evil is because of his terrifying, devilish face, which made him abandoned by his parents and made him suffer from the torture of life. He had to live alone in the maze-like underground world of the opera house away from the crowd. That face was his pain, an untouchable wound, so his character was distorted, so he became very evil. But evil does not mean evil. Eric's heart is actually kind and fragile at the same time. Like normal people, Eric longed for love and life, but because of that face he had to become a ghost, a phantom. He loves Christina. He is the orphan's angel, protector, teacher, and father, but he always hides in the dark. To Christina, he is just a faint voice, an angel in a dream. If there weren't for Christina's unexpected debut, maybe there would be no such story. Therefore, when Christina became the center of public attention, Eric felt the danger of losing her. He showed up in front of Christina to express his love, and because of jealousy, possessiveness, etc., "little" began to interact with people. Enemy, from evil to evil, even at the expense of others' lives to achieve their own goals. As a result, his already lonely heart was sealed tighter by him, and it was even more distorted. However, Eric is kind after all. When he finally asked Christina to make a dilemma—either to trade his lover’s life for freedom, or to marry him for his lover’s life—he was finally shown by Christina. The power of love was moved, so he let Christina and her lover go, and went quietly by himself in pain.
This is a very struggling story. It not only shows the struggle of the ghost Eric, but also Christina's inner struggle, and all the struggles are ultimately influenced and sublimated in the power of love. It must be admitted that Sir Weber gave love a super power in this play. There is no substitute for that kind of power, which can be defeated. This is actually an ideal, and when we are moved, we really don’t have to follow it. A play is more real. What we need is not its enlightenment, but its legendary story and beautiful and moving music.
"All I Ask of You" is a melody that appears repeatedly in the whole play, with different lyrics for different roles in different scenes. It can be said that this is the theme melody of the whole play, with different interpretations of different characters and different lyrics, expressing the two male protagonists' different love for Christina. I have heard many versions of this song, but when I heard the unfinished part of Gerald Butler in the play "Don Juan" in the movie version of "The Phantom of the Opera", I was immediately caught by Butler. Impressed by the interpretation, I immediately thought that this was the best interpretation of all the versions.
The prescribed situation is like this: The ghost Eric is going to break the boat during the performance of "Don Juan" and engage in a desperate contest with public forces. He killed the actor who played Don Juan, and made his appearance in disguise to play Don Juan. Christina sang a beautiful aria in the play together. At this time, he couldn't control the love, struggle and despair in his heart, and sang the "All I Ask of You". However, because Christina suddenly took off his mask, you did not finish singing the phrase "all I ask of you". The lyrics here are like this:
Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime. Lead me, save me from my solitude. Say you want me with you here beside you. Anywhere you go let me go too, Christine, that's all I ask of... What
moved me was Eric's desperate call, Christine. That simple name was stunned by Butler's interpretation, full of love and longing, and deeper is the despair that pierced the bones of the bones. At that moment, people couldn't help but feel sad.
At this point, I once again felt the paleness of the text, unable to convey the emotions conveyed in the singing. Therefore, it is seriously recommended that you look for this movie, and you will never be disappointed, and it is seriously recommended that sentimental people, especially female compatriots, prepare tissues to wipe their tears.
The lyrics are good, music and singing are good. Ugh! That desperate Christine will make you unforgettable for a long, long time.
PS By the way, Gerald Butler’s acting and singing skills in "The Phantom of the Opera" are much better than his acting skills in "Spartan 300" and "Butterfly on Wheels". He really should Go to a musical instead of being a film actor.
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