This is the only version of this I’ve seen. I’ve not seen a live theatre production. I’ve not seen other films of this. Nor any “adaptations” of this story, either.
It’s a weirder story than the impression I was getting from others who’ve seen it and talked about it. Unlike Beauty and the Beast, in this story the Beast loses the girl. Despite her offering love and acceptance (well… at least one loving kiss near the end – “thanks for the singing lessons”). But she’d rather go with the rich young handsome (and law-abiding, too) Compte than with the tortured soul that’s … er … uh … something. A gift for singing tutor and leading lady selection?? After all, Mr. Phantom is so twisted up in his misery he kills people and destroys lots of property. Can the girl’s love rescue his soul? Apparently not. Well, is that sad, or is that a relief!
It certainly does play in emotional tugs. And not just a few tugs, but more like sturm und drang. The back and forth with the flashbacks is neat, though. Although I get lost in keeping track of the characters between the two time periods. I’m not sure who the woman is at the auction.
And like “Rosebud” in Citizen Kane, the role of the little monkey-music box seems very device-only. It simply shows up at the begining, in the middle, and at the end. There’s obviously supposed to be a connection, but I missed it. It’s only a plot device to connect the flashbacks and flashforwards. No explanation given for why this box means anything to anybody.
And since I’m in a curmudgeonly mood, I think the musical numbers drag on too long. It’s almost 2 and 1/2 hours of movie and could really be chopped down to 2 hours easily by shortening the musical numbers. Not that 2 hours is some goal in itself, but that the musical numbers get their point across, with a little extra for the singers to show off their beautiful voices, but then don’t stop and let the story resume.