Recently, I had a musical marathon at home, watching three classic Broadway hosted musicals. Reviewing the movies through the eyes of when I first watched them, I’m only going to mention two out of the three. The commencing movie was the Phantom of the Opera.
This classic started off with a bang! The chandelier lighting up the stage and flashing back and forth from the past to the present. I never saw the play prior to watching the movie so I didn’t have much to compare it to. I thought the lead vocals of Christine Daae, played by Emmy Rossum, was absolutely stunning. She floated to the high notes quite flawlessly. To me, it was hypnotic. The acting overall was done fairly well. The big reveal of the Phantom’s horrid face, I didn’t fully believe the make up work. It was quite obvious which was the only down fall for me. The architecture and costumes were well put together though. At the end I did get emotional, Gerard Butler’s unrequited love performance was very touching. After Christine leaves with Raoul, his expression was genuine and authentic.
Another classic. This movie was casted and executed quite flawlessly. Hugh Jackman captured the progression of Jean Valjean incredibly. From the lowest point to the highest, you saw all of his expressions. Anne Hathway’s award winning performance as Fantine, was so captivating. Even watching it for a fifth or sixth time her emotions were so striking. You genuinely feel her pain and desperation to care for her daughter. The cast singing live changed the entire game. It created a live musical and genuinely brought it to the screen. This take on a classic musical was stunning.
Ending the marathon, all I had playing in my mind were the songs from the shows. Feeling very inspired and emotional played with I would happily host another musical marathon.