Top 10 Period Drama Villains: #1

~A series of posts in celebration of those tortured anti-heroes and villainous. . . err, villains, whom we love in spite of ourselves!~

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I had originally thought to publish this list as one big post, but then I realised that it would be far too long, and would take me days to complete, so I'm writing it as a series of shorter posts instead. I know I have a bad habit of starting series and not finishing them - I promise I'll finish this one! Also, I'm starting at the wrong end of the series - counting down, instead of up. Oh well - I hope you enjoy it anyway!

1. The Phantom/Erik (Gerard Butler) - The Phantom of the Opera. 

Yes, I am going through a second wave of Phantom-obsession. Why do I like this story (and this movie) so much? It's completely overblown and over-the-top. . . and I love every glorious, melodramatic minute of it. It's pretty much the only tragic love story that I actually like.

But about Erik. What is it that makes him such a tragic, sympathetic figure?

*POTO is a "Beauty and the Beast" tale, but The Phantom's and The Beast's stories differ in some significant ways. For instance, the Beast took on his beastly form as a punishment for his selfishness and incapability to see inner beauty in others; whereas the Phantom is punished for the deformity that he was born with ("Why, you ask, was I bound and chained in this cold and dismal place? Not for any mortal sin but the wickedness of my abhorrent face!").

*His hopeless love for Christine.

*Erik's musical genius also makes him a more compelling character, adding a certain "tortured artist" appeal, I suppose.

A word about Gerard Butler as the Phantom - yes, I know he was too young and too good-looking to play Erik (Gerry, a "repulsive carcass"?!). The Phantom is supposed to be physically repulsive - that's kind of the whole point, after all. But other than that, I think Gerard was really very good as Erik, especially considering he only had a half a face to act with, and an awful lot of lip-syncing to do. He conveyed Erik's character in all of its complexities - his simple, almost child-like nature in some scenes, as well as his more violent side. (Lets be honest, who wouldn't totally marry the Phantom if it wasn't for his unfortunate homicidal tendencies! :P).

And this is a little off-topic, but I think I may have found the perfect Phantom - vocally, at least. I like Gerard Butler's voice, but he did struggle at times. As for Michael Crawford. . . I know some people *cough*Alexandra*cough* will kill me (or at least, un-follow me) for saying this, but I don't like his voice that much! Not as the Phantom, anyway! His tenor is too high and whiny - not dark or mysterious enough. Anyway, the perfect Phantom is, in my opinion, Mikael Samuelsson from the Swedish production of POTO. He's got the rough, masculine edge of Gerard's voice, but his voice is MUCH more. . . well, more! Have a listen below (you might want to pause my blog music), or just search for "Phantom of the Opera Swedish cast" on Youtube. I know he's singing in Swedish, but I'm sure all you Phans know the libretto so well that it won't bother you in the least.



Meanwhile, I want to know:

-Who is your favourite Phantom? (In any movie or musical adaptation)?

-Do you feel that Christine made the right choice in the end?

-Who are some of your favourite costume drama villains?

The Phantom of the Opera's lavish Baroque-ness + loads of pictures

First off, let me say that I feel totally unqualified to write any POTO-related post! I haven't read the book, haven't seen the stage production. . . Fairly new to the phandom of the Phantom, I am just a girl who happened - quite by accident - upon a movie called "The Phantom of the Opera", and found myself being swept away!

Oh, and this will be a relatively brief post, unfortunately, because I don't have much time left to write it! I've been meaning to write a POTO-themed post all week, to join in with Alexandra's Phantom of the Opera week. Tonight came, and I panicked a bit, realising this was my last chance to write this post!! Fortunately America is a day behind Australia, otherwise I would already be too late!

[This post is rather image-heavy - I hope it doesn't take an awfully long time to load. . .]

~The Stunning Baroque Splendour of POTO~

I'm going through bit of a Baroque stage at the moment, especially after watching this excellent series. A couple of observations on The Baroque: it is more of a living entity than an art movement. And: the Baroque can be a bit silly at times, but at its best, it is extremely powerful - it grabs your attention, then sucks you into its vortex of drama (often melodrama), emotion, romance, and beauty. It isn't subtle, and it doesn't appeal to everyone, but if you ask me, there is an almost unequaled scale of power, passion, and human longing and emotion in the truly great Baroque works of art. Yes it's messy and over-the-top, but I love it for that! 

The Phantom of the Opera well and truly embraces that Baroque spirit, in the story, the music, the set design, costumes. . . you name it! And it is glorious to behold! Every element of this production - the colours, the textures, the music - everything melds together to create a most amazing experience. The word delirious comes to mind - a sort of dazzling, dizzying assault on the senses.

~PICSPAM!!~

I am a Phan!

Emmy Rossum as Christine Daae, with Gerard Butler as The Phantom

I don't know how I managed to remain all but oblivious to the phenomenon that is The Phantom of the Opera for so long but. . . having watched the 2004 film for the first time yesterday, I am now semi-obsessed! Okay, totally obsessed. . .

This is not going to be a review (my thoughts on the film are currently too scattered - not to mention biassed - for that), but rather an invitation for discussion and for a sharing of opinions! For a full plot summary and review, see Charity's Place.

Masquerade!

Wow! What an experience it is! (And how I would have loved to have seen it on the big screen, rather than my laptop screen. . .) The grandeur, the colour, the energy - and most of all, of course, the music. You know there has to be something special about a film when you can't get it out of your mind for one minute, during the hours and days after you first watch it. I can only think of a few other movies that have had quite the same effect on me. . . Pride and Prejudice 2005, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Lorna Doone. . .

It's dark, it's romantic, and it contains plenty of food for thought, with themes of redemption, compassion, cruelty and forgiveness, obsessive love and selfless love. 

A few thoughts, to get the discussion going:

*Gerard Butler as The Phantom (Erik). . . wow! ;-) And I don't care about his vocal powers, or perceived lack thereof. His acting was amazing, and his voice, while not classically trained or technically flawless, was powerful and emotive.

Left to right: Ciaran Hinds, Simon Callow, and Minnie Driver

*I was surprised to see so many wonderful British actors in this production! Ciaran Hinds in a musical, who would have thunk it. :-) As well as Miranda Richardson, Simon Callow, and others. In fact, I think nearly all of the cast were British (or Irish, in the case of Hinds), with only a couple of exceptions.

*[Warning - spoilers!] I was disappointed at first by the ending. . . I wanted so badly for there to be a happy ending for the Phantom. But after more thought, I suppose the story was resolved in the only possible way after all. And the Phantom, though he doesn't get Christine, does find redemption through his mad obsession giving way, in the final minutes, to selfless love. *End of spoilers*

Patrick Wilson as Raoul, with Emmy Rossum as Christine

*Emmy Rossum - can't believe she was only 16-17 when she played Christine! 

*Have you seen the stage production, or read the book? Would you recommend the book? And if so, which translation?

*Your thoughts on the movie?