Happy Halloween 2011!

Aren't I just the luckiest Auntie ever!?!

The Phantom of the Opera 1983

What I liked: I liked the house that the phantom provided for Maria (Christine). The key, the doors, the clothes were all pretty great. In this version Maria reminds the phantom of his wife who killed herself after getting terrible reviews at her debut. I thought that was an interesting twist to the story. I was quite happy when the phantom died at the end.

What I didn't like: This was by far the creepiest one we watched. I was super excited for this one, but it failed to live up to my expectations. First I didn't like that they changed the names, not that some of the other versions haven't done it, but I don't think anyone had the same names! The phantom's mask was really creepy. That greyish, rough textured mask was not the least bit inviting. Even his flesh tone mask was creepy.  And the phantom behind the mask looked like one of the aliens from the new Green Lantern movie. His gravelly voice really was spooky. I was not a fan of that. And then, the whole chandelier falling scene - so NOT believable. There is no way that all of those people could move out of the way before it fell.

The Baron (manager) and Micheal (Raoul)

The phantom (Creepy right?)

Singing lessons for Maria (Christine)

The phantom at the masquerade ball. The name Maria will haunt me for awhile from this scene.

The phantom unmasked

The phantom on the falling chandelier

Here's the movie in its entirety, if you're interested.

The Phantom of the Opera 1990

What I liked: I really liked this version. I feel like they really took the time to develop this story and make it enjoyable. I loved the phantom! He was so charismatic and had such a mellow, soothing voice. You almost fall in love with him yourself. I liked all of the masks he wore. You knew by which mask he wore just what his mood was. He was never really creepy and even though he kills someone at the very beginning of this movie, it really doesn't taint your judgement of him. I think the suspense of what was behind his mask was well done in this one. And although my sister would disagree, I really liked that you didn't actually see him without mask. Burt Lancaster's character (Gerard) was great as well. I liked how he was able to give history to the phantom. I liked how he was the face for the opera management and the phantom was the brains behind it. Can I just Phillipe (Raoul) had fantastic hair!?! I liked the history between Christine and Phillipe in this version. It was interesting that both the Phantom and Christine lived in the opera house.

What I didn't like: All of the dead animals in the phantom's lair. It was super creepy. It's actually the only thing I remember from the first time I saw it. I wasn't a really pleased with the idea that Carlotta was part manager of the theater. She was married to the manager, so in essence she was the manager. I miss the humor that the two managers bring to the story.

Other notes: I saw this version once before, many years ago and honestly I don't remember liking it. So I was rather hesitant to watch it again. I'm glad I did, because it now ranks up next to the Andrew Lloyd Webber version.

Christine on her way to the Opera house

The Phantom

Christine

Gerard

Phillipe

"A hat do you think?" Getting ready for the picnic

Christine singing her love to the phantom

The phantom answering her song (Loved this part!)

Some publicity photos I liked

This says it's the trailer for this movie. I have my doubts about that, but it's a good intro to it and the best overview video I could find.

The Phantom of the Opera 1962

What I liked: I liked the relationship between Christine and Harry (the Raoul character) in this one. In fact so far, this is the only one where I've really liked "Raoul." I liked the phantom's little henchman in this. He was an interesting addition. All in all I rather liked the storyline to this one. I liked the truly evil character of Lord Ambrose and his part in creating the phantom. I really fest sorry for the phantom in the end of this one. I liked how Harry figured out where Christine was and what the phantom's history was. I liked the nod back to the Lon Cheney version in this with the fight in the sewers.

What I didn't like: I didn't like how violent the phantom was with Christine. It was so not realistic that he could teach her to sing that well in two or three days. Christine was probably the least pretty in this one. I don't know that her beauty is something I disliked, but I think they could have done her up - especially her hair - to look prettier. The story wrapped up rather quickly. It wasn't bad, but I think they could have extended it a bit more.

Other notes: The movie started out rather spooky (I was worried it might creep me out too much!), but it was interesting how the whole mood of the movie changed when you found out the Phantom's back story.

I thought these were great posters!

Harry, the Phantom and Christine in the Phantom's lair

The Phantom with his mask

The Phantom without his mask (although, this picture is not from the movie)

Lord Ambrose

The Phantom coaching Christine

Harry and Christine at the end right before the chandelier falls

The trailer for this version (you can watch the whole movie on youtube if you so desire)

New Jewelry

I can't say I was super motivated this year, but these are the jewelry sets I made during this last conference weekend. We learned a new technique for stringing beads and tying knots, so I tried that out a bit.

I saw a necklace like this at JC Penney's and thought I'd try it out. It turned out great, but I think I should have used clear string to help the beads stand out more - or used bolder/sparklier beads on this one.

The new stringing/knotting technique

These are knotted as well. They were some of my more expensive beads. This picture doesn't do it justice, but the beads are dark with sparkles on the inside. If you look carefully you can see the sparkles in a couple of the beads.

I had all sorts of plans for this and easily spent 4+ hours on this necklace alone. My ideas just didn't work the way I wanted them to, so this is what I ended up doing - which really would have taken me an hour to do if I'd just done it in the beginning.

Phantom of the Opera 1943

What I liked: I loved the music!!! All of the singing and orchestra was just fantastic. I would almost classify this version as a musical. I liked the two suitors. I think they brought a much needed comic relief. I loved the costumes. The dresses were beautiful.

What I didn't like: I didn't like the way he became the phantom. I mean, I would have felt more sorry for him if he'd been born that way instead of being doused with acid. I had a rough time believing such a mild mannered man would just snap and kill someone and then start on a killing spree. I just didn't feel for him. I think he was a fool for giving all his money away for Christine's lessons without her knowing, thinking that she'd love him for it.

Other Notes: I think what it comes down to is that I liked the everything but the storyline or at least the changes in the storyline from the book.

 The Phantom

 The Phantom without the mask

 Christine

 The two suitors - Raoul and Anatole

 Sing for me!

 The catacombs crumbled and crushed the phantom and yet, his violin and mask are left so artistically after all of the commotion.

Trailer for this version

The Phantom of the Opera 1925

What I liked: The music was great - at least the first time you heard it. The phantom was creepy - with or without the mask! He was very maniacal. That's the best word I can think of to describe him. I didn't expect that the creepy guy hanging around in the shadows was a police detective. My sister thought it might be the phantom's father. I rather liked his character. Everyone in it had their own creepy moment, mostly because the whites of their eyes was so white. The underwater scene was the most creepy to me.

What I didn't like: I think the music was on constant repeat. By the end of the movie I could hum a good portion of it. I felt like sometimes the music made more of a joke out of the movie than helped to bring the right emotion. It was rather slow going. I had a headache that night, so that might have factored into it, but I felt the movie really dragged in places. Christine always seemed a little drunk or like she was drugged when ever she was in the presence of the phantom.

Other Notes: I didn't expect it to be a silent film. Although, with it being made in 1925 I should have guessed as much.

The Phantom with his mask

The Phantom without his mask

Christine

The creepy inspector

The phantom and Christine down in his lair

The Masquerade Ball

Turn the scorpion and your lover lives. Turn the beetle and the whole opera house goes up in flames.

 This is actually the whole movie - if you're interested.