Behind the Mask: The Making of 'The Phantom of the Opera' (2015)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Highly entertaining documentary about the making of the 1989 version of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, directed by Dwight H. Little and starring Robert Englund in the title role. Those two men are here to discuss the production of the film and they're joined by co- stars Jill Schoelen and Alex Hyde-White. Screenwriter Duke Sadefur is also here with make-up designer Kevin Yagher, special effects master John Carl Buechler and many others.
If you're a fan of the film then this documentary will certainly be a must see. Clocking in at 38-minutes, the film manages to give you quite a bit of information on how the film got started due to the title falling into the public domain and how Englund got on board. It's interesting to hear from Englund as he discusses his thoughts of being compared or mentioned with some of the earlier actors who played the part. Other items discussed includes the hard make-up that Englund had to wear and the various production problems including poorly built sets and Schoelen talks about her injuries on the film. Of course, with such a gory film, we get to hear why they went into that direction and some of the people even talk about how they think the gore ruined the film.
Overall, just about every aspect of the production is covered so fans will certainly enjoy hearing the stories. I wasn't overly fond of the film but found this piece to be pretty well-balanced and honest in people's expectations on how it turned out and what they were attempting to do with it.
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Highly entertaining documentary about the making of the 1989 version of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, directed by Dwight H. Little and starring Robert Englund in the title role. Those two men are here to discuss the production of the film and they're joined by co- stars Jill Schoelen and Alex Hyde-White. Screenwriter Duke Sadefur is also here with make-up designer Kevin Yagher, special effects master John Carl Buechler and many others.
If you're a fan of the film then this documentary will certainly be a must see. Clocking in at 38-minutes, the film manages to give you quite a bit of information on how the film got started due to the title falling into the public domain and how Englund got on board. It's interesting to hear from Englund as he discusses his thoughts of being compared or mentioned with some of the earlier actors who played the part. Other items discussed includes the hard make-up that Englund had to wear and the various production problems including poorly built sets and Schoelen talks about her injuries on the film. Of course, with such a gory film, we get to hear why they went into that direction and some of the people even talk about how they think the gore ruined the film.
Overall, just about every aspect of the production is covered so fans will certainly enjoy hearing the stories. I wasn't overly fond of the film but found this piece to be pretty well-balanced and honest in people's expectations on how it turned out and what they were attempting to do with it.
