Since
Gaston Leroux first wrote
Le Fantôme de l'Opéra in
1911, there have been any number of spin-offs, sequels, prequels, and interpretations that have by now overshadowed the original book. For convenience's sake these can be arranged into
books,
musicals, and
movies.
All are at least loosely based on Leroux's original, but aside from that it's very difficult to say what they all have in common, because they all differ so widely. Some take place in London or a fictional opera house rather than the Palais Garnier; in some, Raoul has his name and character changed or is relegated to a minor role; in one, the Phantom isn't even deformed. Nevertheless, here they are:
Books
Most of these are really bad and read like the soppy romance fantasies of teenage girls. The exception would be Phantom, which is insanely popular among fans and only moderately bad.
- The original. Was originally written in French as a sort of Gothic horror/mystery/romance sort of deal. As the whole thing is available above for your perusal, I won't say more, except that it's interesting to note that it's never been adapted with any shred of faithfulness besides the 1925 silent film. And even that changed the ending.
- Phantom by Susan Kay is widely considered to be the best book aside from the original (and some might argue that it is better than the original, but I don't know what kind of crack they're smoking). It traces Erik's life from his birth in a small town near Rouen to his death in Paris. The book begins with a section told from the point of view of his mother, who is so horrified by his ugliness that she doesn't really act as much of a mother at all. From there it traces a wandering path, from a stint as a freak show exhibit in a Gypsy fair to apprenticeship under a master mason in Italy to the court of the Persian Shah. The familiar storyline doesn't kick in until the end, and Ms. Kay butchers it so badly that it ruins the rest of the book. Phantom is a fun enough read, but it tends to provoke love-or-hate reactions and the ending is a mockery of the original.
- The Phantom of Manhattan by Frederick Forsyth was originally designed as a sequel to the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. I myself have never read it, but judging by the reactions of those who have it's a good thing this sequel was never put to stage. Erik survives, he and Christine journey to America, and everything goes downhill from there. From what I've heard, this one's only worth reading for the horrified-amusement factor.
- Night Magic by Charlotte van Allen is a modern retelling of the story, combined in a way with the story of Beauty and the Beast. Think "teen romance novel."
- Progeny by Becky Meadows is, like Night Magic, written rather like a fan fiction. It picks up where the story left off, and as the title might suggest, involves Christine bearing Erik's child. Aside from Phantom, it's considered the best of the fanfic-style books, although considering the laughable cliche that passes for a plot, the hacked-up bodice-ripper writing, and the utter lack of copy editing, I shudder to think what the others are like. Think "self-published."
- Phantasy by Becky Meadows is the sequel to Progeny and generally agreed to be worthy of the trash heap. Christine is reincarnated into a 20th century ditz, Raoul is reincarnated into a whiny bastard, Erik's spirit follows them around, and the writing sucks. Everything I've heard about it is second-hand, but after reading Progeny I'm inclined to keep it that way. Think "utter shit."
- Journey of the Mask by Nancy Hill Pettengill is another fanficcy-type sequel, which I have never read. If the others are anything to judge by, though, I'd skip it.
Musicals
Yeah, musicals. Plural. There's more than one, believe it or not. In fact, there are probably more in existance than are listed here, but they're extremely hard to find information on--there are one or two independent German productions, one based directly on the Leroux novel that was staged shortly after the book's publication and disappeared, and God knows how many independent attempts that never got anywhere.
- Ken Hill's Phantom of the Opera is the first Phantom musical on which there's any substantial information. It's not well known and rarely put on, but songs like While Floating High Above make you wonder why it's so obscure. More information is available at this URL:
http://www.kenhillsphantomoftheopera.tk
- Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit also have a musical version. The music is good, if a bit gratuitously cheery (it reminded me at first of Disney's Beauty and the Beast for some reason), although great liberties have been taken with the plot and Erik's Oedipus complex is rather creepy. This musical was also made into a TV miniseries, which is listed under movies.
- Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera... what is there to say? It's the big daddy. The famous one. The most profitable entertainment venture of all time, the second longest-running musical on Broadway. Good music, excellent design by the late Maria Bjornson, and some neat special effects. Quite a spectacle indeed. Go ahead, line Lord Webber's pocket and go pay the $100 or so to see this show if you haven't already. It'll be a well-spent $100. And if you're unwilling to shell that out, at least try out the cast recording.
Movies
This is where there are the most versions, and the most variations. From the 1925 silent film to the upcoming 2004 movie version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, from good to bad to uglier than Erik's face, from the 1880s to the 1970s to weird time travel plots. Chronological order.
- Lon Chaney, the master of faces, took on the role of the Phantom in 1925. If you detest silent films, skip it, but otherwise it's worth watching even if you have no interest in Phantom and are only reading this node as an idle distraction. Chaney's makeup is superb--rumor has it that women fainted in the theaters when it was first shown--and aside from a tacked-on, disappointing ending, it follows Leroux's original book closely. Widely considered a masterpiece of gothic horror.
- The 1943 movie starring Claude Raines won an Oscar for cinematography, as it was filmed in lush Technicolor. The focus was more on the look and sound than on plot, however--not only does the Phantom play second violin to Christine and Raoul, but apparently he got his disfigurement through acid scarring instead of deformity-from-birth as in other versions. A big round of WTF, but worth watching for the cinematography.
- The Phantom of the Paradise, a 1970s disco version, is absolutely laughable if looked at as a Phantom story, and could possibly be intriguing if viewed as a satire of '70s glitter-rock culture. William Finley plays a Phantom who haunts the disco of a smarmy music producer, in what's probably closer to the Rocky Horror Picture Show than the Phantom of the Opera.
- In 1988, possibly as an attempt to ride on the publicity of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Robert Englund played Erik in this movie. What do you expect from the guy who played Freddy Krueger--it's a gory, low-budget slasher movie, but there are some truly beautiful moments like the graveyard scene, and the movie doesn't really deserve the bad reputation it's earned. Plus the score is beautiful, and the movie itself is a whole lot of fun for fans of cheap slasher fare. My favorite Phantom movie to date.
- 1990 brought a TV miniseries based on the Yeston-Kopit musical, with Charles Dance as the Phantom and Teri Polo as Christine. Erik in this one is a bit too kind and gentle, perhaps to counteract the gratuitous violence of Englund's version, and the plot is altered significantly, but Teri Polo plays a good Christine and one big bonus is that it was filmed at the actual Paris Opera House of the time, the Palais Garnier. So of course the sets are gorgeous. It also employs the music of Gounoud's opera Faust to great effect.
- In 1998 Dario Argento directed an ill-fated hack-up of the Phantom plot starring Julian Sands, with his daughter Asia Argento as Christine. This time the Phantom is not deformed--and what's more, he was raised by telepathic rats and likes them a little bit too much. More slasher fare, with gratuitous sex thrown in, but this time without much redeeming value except to fans of Argento and his in-jokes.
- In late 2004 Andrew Lloyd Webber put out a movie version of his Phantom musical. Unfortunately, a lot of what makes the musical great was undermined by a "young and sexy" aesthetic: Bjornson's design was trashed in favor of glitzy (and historically inaccurate) costumes, and the cast are all indeed young and sexy, but they can't sing. The sets are gorgeous though, and the music's the same, just not performed very well.
Recommended:
The Gaston Leroux book, Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, Phantom by Susan Kay, the Lon Chaney movie, the Robert Englund movie, the Charles Dance TV miniseries
Not Recommended: (read: avoid if at all possible)
The Phantom of Manhattan, Phantom of the Paradise, the Dario Argento movie
edit 30 November 2004, to update some information, esp. on Progeny and the silent movie.
second edit 1 March 2005, mostly for the new movie.