Phantom of the Opera 4K 1943 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

A modest and quiet middle-aged violinist, Eric Claudine denies himself everything and spends all his savings to secretly sponsor the singing lessons of young Christine Dubois, for whom he has a secret passion. She is unaware of this and pays no attention to the musician, she already has two suitors - the opera tenor Anatole Garron and Raoul D'Aubert, Inspector Sûreté.

Driven to despair, Eric commits the murder of a music publisher, but as a result his face becomes disfigured by acid. Now his life's goal is to destroy everyone around Christine...

Review 4K Movie

For many fans of the 'Phantom of the Opera' theme it is no secret that most of the so-called 'adaptations' of the novel have little in common with the original source, and as for the film of 2004, it is more an adaptation of the musical than of the novel, and I consider the claims of fans of the musical (although fans of the novel are found among them) to be justified to this film.

But let's talk about the 1943 film. As I wrote in the title of the review, it is not an adaptation of the novel. The names that were in the novel (Eric, Christine, Raoul) are retained. But Eric in the movie is not a composer ugly from birth, but an ordinary violinist who has been injured by acid. Christine is not as naive, I would even say, silly, as in the novel. And Raul in general was 'divided': into a policeman Raul Dober and a singer Anatole Garron (after watching the movie, I have associations with this character when I hear or read the name Anatole). You can find other complaints about the film as an adaptation.

But if you look at this movie as a stand-alone work, it's pretty good. I liked the actor Claude Rains (who played Eric). I liked his looks, I liked the way he played the joy, the grief, the elation of his character. I felt sorry for him when he went down into the sewers and literally roared like an animal from the pain the acid had caused him, from what he had lost. I liked Suzanne Foster, the performer of the role of Christine, with her looks, her acting with her singing. I liked the other actors in this movie as well. The film itself is quite dynamic and has great music, good humor and quite a light atmosphere. This is one of the very first color films in Hollywood.