The Andrew-Lloyd Weber production of this story was literally my adolecent fantasy. I deeply adored the music even if I didn't fully understand the story at the time. I literally acted out the entire play... alone... in.. my .. yeah. Well.. I mean it was so ground-breaking to what I was into at the time: Tzaichovsky, Chopin, Beethoven, Rameau, Hildegard of Bingen... Mozart even. My parents were all into the party music of their time... but I was just such a space cadet. That was what I listened to and Phantom of the Opera changed all of that for me.
The sad thing is my motivation for seeing this film -- I never did get to see the play. So many people I knew went, and many of them brought back the memorabilia from the show.. so I had all the stuff. But I never got to see it before the final show.
Seeing it tonight was such a special treat. Especially now that the true power of the story behind it is finally revealed to me after all these years. Hell... just hearing the music again was inspiring and uplifting. I haven't felt this good in weeks.
I highly reccommend this film. Highly.
