Continuity mistake: After Christine removes the Phantom's mask for the first time, he looks at himself in a mirror: his 'bad side' (the right one) shows no sign of deformity. (00:45:30)
Continuity mistake: When the young phantom is murdering the carnival man, young Mme Giry walks though the gap in the tent, and turns so all you can see of her is her eye and the side of her face. In the next shot of her, her whole body is inside the tent.
Continuity mistake: When Messieurs Lefèvre, André and Firmin interrupt the rehearsal, just as the conductor is saying, "Monsieur Lefèvre, I am rehearsing," André and Firmin get a lot closer to Lefèvre between shots. (00:08:45)
Audio problem: When the Phantom takes Christine down to his lair the second time, in the shot where the camera is behind his neck and facing Christine, you can see that the movements of his jaw are out of synch with the words he's supposed to be singing.
Other mistake: During "Don Juan Triumphant" Christine and Meg have MUCH less make up on than any other members of the cast, which is I suppose used to separate them and make them more noticeable, but on a stage that big it would be required to have a lot of makeup just like everyone else, because otherwise the audience can't see your face.
Other mistake: When the manager comes into the lobby for "Notes", there is a man mopping the floor. The mop is completely dry.
Revealing mistake: The second time we see the Christine mannequin, we can see it sway from right to left. The swaying can't be due to a draft, since any sort of wind would have made the candles flicker. The moving is due to the fact that Emmy Rossum is the mannequin. They couldn't get a wax figure to so closely resemble her, so Emmy sat very very still (although not still enough!) and played the mannequin herself. (00:46:15)
Continuity mistake: In the gypsy fair scene the Phantom has a dirty back. In the next scene when he's running away with the Dancing Mistress to go under the Opera House, his back is clean.
Continuity mistake: As the Phantom and Christine approach the Phantom's lair for the first time in the boat, we see 2 sets of candle holders each with 3 layers of candles rise out of the water. When the approach scene finishes, there are 2 layers of candles lit on the left hand set of holders. However, on the long shot the 2nd row of candles are not lit, and light up shortly after. (00:33:55)
Continuity mistake: Toward the end of the scene "Little Lotte," when Christine says, "No Raoul, wait," we see Raoul close the door and exit. Instantly after he shuts it we see the outside of the door, but Raoul is nowhere to be seen. There is no way that he could have already gone because there is no shot between the time when he closes the door and when we see the outside of her dressing room, where he should be at least for a second. We know that this is most certainly the outside of the door because we see the Phantom's hand and Madame Giry moments later.
Factual error: The masquerade is set on New Year's Eve. We know that because its poster reads "Bal masqué de la Saint-Sylvestre" - St. Sylvester's Day is December 31st and it's common in French to call that day by its saint's name. Firmin (or André) says that it's been "Three months of relief, of delight, of Elysian peace." This means that the events on the opera house's roof took place in late September or early October at most. When Paris gets snow, it's usually in January, the coldest month according to Météo France. With average temperatures of 15 degrees in October, and higher in September, having a good centimetre or two of snow on the rooftop at that time of year is quite implausible.
Audio problem: In the opening song of Don Juan, Carlotta obviously cuts early, although her voice is still heard hitting the high (and obnoxious) note. (01:47:20)
Continuity mistake: During "Masquerade", during the shots with the people dancing on the stairs in unison with their fans, you can see Christine and Raoul smiling. Behind them is a man with a wig shaped as an afro next to a large plant. The next shot you see the couple, he is gone, then you see him again in the following shot of Christine and Raoul.
Deliberate mistake: On the rooftop scene after Raoul and Christine have left the Phantom, he bends down to pick up a rose, then runs to the statue and climbs up, and finishes his song. There are footprints in the snow all the way to the base of the statue. The footprints are a definite error, as they are next to each other instead of spaced apart which would have occurred if a person was running. And the footprints were not made by Christine and Raoul, they are in the wrong place for where they were standing. (01:16:10)
Continuity mistake: On the Opera House's rooftop, the lining of the Phantom's cape goes from light-coloured to black before and after he jumps on the statue. It has nothing to do with lighting, and his waistshirt proves it: much darker than the cape's original lining, it makes it obvious the cape's turned dark since the waistshirt looks paler against it. (01:15:55)
Audio problem: Right after Firmin says "It would appear they've met before." Andre replies "Yes." However, his mouth and the words don't match up. (00:26:25)
Deliberate mistake: When Christine is in her dressing room right after Hannibal, all of the candles are shown going out. The Phantom and Christine begin to sing. There are no windows in the room and the candles have all gone out, yet the room is still somehow lit. The light is not coming from the mirror where the phantom is yet.
Visible crew/equipment: When Raoul jumps down the hole into the mirror room, you see he is alone. Between when he jumps down, and the appearance of the phantom's reflection, if you slow down the movie you see a man in a gray shirt in the mirrors behind Raoul. He appears in at least three mirrors. Slow-mo is not essential but does help.
Continuity mistake: When Raul is being hanged, he has a booger under his nose. In the next shot, it's gone.
Factual error: In the film, most of the characters don't wear nearly enough stage makeup. In "Think of Me", when Christine is performing in front of a packed auditorium, for example, she would have needed a lot of blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner, etc. just to look "normal" from the audience's perspective. Instead, as you can see by watching the film, she looks pale and washed out.
Answer: During "Point of No Return, " the Phantom shares a stage with the very vulnerable Christine. He is still masked, though it is a mask other than his trademark white face covering. The Phantom is well known as a murderer and an escape artist. This is the the equivalent of a hostage situation. To rush the stage might risk lives, and everyone in the know is proceeding with caution. During the song, we do get glimpses of police moving about, and Raoul and others looking concerned, subtly signaling one another and considering their next move. The stage crew seems confused. The dancers go on with the show. And law enforcement officers await the right moment to advance. It also gives us the opportunity to enjoy a dramatic musical number that rushing the stage would interrupt.
Michael Albert