The Phantom of the Opera

Question: I have seen on many posters that the tagline for this film is " Lorem Ipsum Dolor Sit". Did I read the poster incorrectly, or is there a translation for this?

Answer: "Lorem Ipsum Dolor..." is the beginning of a piece of nonsense text that typesetters often use to hold the place where the actual text will be when it is written. You have either vastly misread the posters or seen a lot of pre-production posters.

Myridon

Question: A friend and I were talking about the movie and about how Masquerade has a deeper meaning than just a party. She then tried to convince me that the phantom wrote all three operas based on how he was feeling. I think that the phantom only wrote Don Juan. Can someone enlighten me?

Answer: The phantom only wrote Don Juan, the others are just being performed by the characters. The film takes place over a year and it is set in an opera house that needs to make money, so they put on other operas. The phantom tries to have input into the staging of the operas and enjoys watching them, but has not written all of them.

em

Question: How does the Phantom get his salary? I know he tells Firmin, "Send it care of the Ghost by return of post," but what exactly does this mean? And also, what does he do with his salary?

Answer: Mme Giry acts as the intermediary. She brings the notes, so sending the money by return of post means the money should be given to her to pass it on. As for what he does with it, the luxury of his clothing and lair bears witness that he doesn't pile it. He spends it on anything that will bring beauty around him, whether it's a wig, a mask, clothes, furniture or anything else. And it wouldn't be surprising if a few bribes weren't given here and there.

Sereenie

Question: How old is the phantom, because if he was the same age as madam Giry he would no longer be alive.

Answer: He is supposed to be five years younger than her. And even if they were the same age, she is still alive, so why couldn't he?

Sereenie

Question: Does anyone know why the deleted scene in the DVD was cut from the release?

Answer: Because it only slowed the action down without bringing anything new to the plot.

Sereenie

Question: When Meg goes into Christine's room, after unlocking it she goes to the mirror and goes inside. At that point Madame Giry stops Meg from going any further. Why does Madame Giry keep Meg from going to the Phantom's lair?

Answer: She's afraid that the Phantom would kill Meg to keep the location of his lair secret. Meg is also Madame Giry's daughter, so she's extra protective of her.

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: Christine thought that the Phantom was the Angel of Music her father told her of. Now that the Angel of Music has caused so much horror, she's remembering the story as she goes to "confront" her father's grave.

Captain Defenestrator

Question: After the song "The Point of No Return" Christine takes Erik's mask off and they go down to his lair. He drags her back near the fake doll that looks like her and Erik asks "Why? Why?" To what is he referring?

Answer: Why she couldn't love him back / why she betrayed him.

Chosen answer: She wanted to leave him something of hers to keep, and it's the only personal item she had on hand.

Sereenie

It is his ring that he gave to her. She is giving him back his ring.

Question: If the Phantom wanted to remain in the shadows, why did he put himself in his role in Don Juan that had him basically come out in the open in front of the public eye, where everyone, especially law enforcement, could see him?

Answer: He wanted to let Christine know that he was her Don Juan. He loved her and was willing to risk everything to be the only man in her life.

Question: During the "Angel of Music" scene, Christine sees the Phantom in the mirror. is the mirror a two way, and the Phantom is on the other side, watching her? or is it a hallucination? As well (related) the room that Christine is staying in after singing "Think of Me", is that her permanent room? Or is her bedroom the one in the cellar-type with wire beds? And the big, flower one is switched out for the lead? If it is her permanent room, the phantom has some explaining to do.

Answer: Erik can see her but she can't see him because usually it's not illuminated on the Phantom's side of the mirror. Christine is standing in the 'star's' dressing room which was Carlotta's up until Christine sang Think of Me-then she was considered the star of that particular show. (There's a poster on the wall that says Carlotta on it).

Answer: The dressing room which Christine is in after 'Think of Me' is the Prima Donna's (The main actress/performer) own dressing room for as long as they are the 'star' of the opera.

debbi.ee

Answer: Yes, it is a two-way mirror. Usually when the backs side of a two-way mirror (where The Phantom is) is dark absolutely nothing is visible other than the reflection but when you illuminate the back side, some of it is visible-like the Phantom is but not the rest of his background.

debbi.ee

Question: At what point does Christine realise the "angel of music" is actually the Phantom? At first she doesn't seem to realise, but there is some point where she refers to the angel of music as the "Phantom" with "a face so distorted" To Raoul. So did she know the entire time? Or was there a point where she put the pieces together?

Answer: After Christine's starring debut at the opera house, the Phantom reveals himself to her just after she sings the reprise of "Angel of Music." He then brings Christine down to his lair during the song, "Phantom of the Opera." This is, in all likelihood, the point at which she puts two and two together.

Michael Albert

Answer: It's unknown, but some type of animal-based glue (from mammal hooves, rabbit skin, etc.) that was used at that time could keep it attached to his face.

raywest

Question: Who is the little person / dwarf who follows Piangi around? (00:08:55)

Answer: He is a person born with dwarfism and is following Piangi as a side of comic relief for the audience and he is as a sort of circus act.

Answer: According to Christine's tombstone, she was about 63-years-old when she died. The Phantom could still be alive, though he would probably be in his late 70s or early 80s.

raywest

Answer: Christine was extremely close to her father, who spoke to her of an "Angel of Music" whom he would send from heaven after his death. Christine entered the Paris Conservatoire and trained for four years to become an opera singer to please her father. However, by the end of the four years, she had lost her passion for singing and the music. When Christine arrives at the Opéra Garnier, she was described as "sounding like a rusty hinge." That is when Erik, the Phantom of the Opera, began to speak to Christine during times that she went, alone, to the chapel in the Opera House. Erik began to tutor her, telling her that he is the "Angel of Music" of whom her father had spoken.

Michael Albert

Answer: She sings this on the way to the cemetery because she is thinking of the effect the Phantom has on her. This deeply troubles her as he suddenly went from a paternal figure/angel to just a man who harbors obsessive and lust-filled emotions which frightened her (as did his temper). As a child, the Phantom would sing Christine to sleep which gave her comfort she held on to. By singing this line, it shows how Christine still holds on to that comfort he provided her with and allowed him to get into her head. This emphasizes the powerful psychological hold the Phantom has over Christine. It would explain why she was still so easily drawn to him during the masquerade and wandering child scene, and was still attached to the comfort of his music. Even after all she saw him do, she still felt haunted by him.

Question: Towards the end of the movie, after he kidnaps her a second time, Christine originally has on her outfit from Don Juan but then has time to change into the white wedding dress. Why did she change? Did he make her change into that? I understand from like a movie point of view that it's a different song/act.

Answer: The Phantom forced her to change into the wedding dress shortly after he kidnapped her the second time. He intended to make Christine his "bride."

raywest

The Phantom of the Opera mistake picture

Deliberate mistake: As Christine approaches the Phantom in his lair (just after he has abducted her), we see that she is wearing very dark black eye-shadow. Back in the dressing room after coming off stage, as she talks to Raoul, we saw her face in close up and she was not wearing any eye-shadow at all, even though the Phantom leads her through the mirror just after she has managed to slip on a robe over her undergarments and she has not yet changed to go out to supper (Raoul says she is to be ready in 2 minutes). Her hair becomes 'bigger' and wilder, too. The change in her appearance is a reference to her descending (voluntarily, I might add - he didn't drag her through that mirror) into the Phantom's dark existence and to her sexual awakening. (00:28:45 - 00:37:10)

More mistakes in The Phantom of the Opera

Christine Daae: Angel of Music, you've deceived me. I gave you my mind blindly.

More quotes from The Phantom of the Opera

Trivia: The candles that light instantly as they emerge from the water in the Phantom's Lair were not computer effects - special air-sensitive candles were used. Luckily, the scene was captured well in the first take, as when they tried to re-shoot the scene the candles wouldn't work again.

More trivia for The Phantom of the Opera

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.