Comparing The Phantom Of The Opera By Gaston Leroux

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Novel vs. Movie
Kelly says, “It is something of an adage among film critics that great movies can be made from bad novels but that great novels very seldom yield great movies,”. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux is an internationally known work. Erik, the main character, lives in the Opera House basement where he spends most of his time. He is an excellent musician and composer that is in love with a woman that can never love him back. Erik is known around the Opera House as the Phantom who roams the halls only wearing a white mask on his face. After the lead role’s voice cracks in a performance, Christine takes her place as her understudy and is soon the talk of the town. Christine’s childhood sweetheart Raoul comes to her big debut as the star and immediately falls in love, but Erik is also in love …show more content…

Now Christine, being the center of a love triangle, causes a bit of chaos between Erik and Raoul. She loves Raoul because of the history they have together, but she is also captivated and hypnotized by Erik’s voice. There have been many film adaptations-the first being a 1925 silent film-, but most people have come to know the story of the Phantom through Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical adaptation. The musical alone has attracted numerous of people, but little do they know that Gaston Leroux told the story first. Gaston’s novel was not very popular until after Webber’s musical stormed box offices. One could argue that the screenplay keeps the novel alive (Sisler 133). Readers bought the novel in hopes of understanding the storyline through Leroux’s eyes, only to find out the exact opposite. It has been found that the playwright The Phantom of the Opera is superior to

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