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With the gothic look retained from the play, “Phantom of the Opera” will engage viewers with its mix of music, lyrical camera moves and production design. Thought it took the better part of a decade to bring the musical to the screen (originally Broadway vets Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman were to play the leads until Brightman and composer Andrew Lloyd Webber divorced), the visual splendor that one would expect is evident in every frame of this lavish production. ***

A disfigured madman (Gerard Butler) hides beneath the Paris Opera House. He terrorizes the opera company all the while training a young and beautiful singer Christine (Emmy Rossum) in the chorus. Christine falls in love with Raoul (Patrick Wilson) unaware that the Phantom is in love with her as well. Raoul desperately searches for Christine after the Phantom, in a fit of jealousy, kidnaps Christine to his dark lair. ---

The two disc set is the best bet for fans of the film. It features an hour long documentary “Behind the Mask” that focuses on the Phantom from the moment it was dreamed up by Andrew Lloyd Webber to the staging of the production in London and on Broadway by director Harold Prince and producer Cameron MacIntosh. Features interviews with those involved in the original stage production, this documentary will be fascinating to those who saw both the original and touring production of the play. There’s also a three part featurette that covers preproduction, theadjustments made to the original play (including the penning of a new song which is sung over the closing credits by Minnie Driver) and the challenges that director Schumacher faced in translating such a popular stage production to film. The theatrical trailer and a deleted scene with a song performed by Gerard Butler as the Phantom are also highlights of this second disc. We also get an Easter egg which features the cast and crew in a singalong. ---