The Phantom of the Opera (1989 film) The Phantom of the Opera (1989 film) The Phantom of the Opera is a 1989 American horror film directed by Dwight H. Little and based on Gaston Leroux's novel of the same name. The film is an updated and gorier version of the classic 1910 tale, and stars Robert Englund as the Phantom. Christine Day (Jill Schoelen), a young opera singer in modern-day Manhattan, is searching for a unique piece to sing at her next audition. Her friend and manager Meg (Molly Shannon) discovers an old opera piece called "Don Juan Triumphant", written by a composer named Erik Destler. Curious,
The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film) expense of reshooting scenes with dialogue in foreign languages. To make an international version, the studio would simply replace any spoken dialogue in the film with music, and splice in some title cards in the appropriate language. Singing sequences were left intact, as well as any sound sequences without dialogue. The surviving sound discs of "The Phantom of the Opera" belong to the domestic release, but do not synchronize with the dialogue portions of the film, which have been abbreviated on the Eastman House print. However, there is no record of the content of the international version of "The Phantom",