The Phantom of the Opera (miniseries) Erik dies with his father and Christine at his side. Christine replaces Erik's mask and is led away by the Comte. Arthur Kopit had long been an admirer of Gaston Leroux's story, but felt that the horror premise had left out the possibility of a more compelling relationship between the two main characters. So he came up with a script in which the Phantom is a romantic hero, frightening only to those who would misuse the opera house wherein he dwells - and to those who would stand in the way of Christine's eventual rise to stardom. And he decided
The Phantom of the Opera (1962 film) its predecessors the current 'Phantom' seems a reasonable booking for average houses, without doing anything to erase oldtimers' memories of the earlier versions." "Harrison's Reports" gave the film a grade of "Fair", writing, "The story of creative fakery, revenge and danger is not only loosely woven together, but its believability is weak. Its dénouement is thin and vaporish." "The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films" wrote of the film: "Although distinguished by some fine acting, sets and music, "The Phantom of the Opera" seems decidedly half-baked." The author(s) called Terence Fisher's direction "misguided", and noted that distributor J.