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,
Erik (The Phantom of the Opera) finally confronts the Phantom, he claims that he cannot speak without his mask, as his mother forced him to wear it whenever he wished to speak as a child, and he is not Edouard LaFosse. Holmes therefore admits that he is not sure how true any of the theories or claims of the Phantom's identity are. The Phantom never provides a given name in the novel; he only tells Christine that his name is "Nobody" (a reference to the name Odysseus gave Polyphemus in the "Odyssey"). Regardless of his identity, the Phantom in "The Canary Trainer" is much more unhinged