mmunier Ha ha ha, I just read in one of the reviews about a "spoiler" warning! Don't fret, it is impossible to spoil this film/show, You just have to see it regardless of what you've heard. The bad memories of my trip from Sydney to Melbourne where we were ripped off to see this show after booking "A reserved" ticket and where I was half hidden behind a pillar up there in the pigeon's nest looking at the actors resembling ants on the stage...We've been told it would not come to Sydney, but it did although not in a proper theater... Then the movie came and my wife and I were blown away by its quality! We played it again and again and we shared it with close friends and relatives at any occasion. I'm a little sad to read some feel or think it was not very good but I'm glad it worked very well for us. Then comes March 2015, glancing through the TV prg I spot the 25th anniversary show at the Royal Albert Hall, we need to go out so I set the recorder on... OMG, yes we watch it a couple of day later and what a reward it is! We are fortunate to have a rather large screen with a sounds system that usually we don't use but for the occasion it was perfect! 2011, how did it escape us for four years? It is absolutely magic. And yes with a bonus a the end, this is not a spoiler this is a promise quite a few of these original people will appear at the end so enjoy it. I don't put all the fine details about it that many others have already included in their review and apart my comment regarding the 2004 movie, I do agree with all I have read before my entry.

Filip Schleicher I've been an IMDb user for a few years now, but this title is the reason for which I write my first review here. This first review, as well as the 10 stars I give, I hope these will somehow (highest rated search, etc) attract at least one more person to this title, which is essentially flawless.It's hard to review a title which is not really a movie. It combines the best of the cinema, theater and opera. The cinema, as after all it's still a movie. Secondly, as it's an opera, the actors and the crew perform live and you get most of their talent this way. The combining element is the emotion which you do not see without the close-ups in the traditional theater. The actors' play is simply excellent. Scenes depicting relationships between the main characters are played by them so perfectly, that simply cause tears in eyes (vide the final one of the first part).It's just incredible, that this masterpiece remains so little-known.

phantomoperaphan I nearly bypassed picking up the Phantom of the Opera (POTO) 25th Anniversary DVD because I was unfamiliar with Ramin Karimloo (Phantom) and Sierra Boggess (Christine). So I took a chance and brought the DVD home. What a surprising delight! POTO 25 was filmed before a live audience at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The cameras bring the viewer up close and personal to the happenings on stage.Ramin and Sierra had starred in Andrew Lloyd Webber's POTO sequel, Love Never Dies (LND), just before the POTO 25 event. Their chemistry bonding had already been established during LND, so they sizzled on stage during POTO 25. Their voices compliment each other so magnificently, and their faces (especially Sierra's) portray the vast array of emotions during their songs. They are incredible! They make you believe that you are witnessing something very, very, once-in-a-lifetime special, because you are!So, I have been transformed from an unfamiliar viewer in the beginning, to a full-fledged obsessive drum beater for Ramin and Sierra in their remarkable POTO 25 performances. Sierra is a true to life Angel of Music; her voice, radiant beauty, emotional energy, and sensational acting talent will mesmerize you. She is such a wonderful inspiration to all those aspiring to be stage actors and singers. Ramin is a powerful Phantom who brilliantly brings to life a lonely, disfigured composer who falls in love with Christine.POTO 25 is beautiful acting, singing, costuming, stage setting all rolled up into a full orchestra, mind-blowing experience you should not miss! Crank up the volume and thoroughly enjoy this masterpiece.Ramin and Sierra are pure magic together. They have made people (including me) cry during this wonderful production. Sierra's voice and emotional impact can, and probably will, cause shivers to run up and down your spine at times. Yes, she really is this amazing.I watch my favorite parts of POTO 25 several times a week. It never fails to lift my spirits and to appreciate the spectacular talent on display whenever I wish. Bravo, Ramin and Sierra!!!!!

taylor-sam94 I have loved "The Phantom of the Opera" for many years and listen to the soundtrack album with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman almost religiously. I began watching this with great worry, remembering how underwhelmed and disappointed I felt with the 2004 film adaptation. Imagine my delight when I discovered this even better than the original cast!Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Bogges are both incredible actors and singers and are absolute magic together, as well as individually. Ramin has the passion and soul the Phantom needs and Sierra has the voice of an angel and makes feel every note she sings.For years, I have had to put up with people telling me that Joel Schumacher's utterly redundant 2004 adaptation was actually brilliant; or that they cannot afford to see the real show. Well, the 25th anniversary concert exposes the 2004 adaptation for the diabolical mess that it is, with it's far superior singing, acting and set. And the fact that it is available on DVD means the 2004 film can shoved into the deep hole it belongs in. Simply perfect, there is no excuse to miss this. Watch it and let it's music caress your soul.