The love for Phantom mostly stimulates from the show or obsessive fangirls who fall in love with a murderous obsessive, stalker, sociopathic musician and fail to comprehend why Christine did not love him....eh, I'm rambling. But the movie still has beautiful music, visuals and a great story and Emmy Rossum is a huge discovery in this, even if Schumaucher failed to capture the majesty or mystery (or quality for that matter) of the Harold Prince directed musical (Prince=Scorcesse of Broadway, Schumaucher=.....Schumaucher).
As for the popularity of Chicago and Molun Rouge, well they may not be your cup of tea, but they are excellent films. I suggest watching Chicago all the way through. It is a brilliant piece of cynicism. It is a very dark comedy about the shallowness of our media and society and the corruption of our legal courtrooms where unscrupulous women who for the most part aren't very likeable play heroines in getting off for murders they committed using what works best in reality, show business and Bob Fosse shows....sex.
It is just very entertaining and the cynical nature and kinetic energy make for a vastly entertaining experience (even if not one for more than a few revisits). And it sets up its musical numbers as metaphors or observations in a dreaming showgirl's eyes, so you don't have to worry about the problem most musicals have with "regular joe," which is breaking out into song for no apparent reason.
Molun Rouge is basically Baz Luhrman at his best. If you liked the '90s Romeo and Juliet you'll like this. If you didn't, you certainly won't. It is a light comedy/drama with some great rearrangments of bad pop songs (for the most part) and giving them some life and actual substance to make an eccentric acid trip of a movie that gives Carmen a run for its money when it comes to the third act drama/tragedy.
But I could see why MR is not some people's cup of tea.
Oh and if we are doing stage shows too then:
1. The Phantom of the Opera
2. The Producers
3. Caberet
4. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
5. Oklahoma!
6. Urinetown
7. Chicago
8. Les Miserables
9. The Lion King
10. Rent....I guess....
I've also seen Wicked and Cats but refuse to acknowledge them as good (still can't believe when Wicked is done it will probably surpass POTO as the most successful stage show of all time....the tragedy within itself).
I'm still trying to see Spamalot (and The Drowsy Chaperone looks entertaining, but I'm not sure if I'd spend a ton of cash on it though).
