Bring Down the Chandelier!! - A Comparison Post

The real chandelier in the Palais Garnier
opera house.

     As mentioned previously, about 4 months ago my sister and I stumbled across a series of Phantom of the Opera stage performance comparison videos.  Each one lines up many different versions of critical (some not so) moments during the stage productions of "Phantom" from around the world.  I have no idea where all this footage is collected from, but it's vera vera interesting, and a vera quick way to lose an afternoon.

     Soo... for the next post, I thought it'd be fun to take a look at one of the much shorter, much more exciting comparison videos:  the grand chandelier crash!  For this breakdown, my sister, Rosy Danderfluff,  has offered her chandelier judging expertise, and between the two of us, we'll be giving each crash a rating of 1 to 5 red roses (with black satin ribbons, of course), 5 being the best and most fantabulous crash ever, "take me there now!", 1 being the equivalent of "My high school could do better than that; refund my money now and take me to Australia."

Without further ado...let it begin!!!

HAA HAAA HA!! AHH HA HA HA!!!!

(...... am I the only one who thinks it a little bothersome to have the Phantom laughing his head off when this happens?  Christine's just broken his heart in half, leading him to do this... wouldn't seem (to me at least) that he'd be in a giggly mood, even as a homicidal maniac...but I digress....)

Ok, seriously, here goes:

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1) Japan, 1988  (1 out of 5 ----- 2 out of 5)
Ruby:  This one just sort of floats its way to the bottom of the stage... quite anticlimactic.  The delay in the applause makes me laugh a little bit too.
Rosy:  Erm....


2) Canadian Tour, 1991  (3 out of 5 ----- 3 out of 5)
Ruby:  Better!  For a second it almost looked like it had actually hit Christine before Raoul had time to nab her.  The audience likes it too, methinks.  Listen to that applause!
Rosy:

3) Netherlands, 1993  (3 out of 5 ----- 2 out of 5)
Ruby:  Hard to compare this one from that angle.  Love the flashing lights and the giant flash at the end though...
Rosy:

4) Austria, 1993  (2 out of 5 ----- 1 out of 5)
Ruby:  Neat to see some stagehands dashing from behind the curtain to grab the chandelier as it touched down, but overall very tame.  Meh.
Rosy:  That was pitiful!  (Rosy's back, yay!)

5) Los Angeles, 1993  (1 out of 5 ----- 1 out of 5)
Ruby:  This Phantom is completely out of control.  I don't think even I've ever laughed that hard.  The chandelier itself falls rather slowly as well, at least from this angle.
Rosy:  "Heeerree I cooommee.... just a second...."

6) Canada, 1995  (3 out of 5 ----- 3 out of 5)

Ruby:  I don't have much to say about this one, but it is nice to see the really tall height it's dropped from.  With that Tarzan shout I half expected to see the phantom swinging in on the chandelier.
Rosy:  Meh.

7) Hamburg, Germany, 1999  (5 out of 5 ----- 5 out of 5)
Ruby:  Now we're getting somewhere!!  This one makes me giggle like a school girl!  Lightning fast.  Was that scream from an actor or an audience member?
Rosy:  GEE WHIZ!!

8) Belgium, 2000  (4 out of 5 ----- 4 out of 5)
Ruby:  Whew!  No stagehands catching that runaway light fixture.  I think something exploded just as it swung in.  Wow!
Rosy:  Thaaat was close.  Nice catch, Raoul.

9) Mexico, 2000  (4 out of 5 ----- 3 out of 5)
Ruby:  I still can't quite enjoy that crazy laughing.  Great speed, bonus points for Raoul's stylish dancing with Christine off the stage.  Stay classy, Mexico.
Rosy:  Annnd twirl!  Now run.  I liked the downward drop, but it really lost power as it swung into the stage.  Kinda breaks the laws of physics.

10) Spain, 2002  (3 out of 5 ----- 2 out of 5)
Ruby:  Solid.
Rosy:  What's with all the camera angles?

11) Stuttgart, Germany, 2002  (4 out of 5 ----- 4 out of 5)
Ruby:  More German chandeliers, yay!  The Germans really play around with their maniacal laughing, makes me laugh too.  Again, great speed, but the slow down into the stage was extremely apparent.  I know the actors need a fighting chance to survive the evening, but I'll have to give this one 4 out of 5.
Rosy:  Is he yelling "Freedom!"??

12) Hungary, 2003  (3 out of 5 ----- 3 out of 5)
Ruby:  What just happened??  Different staging very disorienting, much.
Rosy:  Ditto...  What's with the tiny plume of smoke?  *poof*

13) World Tour  (3 out of 5 ----- 3 out of 5)
Ruby:  Okay, I know a tour must be tricky to stage a crash on, but that seemed very short lived.  Kudos for trying, but, for me it's just a 3 out of 5.
Rosy:  Very mechanically jerky at first, but it smoothed out towards the end.

14) Essen, Germany, 2005  (3 out of 5 ----- 2 out of 5)
Ruby:  Maybe it's the distance, but this one definitely didn't seem as fast as the other German productions.  I thought you were different, Germany.  *sniuI really did.
Rosy:  Freedom!!!!!

15) London, 2006  (3 out of 5 ----- 2 out of 5)
Ruby:  Kind of hard to tell from so close up, but the detail on the chandelier is lovely.
Rosy:

16) Las Vegas, 2006  (5 out of 5 ----- 5 out of 5)
Ruby:  Now this one is really interesting.  In the Las Vegas production they've inserted the chandelier crash into the Don Juan scene, just after Christine rips off his mask.  Much like the movie, yes?  No crazy laughing, just a "BRING DOWN THE CHANDELIER!!!" + Great BIG chandelier + vertical drop, no swinging to bother with + flashing lights and blackout just as it's about to hit the crowd = Muahahaha!!!  Priceless (in all seriousness though, did he bring it down with magical powers or something? how does that work?)
Rosy:  YES!!!!  Acting was a bit overwrought, but come on!!

17) Broadway, 2007  (1 out of 5 ----- 1 out of 5)
Ruby:  Can't compare to the others, sorry.  Too slow.
Rosy:  Big, but not fast enough.

18) Poland, 2008  (5 out of 5 ----- 4 out of 5)
Ruby:  I don't get the electrical sparks (I thought this was before the remodel?), but the crackling/crashing noises + sparks flying EVERYWHERE + another BIG chandelier + flashing lights and blackout = Fantabuloso!  Especially with the sound and lighting effects
Rosy:  Crashing crystals, awesome!  Don't like da sparks.  Not realistic.

(Editor's note:  Sparks could theoretically occur if the flames in the candles came into anything flamable, like, say, certain kinds of paint or decoration, right?  Maybe I'm wrong on that, dunno)

19) US Tour, 2010  (1 out of 5 ----- 1 out of 5)
Ruby:  Boy, shame about the tours.  I think they really struggle to get an impressive chandelier crash while on the road.
Rosy:  It's too eeassy.. this is too eaasssyy.

20) 25th Anniversary Concert, 2011  (3 out of 5 ----- 2 out of 5)
Ruby:  This one is tricky.  Because of the Royal Albert Hall location, I imagine it was going to be practically impossible to get a swinging chandelier this time round.  What they were able to accomplish was fantastic with the limitations in mind.  Sound effects and fireworks really are the way to go when livening up a crash.  But, at least in my book, I'd rather see a pitifully slow chandelier swinging crash than have none at all.  Maybe strobing the lights in addition to the sparks and noise would have added that perfect touch and element of unknown.
Rosy: Really?

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     Overall...  I think we both agree the Hamburg and Las Vegas productions were our favorites... though Poland does offer a lot of new and exciting special effects.  I think having the lights flashing on and off, leaving the audience in the dark definitely helps to add a little bit of panic to the situation.  If we can't see what's going on, things get much, much scarier.

     The unknown element can be absolutely terrifying when used correctly (let alone when you have a one ton lighting fixture hurtling toward you at top speed *cough*).  Not knowing what we're up against, or not being able to size up our enemies, so to speak.  I'd even argue that's why so many of the most scary villains and monsters out there are hardly ever seen, be it the weeping angels, leprechauns (don't ask), the oods, or those creepy little dudes in "Don't be Afraid of the Dark".  The Phantom himself makes full use of shadows and mirrors in order not to be seen, to be an unknown; so it's really neat to see productions making use of that same element of mystery and blindness to smooth out rough patches and unimpressive speeds in the chandelier crash.  Anyway, that's my spiel, and I'm sticking to it.  More strobes, please!!

I really wanted to do this post to see what others thought!  What was your favorite(s) crash?  Plan to go to Germany anytime soon? (kidding. kidding.)  Any least favorites?  What do you think of the maniacal Phantom giggle fit?  The comment monster is hungry.