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The Other Man of the Thousand Faces |
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In the Kopit teleplay, both on the TV miniseries and in the live show, Erik switches masks according to whatever suits his mood at the moment. This section is an attempt at showing each of the masks from the Saban Entertainment movie accompanied by some brief factoids about each mask.
I. The Death Mask This one has a skeleton face. It is the very first impression that both the audience and the poor unsuspecting Joseph Buquet have of the mysterious Phantom. Follows along well with the orignal story by Leroux except with a clever twist, no? In this particular re-telling, the Phantom apparently made it his habit to "haunt" the cellars this way, in an attempt to scare away possible intruders. For the unfortunate Joseph Buquet, this would be the first time that the phantom actually had to follow through with the threat. The meaning of this mask should be self-explanatory. Another side-note: This mask was also sometimes used for playing a devil or demon. The idea dates back to Medieval Europe, when the bubonic plague so devastated the culture that devils, demons, and death became one in the same. It could have contributed to the fear and persecution of Erik - who had been born with a "death's head" according to Leroux - even during the 19th century. II. The Plain Mask This is the next impression the audience gets of Erik, this time in a plain mask. It is solid white and covers the top half of his face. For most of the movie from this moment on, this is the mask we see Erik wear most of the time. The plainness of the mask is what makes it most... interesting. They are engineered to exaggerate any and every little facial gesture of anyone who wears the mask. It worked quite well in this movie, with a talented, diversified actor like Charles Dance. Every little expression of suprise, amusement, anger, and love Erik feels are magnified throughout most of this movie - possibly adding, to its popularity as a romance story (versus the horror elements that cinema had been focusing on for decades). III. The Sun Mask (Mask of Apollo) This is the shiney gold-colored mask Erik is wearing when he hears Christine Daee sing for the very first time. It is after business hours and Christine, who is living in the Opera House (without permission and without paying rent), takes a moment to dream of how things could be when she sees the empty stage. Little does she know that there is another resident there! I find this scene a rarity and I love it - Erik sitting behind a dressing room mirror, powdering his chin! Pardon me if I identified this mask incorrectly. I've searched rather unsuccessfully. I stumbled upon a mask-shop website with a series of sun-masks on display. All of them resembled this one very closely. Additionally, Apollo - the god of the sun and of music in ancient Greece - was also attractive and sometimes vain. I like to think that this is a Sun Mask and especially one of Apollo, because of the context of this scene and this portrayal of Erik (and his love for all things beautiful... including what he finds beautiful about himself). IV. The Black Mask Tattling on my ignorance here. I can't seem to find much that tells me exactly what mask this is. The closest I was able to find was the mask of Il Dottore, of all characters. Il Dottore, from what I understand, was a clownish scholar, a sort of babbling pseudo-intellectual. However, I did find one source (to be posted as soon as I find the library reference book again) which stated that sometimes Il Dottore was a villain. All I know in this movie is, whenever Erik is wearing this mask, LOOK OUT! He is not a happy Opera Ghost! This is the mask he wears when he carries out his revenge on La Carlotta for the mean trick she had played on Christine Daee..... V. The Pierrot Mask This mask is one of my personal favorites. Pierrot is a French mime, a beautiful but sad clown with a broken heart. Usually gentle, he has been known to commit horrible acts during moments of extreme sadness, as dramatized in the opera I Pagliacci. In most stories, Pierrot is in love with a feminine clown Columbine, but Columbine is already happily in love with the Harlequin. This story of unrequited love creates a "wheels within wheels" element whenever I see Erik wearing this mask. In this movie, Erik wears this mask after Christine abandons him upon seeing his face. After literally destroying his lair with his own bare hands, he sits alone and wonders if it all was so bad after all because he could hear music and he heard her sing. At this point, Erik realizes he is dying of a broken heart. |