The Phantom of the Opera – Vinegar Syndrome (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1998
Director: Dario Argento
Writers: Gérard Brach, Dario Argento
Cast: Julian Sands, Asia Argento, Andrea Di Stefano, Nadia Rinaldi, Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni, István Bubik, Lucia Guzzardi, Aldo Massasso, Zoltan Barabas, Gianni Franco

Release Date: January 20th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 103 Minutes 47 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / HDR10 Dolby Vision
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 Italian, DTS-HD 5.1 English
Subtitles: English, English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free (UHD), Region A (Blu-Ray)
Retail Price: $59.98

"In late nineteenth-century Paris, strange things are happening at the Opera House. Legends abound of a mysterious phantom who, raised from infancy by rats, inhabits the subterranean caverns deep beneath the famous building, occasionally emerging above ground to wreak bloody havoc. Enchanted by the voice of the beautiful Christine Daaé, an understudy in the upcoming production of Romeo and Juliet, the phantom quickly brings the singer under his spell, setting himself on a collision course with her would-be suitor, Raoul. As the gala performance of Romeo and Juliet draws near, and Christine falls ever deeper under his influence, the phantom hatches a diabolical plan to secure his young protégé the starring role—and claim her as his, once and for all." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD), 4.5/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative."

The Phantom of the Opera comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 72.8 GB

Feature: 72.2 GB

The source is in excellent shape and has never looked better on home media. Flesh tones look healthy, colors are nicely saturated, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction.

The Phantom of the Opera comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45 GB

Feature: 29.8 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 5/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 Italian, DTS-HD 5.1 English)

This release comes with two audio options: a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in Italian and a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English. Both audio tracks sound excellent. Dialogue always comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, ambient sounds are well represented, and the score sounds appropriately robust. Included are removable English subtitles for the Italian language track, removable English SDH for the English language track, and an English subtitle track for text that's in Italian when watching with the English language track.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an audio commentary with film historians Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include alternate English-language titles (7 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo with text in English), an archival interview with producer Giuseppe Colombo titled Welcome to the Opera (18 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with production designer Antonello Geleng titled In the Phantom Cave (18 minutes 13 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an archival interview with director/screenwriter Dario Argento titled Behind the Red Curtain (18 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with camera operator Marco Pieroni titled Behind the Camera (12 minutes 28 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with editor Anna Napoli titled Like a Thunder (20 minutes 34 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with special effects artist Sergio Stivaletti titled Opera of Wounds (19 minutes 47 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with actor Gianni Franco titled Acts of Fear (10 minutes 59 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), an interview with actress Nadia Rinaldi titled Of Screams and Arias (22 minutes 32 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with removable English subtitles), and an audio commentary with Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson.

Other extras include reversible cover art and a spot gloss slipcover (limited to 6,000 units).

Summary:

Dario Argento’s The Phantom of the Opera is an adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s novel of the same name. Gaston Leroux’s source novel has been adapted numerous times, notably a 1925 adaptation starring Lon Chaney and a 1943 adaptation starring Claude Rains. Although many films have remained faithful to the source novel, there have been several films that are more of a loose adaptation, like Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge and The Phantom Lover. That said, Dario Argento’s The Phantom of the Opera falls somewhere in the middle of these two examples.

The Phantom of the Opera is a story that most will be familiar with even if they have never seen any adaptation or read Gaston Leroux’s novel. With that in mind, I will not be providing a synopsis for Dario Argento’s The Phantom of the Opera, a film that retains the core elements of the source material. Something that sets The Phantom of the Opera apart from Dario Argento’s films that preceded it is that, for the first time, he worked from a source that was not an idea that originated with him.

Whether through his words or watching his films, it's clear that Universal's classic monster films of the 1930s influenced Dario Argento. These classic monster films established a foundational template for horror cinema that filmmakers still draw upon today. While Dario Argento’s adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera certainly incorporates the horror elements from its source material, the most unexpected aspect is the film's pronounced romanticism.

Dario Argento’s adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera features a notable change in the phantom's appearance compared to other film versions. Whereas the majority of The Phantom of the Opera adaptations feature a disfigured protagonist, Dario Argento’s protagonist is attractive outwardly but dark inside. His character was abandoned as an infant and raised by rats, which he emulates when he expresses his rage. Julian Sands (Warlock) plays the role of the phantom and delivers a powerful performance.

Asia Argento (The Stendhal Syndrome) is cast in the role of Christine, an aspiring opera singer whom the phantom becomes infatuated with. Out of all the films she’s made with her father, this performance is her weakest, and most of the burden of the blame goes to the screenwriters, who do not give her enough to work with. That said, most of the performances are best described as serviceable.

Despite being a polished film where the set design looks exemplary and the visuals exhibit the stylish flourishes one expects from Dario Argento, The Phantom of the Opera will be a hard sell for even the most diehard Argento fan. Other areas that are lacking include a narrative that fails to build any momentum and special effects that have not aged well. An area where The Phantom of the Opera excels is Ennio Morricone’s score, which perfectly underscores the mood. The Phantom of the Opera would mark the fifth and final time Ennio Morricone worked with Dario Argento. Ultimately, Dario Argento’s The Phantom of the Opera is a film that’s never going to top anyone’s best-of list, recommended only for Dario Argento completists.

Vinegar Syndrome gives Dario Argento’s The Phantom of the Opera its best home media release to date. Recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer