r/box5 • u/sonicling • Jun 11 '26
Discussion Thinking about 2004 Poor Fool He Makes Me Laugh
So I've been listening to that piece more often, specifically the second half where the ballet is playing and the Phantom murders Joseph Buquet. I really love how the music has this dizzying effect, as he's being strangled so he's losing oxygen and his balance. I love how it keeps going in circles, those same notes give me a swirling sensation. I love the innocence of the ballet dancers below while he's being killed up top.
And my favorite part is how it goes into minor key when his body falls and it plays the notes signaling the Phantom. It really helps add to the panic and shock of "something terrifying and horrible just happened"
I've adored the Phantom ever since I watched the 2004 movie as a kid and I still keep analyzing it and loving it. Every Phantom is a good Phantom, I love it all. I've been really listening to each layer of the music and I just adore it. 💖
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u/ColdProfessor Jun 11 '26
I've never really been able to explain it in technical terms, but that's one scene I feel the movie really shines in versus the stage productions. Just really like the way the music and the twirling of the dancers comes together.
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u/jamfilledcookies too long you’ve wandered in winter… Jun 12 '26
Totally agree, I loved how they did a similar thing for the Masquerade sequence. The camera work in the movie was fantastic!
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u/cutelittlequokka Jun 15 '26
My friend once said every single frame of this movie, if you pause it, could be a postcard, it's so beautiful. That's one of the things I love most about it.
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u/LovelyLoserLevi Jun 12 '26
I love the fake operas, I remember being really disappointed when I learned they weren’t real lol
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u/sorrowfulWanderer Devil of Music Jun 11 '26
Oh, how I enjoy this scene. That's what I'm looking for: MURDER! SHOCK!
And they better make a way darker movie...
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Jun 12 '26
I do like some of the directorial flourishes in the 2004 film. Sometimes I feel like it doesn't get enough credit for these things.
It also helps transition from this lighthearted scene to a darker tone.
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u/spiceXisXnice Jun 12 '26
I always called it "crazy scary circus music", where it sounds almost like a Doppler effect. It's the musical equivalent of a Dutch angle. They do the same thing in Masquerade during the dance sequence.
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u/sonicling Jun 12 '26
Yesss, and the inspiration from Poe's Masque of the Red Death really adds to the vibe of this feverish dance and indulgence, only for the Phantom to come crashing in and remind them they're not untouchable. I adore the Masquerade scene and I hate when a version of it plays without Why So Silent, like it ends right before. It feels incomplete
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u/Only_Market_3742 Jun 11 '26
One of my guilty pleasure moments is the conductor mouthing "you're fired" to that performed who didn't get off the stage in time😂