The removal of the mask

[Karma]

I don't know whether it me being picky but one thing is bothering me.
When he first takes Christine down into his layer and she removes his mask he uses his hand as a sheild yet at the end when she removes the mask most of his face is difigured, well into his hair line and his ose and eye are clearly damaged, (does his hair also change colour) how does that work, it seemed to me that when she took off the mask she took off like a wig prothetic thing so why would he need to sheild his face with his hand earlier in the film

And surely the way his eye is disfigured would be seen under the mask anyway

[Karma]

I watched it in slow mo and she does take off a wig but it doesn't explain the sideburns he sports for much of the film and the fact that his skin goes from super smooth to reach bumpy moments before she removes it

[The Phantom]

In the Opera version of Phantom, the actor playing the leading role of Phantom had his disfigured makeup on the whole time. In the movie I think, Gerard only had on the other makeup to make his face look burnt and stuff during the times he was missing his mask. That’s probably what caused that, and then he was wearing a wig at the same time as well, to cover up his frayed hair.

Well, he could just have really dark facial hair?

[Karma]

he has side burns in the areas that are all disfigured which seemed odd either he has an amazing make up artist or it was just continuity anyway it was the only thing that really bugged me about the whole film

[strange phantom]

I really liked the move a lot......but yeah.....I wasn't too fond of the hair changing colour at all. I was also confused the first time I saw the movie too b/c of the extreme of the deformity at the end of the movie.I was like "wouldn't u have seen that through that mask"l, especially around the eyes.But then the fact that the phantom was wearing make-up to hide the deformity explained that.So now it makes sense to me.

[The Phantom]

Phantom's hair at the end of the movie, during the unmasking of Don Juan Triumphant, is sort of grey and colorless. I wouldn't exactly call it blond thought because it was far from it.

[YoungGiry]

As the Phantom said earlier, Erik is wearing a wig which Christine pull of at the end of Point of No Return. But there are annoying inconsistences that none of us can explain away.

[Ataraxia]

Not just that, but it was a Hollywood version of a play. They have tricks of their own and bloopers that they don't catch. So, as Rachel just said, none of us can explain it. Though it never really bothered me that much about his facial deformities with and without the mask, I had thought about it. But I never dwelled on it much. I guess I didn't pay enough attention... LoL

[composer15]

I believe the reason the first time she takes the mask off he covers his face with his hand and his wig doesnt fall off is because of the mask he was wearing. In Don Juan the mask has a wire that goes around his head and would therefore make his wig fall off because it was attatched to his hair. I think it was great that they showed his actual hair color. In the musical they also show his real hair and it is the same awful color. The Phantom is suppose to look bad not handsom, its the whole point and plot of the story. Also in the carnival scene they show him when he was a child and how his hair looked. Of course they couldn't make his hair look like the wig so they had to show you the Phantoms true self or identity at the end or climax of the movie. This is just my opinion. potoo7dr put what I'm trying to say very nicely.

Much Love

:mask:

[phantoms_nemo]

I hated how one moment he was perfectly fine then Christine rips off the mask off and Voila, Bumpy skin, droopy eye, red skin, ALOT OF HAIR MISSING AND COLOR CHANGE to name a few. I had to stop the movie and rewind, play in slow mo and then my bro pointed out "look hair came off". They could have done better.

[masquerade_dancer]

If you notice when the Phantom is getting ready for his opera, right when he sings "seal my fate tonight" look at the bottom of the screen and you can see wigs, make-up, etc.. There is even a mask with sideburns. And just as POTO07dr stated, the wig isn't attached to the white mask and that's why his wig isn't ripped off the first time. :)

[phantom_phan8]

All well said...by true Phans. I belive there is an explanation for almost everything.You guys have covered most, no need for me to burst in flailing my arms. The reason why people question is because they don't see all the facts...like the wigs and make up. Some people just dont bother to look into the background. Everything was there you just have to look a little bit!

[Luciana]

I think they should have made the fact that there was a wig and makeup more obvious in the PoNR. Maybe zoomed in on her hand a little or slow down a tiny bit so the fact wasn't hidden in the hustle. It was very good anyway, but for those of us who don't have slow motion, we have to sit really close to the TV and squint to see these things.

[TeeJay]

Oooh I dunno about the wig thing...That would have been a bit wierd if they did that. After all the phantom is a magician that can disguise almost anything.

[ForbiddenRomance]

Originally posted by Gaston Leroux
Phantom's hair at the end of the movie, during the unmasking of Don Juan Triumphant, is sort of grey and colorless. I wouldn't exactly call it blond thought because it was far from it.

It looked blonde to me too....I have to go look at a pic....

[getzell]

I found out that pauseing it just after the mask is off his hair is blonde and durring that intier scene he didn't have sidburns

[AAW0487]

I think it would have been a lot better in the movie if they had just made Gerard Butler wear the make up the whole time or at least made it look a little bit more noticeable. I have heard many people comment on him looking normal at times in the movie, but suddenly after Christine rips his mask off at the end of PONR he looks deformed, and his hair looks kinda gray in a few places.

[HunterX]

I noticed that during the end of Past the Point of No Return when she takes off his mask, before she takes it off, his face and hair look normal, then it goes to them singing then back to his face right before she takes it off, and you can see his hair suddenly changed to a blonde-ish color, and there were bumps by his ear.. Ive seen the movie a good 20 times now, so im always disappointed how he goes from good face to bad face all of a sudden in between a few words of All I ask of you.
Still cool though, I love the lighting they put on his face when she pulls it off at the end to make it look really read and bumpy.. creepy, I still cringe sometimes when I see it. Then when they plunge to the prison of his mind,(ahem) the basement, its not as red anymore, then it kind of turns a bit red, but is basically just flesh color from there on.

[o_O;]

I actually like his 'blonde' hair... it looks hot. But well, he's simply wearing a wig and make-up and it goes off with it when Christine takes off the mask. It got me stumped for a while too, but then I figured it out.

[ChristineD]

Originally posted by Professor Plum
Phantom's hair at the end of the movie, during the unmasking of Don Juan Triumphant, is sort of grey and colorless. I wouldn't exactly call it blond thought because it was far from it.

I agree with you here, what I saw appeared to me more of a grey tone than blonde (though I see others' POV, of course).

To be honest, I was disappointed with the unmasking as a whole. His deformity was supposedly that upon which legends were based. However, his face (though certainly imperfect) in my opinion should have been far more disfigured than it was in the film. The stage version IMO is a much better representation of a face which earned "a mother's fear and loathing".

[bigdramaqueen15mlh]

I think it is more symbolic than you think, because Christine think the Phantom is an angel, and usally angels looked good, but at the end of PoNR, when the Phantom is singing all i ask of you, Christine realize that he human and start to see the Deformies :tp6: :cd7:

[MystMoonstruck]

There are some continuity errors, true, and the makeup (hair included) does seem to vary. But, in the "Point..." number, I think it is clear that Erik has used makeup, a wig and a facial prosthetic, all of which are ripped away.

Perhaps the perception notion is a good one to consider; his appearance worsens as Christine sees him in a different light, realizing that he murders and destroys. That's an interesting approach.

[masquerading rose]

As we all know, Erik isn't only physically deformed. The removal of the mask not only revealed his face, but his heart, his mind... It revealed Erik. He was no longer this angel, or the Opera Ghost. He was now a mentally, socially, emotionally, and physically deformed man with alusty obsession. Yes I do think there is more to the unmasking then just revealing his face. I mean, he doesn't just stand there, and continues to sing like it was no big deal. What does he do? He drops a chandilier, and Kidnapps Christine. In the proccess, he kills a lot of people, almost kills Raoul and burns down the opera house.