Sándor Korvin (Maximilian Schell), the conductor at the Budapest Opera House, is training his wife Elena (Jane Seymour (Actress)) for the role of Marguerite in Faust. Her debut is met with mockery and a scathing review orchestrated by the vindictive Baron Hunyadi (Jeremy Kemp), whose advances she spurned. Elena is Driven to Suicide, and the grieving Sándor confronts the critic who wrote the review. He kills the man, but a fire is started in which Sándor's face is horribly disfigured. He retreats to the sewers beneath the opera house, where he becomes the masked Phantom of the Opera. Years later, a new production of Faust is being put on at the opera house. A young chorus girl named Maria Gianelli (also played by Seymour) catches the eye of Sándor, for she is the spitting image of his dead wife. He begins to tutor her, but is infuriated to learn that she is falling in love with the director of the opera, a man named Michael Hartnell (Michael York)
This film has examples of:
- Adaptational Backstory Change: Once again. Here the Phantom is a conductor who was disfigured instead of a genius born deformed.
- Adaptational Location Change: This adaptation moves the story from France to Hungary.
- Adaptational Nationality: The characters are Hungarian rather than French (or Swedish in Christine's case)
- Adaptation Name Change: In this version, the Phantom's name is Sándor instead of Erik, the Christine character is called Maria, and the Raoul character is Michael. The Carlotta stand-in is known as Brigida.
- Agent Scully: Michael mocks the idea of a opera ghost, claiming that every opera house has one to explain every little misfortune that occurs. He drops this attitude after he’s attacked and Maria is abducted.
- Anonymous Benefactor: Sándor is this to Maria, giving her gowns and singing lessons while she is unaware of who he is.
- Battle Amongst the Flames: In the beginning, when Sándor attacks the critic in his office, he causes a fire after throwing a burning rod onto the carpet.
- Beautiful Singing Voice: There are several examples, naturally.
- Elena is genuinely talented, but held back by her stage fright and general fear that she will never be good enough. This proves to be her undoing after her debut is sabotaged.
- Brigida Bianchi is the most experienced singer, but she's also The Prima Donna. So much so that it affects her acting skills and nearly costs her the job.
- Maria is the most talented of the three, but comes from a very poor background. This makes her eager to accept opportunites that will further her career, and leaves her vulnerable to the machinations of both the Phantom and Baron Hunyadi
- Because You Were Nice to Me: This is implied to be the reason why Lajos, the rat catcher, assists the Phantom. Sándor was the head conductor at the opera house before his wife's death, and treated everyone there with a good deal of respect. Lajos is also shown to be appreciative of Elena's singing. This, coupled with the fact that no one really likes Baron Hunyadi, and it becomes easy to see why he'd help the Phantom with his revenge.
- Composite Character: Almost a prerequisite, considering it's an adaptation.
- Baron Hunyadi shares traits with the stage managers, the Count Philipe du Chagny, and Joseph Buquet. He is the patron/owner of the opera house, has a business partnership with Michael, and meets his death at the Phantom's hands.
- Lajos shares characteristics with both the Persian and the rat-catcher of the novel.
- Creepy Crows:
- A flock of crows attacks Baron Hunyadi, resulting in his death.
- Elena also sees one flapping it's wings right before her suicide.
- Crusading Widow: Sándor, who seeks to avenge his wife's death, punishing all those responsible for her downfall.
- Dramatic Unmask: Maria pulls Sándor's mask off when he has his guard down, and he reacts with rage, telling her that now that she has seen his face she can never leave him.
- Driven to Suicide: After her disastrous debut as Marguerite, Elena throws herself in the river.
- Exact Eavesdropping: Michael just happens to overhear two washerwomen discussing what happened to the last poor woman who starred in Faust. Unlike most examples of this trope, Michael has no reason to hide from them. So he approaches them and questions them further. They happily gossip with him and reveal several key facts that point to the Phantom's true identity, and his current motives.
- Eye Scream: Crows peck out the eyes of Baron Hunyadi.
- Facial Horror: Sándor's face is hideously disfigured by both fire and acid from a jar that topples over during his fight with the critic.
- Falling Chandelier of Doom: In the finale, the Phantom cuts the chain on the chandelier and it falls.
- Faux Affably Evil: Oscar Krause, the critic hired by Hunyadi. When Sándor confronts him he appears horrified at learning of Elena’s suicide… only to pull a gun on Sándor when he tries to force him to write a confession. He even taunts Sándor, referring to his wife as a third rate Prima Donna.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Sándor is angered when he learns of Michael and Maria's romantic relationship. He threatens Michael with death if he doesn't stay away from Maria.
- Hope Spot:
- Maria very nearly escapes the Phantom’s lair on her own merit, fleeing through the sewers and ascending a staircase… Until she rounds a corner and is subdued by Sándor.
- When captured, Hunyadi attempts to bargain for his life by claiming that he will redeem Elena’s name in the public eye. The Phantom initially appears to agree… before trapping him in a carriage and setting the crows upon him.
- Identical Stranger: Maria, who looks exactly like Sándor's dead wife Elena (due to being played by the same actress), though there is apparently no familial connection between them.
- I Have You Now, My Pretty: Baron Hunyadi attempts this on Maria at the masked ball... only to be captured and taken to the Phantom alongside her. It also qualifies as a Villainous Rescue, as Maria really isn't much better off with the Phantom.
- The Lost Lenore: Elena Korvin. She dies early on, and it's Sándor's desire to avenge her that drives the plot. He also becomes obsessed with another woman because she looks just like Elena.
- Love Makes You Evil: Sándor's love for his wife is what drives him to wreak vengeance on those who destroyed her.
- Masking the Deformity: Inevitable, given the source material. Sándor is forced to cover face after the fire, and his former life ends as he takes up the mantle of the Phantom. While he doesn't bear this deformity from birth like the original, he still has a massive Freak Out when Maria unmasks him late into the film.
- Meaningful Echo: In an early scene, Sándor tells Elena "Your hand is trembling. All great singers are nervous in their first role. That's a wonderful sign." Later he says the same thing to Maria, who he sees as Elena's Replacement Goldfish.
- Menacing Mask: A unusual twist in that this Phantom has two different masks.
- First, there's the one seen in the image above. It's a prop created by Sándor, that Lajos steals from the theater and gives back to the Phantom.
- Later, Sándor switches to a wax mask that bears a much closer resemblance to his original face. Maria burns this one out of spite near the film's climax.
- The Mourning After: Sándor never gets over the loss of Elena and devotes his life to avenging her death.
- Mummies at the Dinner Table: It's revealed that Sándor has kept his wife's body with him in his underground lair for years.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: Sándor threatens to do this to any man who tries to date Maria.Sándor: It's over with Hartnell.Maria: Yes.Sándor: You'll never see him again?Maria: Of course not.Sándor: If you ever see him, Maria, he will die. If you see any other man, he will die.
- Not a Mask: When Maria removes the Phantom's mask, he asks her sarcastically if she thinks his disfigured face is another mask. He grabs her hands and digs her nails into his face, daring her to try to take it off. This scene was taken directly from the original book.
- Oh, Crap!: Baron Hunyadi is stunned to find out that not only does Sándor still lives on, he is the very Phantom that’s been committing the recent thefts and misfortunes around the opera house.
- Replacement Goldfish: Sándor sees Maria as this due to her striking resemblance to Elena, though she does not return his feelings.
- Roaring Rampageof Revenge: Sándor manages this against two of the three men who caused Elena’s death. However, when the results leave him permanently disfigured, he is forced to seek out a much more gradual revenge against Hunyadi.
- Sanity Slippage: His wife's suicide and his disfigurement make Sándor lose his mind.
- Shrinking Violet: Elena was this, in stark contrast to Maria’s Plucky Girl attitude.
- Sleeping with the Boss: Elena refuses to do this with Baron Hunyadi, and in response he ensures that her performance in Faust is mercilessly mocked and ridiculed.
- Thoroughly Mistaken Identity: Sándor begins to believe Maria is Elena and refers to her as such. She angrily responds by saying she's not who he thinks she is, but he asks her if she is so sure of that. He plans to throw his wife's corpse (preserved by him for years) into the river, so when it is found it will be assumed it is Maria's. In Sándor's warped mind, Maria's old self will have then "died" and thus thereafter she will truly "be" Elena.
- Thousand-Yard Stare: Sándor understandably wears one after he sees Elena’s body in the morgue.
- You Have Failed Me: After finding out that his assistant failed to stop Maria from escaping, Sándor kills him.
