The more work I do, the more work I make. Go me.

So, originally, I was planning to do this Phantom project on English-language materials only. This is hypocritical, I know, since the original novel is French, but cut me some slack; I don't speak French, so I have to stick with what I know. I can't really have much of an insight into a piece of literature if I can't read most of the words. Up to this point (yes, this highly advanced point of five days or whatever into things), that hasn't been a problem; I've tripped over a couple of Spanish language films, but they were mostly in the bad pulp film arena, without having much to contribute that the English-language films wouldn't. So I wasn't worrying about it, until I encountered a film that's made me reconsider my stance and praise the gods of subtitling: Ye Bang Ge Sheng.

This is the Chinese version of Phantom, and its title translates roughly to "Midnight Song". There are seven or eight versions of it, from 1937 all the way up to this year. The original 1937 version was a massive cultural event over there from what I can understand, being a hugely popular hit that incorporated elements of the 1925 Lon Chaney version but was magnificently acted and adapted for Eastern culture. The music is supposedly amazing, and each subsequent version has kept some of the original score because of this.

That's probably reason enough to include the films on my list, but as I'm looking at plot synopses, the ideas are practically drowning me. I don't want to say too much in case I'm misreading a translation or something, but there are certain key differences in the plot--for example, it's not a young woman opera singer that the Phantom takes under his wing, but a young tenor--that make it almost irresistible. The whole point of this project is to examine interpretation and the psychology thereof, so a chance to see how an Asian culture's view differs from the Western? Oh, yes, please.

So, despite the fact that it's going to be a huge pain in the ass to import copies, and despite the fact that unless I'm lucky the translations and subtitles probably won't be very good, and despite the fact that I'm opening an entirely new can of worms--another entire paper's worth, really--by bringing in a radically different cultural interpretation... man. I cannot pass this up. At least the original version and the highly-touted 1995 version are going to have to be added to my list.

I think I'm just setting myself up to never finish, ever.

Edited to add: I just found a further two Phantom films, which are both takarazuke (a form of Japanese theatre wherein all roles are played by women) productions, and which are musicals--not the Webber musical, either, but the Yeston! My glee is uncontainable.