The Phantom (Widescreen)

Came within time frame specified. It was well packaged. Widescreen format. SD DVD...I wish they would have had this in BLURAY but for $5.00 you can't beat the deal !!!

THE PHANTOM is not a huge-budget motion picture. Neither did it fare well at the box office upon its release in 1996 (it only grossed $17 mil of its $45 mil budget). The film is campy and lighthearted, and doesn't take itself too seriously. Yet despite it's apparent faults and shortcomings, it is in no way the "bad film" which which many perceive it to be. I first saw the picture 10 years after its debut back in 2006. And as far as I'm concerned, the film GETS BETTER with age. It's fun, colorful, action-packed and entertaining. One of the more striking strengths of the film are its impressive sets and excellent use of color and lighting (I especially love the look of the Skull Cave interior, and several of the chase-scenes shot at night after the THE PHANTOM races through the park with the police close on his heels). Very well done. To get the full effect of this strength however, Blu-ray is really the only way to go. Another feature of THE PHANTOM which helps lift it from Z-movie to B-movie status, is its loyalty to it's comic strip counterpart. While not perfect in every respect, the film makes a VERY STRONG attempt at being loyal to Lee Faulk's creation. Skull belts, skull rings, skull caves, old-jungle-sayings and "For those who came in late..." are all trademarks of the original funny papers Phantom. The 30s era costume and set design are also very well done. So, if you're looking for a truly "bad" film, you can do much, much worse than this - believe me. If you take a little of the colorful, campy, carefree, made-for-tv spirit of Adam West's BATMAN; added to some of the vintage, pulp-style atmosphere and mystique of THE ROCKETEER or THE SHADOW; with a sprinkling of some of the action and jungle adventure of INDIANA JONES; you have all the right ingredients for a film like THE PHANTOM - how could anyone possibly not enjoy it? In time, i think this film will garner quite a loyal following. I know I'm one.

This is a fun, precursor to contemporary "Super-Hero" movies. It's a lark and well worth a watch!

Great movie. None of the bad language most movies have.

had the movie years ago on VHS,but noticed it was available on DVD.I had enjoyed this movie for years.