Nostalgium Arcanum - Episodes Tagged with “Phantom Of The Opera”

Darkman

Doug Lief — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:00:00 -0700

Who is Darkman? That question, posed by the film's marketing, is answered with a laundry list including creator Sam Raimi, actor Liam Neeson, and a slough of influences from The Shadow, to The Phantom of the Opera, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Batman, and many more. A true Frankenstein of a film lurching wildly from comic book action, to horror, to tragedy, to manic comedy, the movie walks a hard-to-resist tightrope that only Sam Raimi can pull off. We're joined by guest filmmaker Alex Sosin ("The Canyon") to peel back Darkman's many faces to explore what lies underneath.

Check out the teaser for The Canyon here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFFWbNbdtKA

Be sure to also check out our monthy musical podcast, "Playing By Ear" (https://playingbyear.fireside.fm) and our limited-run Jim Henson Series, "Still Muppeting" (patreon.com/stillloadingpod).

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Be sure to follow us on Instagram in particular since that's where we post bonus content, and on TikTok (@nostalgiumarcanum) for Doug's impressions.

Musical Credits:

Intro - Dark Flute (Jim Guthrie)
All score from Darkman by Danny Elfman

The Masque of the Red Death

Doug Lief — Sat, 26 Oct 2024 00:15:00 -0700

It's a bonus episode on top of a bonus episode! We're doing another Halloween reading, this time we're commemorating the Phantom of the Opera's favorite costume by revisiting Edgar Allen Poe's immortal classic, The Masque of the Red Death. The short story features Poe's gloomy mysterious prose, and strikes at our shared anxieties about pestilence and mortality.

Be sure to follow us on Instagram in particular since that's where we post bonus content, and on TikTok (@nostalgiumarcanum) for Doug's impressions.

Musical Credits:

Intro - Dark Flute (Jim Guthrie)
Leyndell, Royal Capital (Yuka Kitamura)
Edgar Allen Poe (Larry Grossman / Hal Hackady)

The Phantom Of The Opera (1925)

Doug Lief — Fri, 18 Oct 2024 00:15:00 -0700

We can't stay silent about the classic 1925 version of The Phantom of the Opera. From Lon Chaney's iconically inhuman make-up to his all-too-human performance, the film still thrills and chills nearly 100 years later. We're joined once again by writer/director of The Canyon, Alex Sosin, to venture into the depths below the Paris opera house and revel in the true face of what dwells within.

Check out the teaser for The Canyon here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFFWbNbdtKA

And if you want to watch The Canyon in its entirety check it out at the Twin Cities Film Festival or stream it here: https://twincitiesfilmfest.org/film-fest-movie/the-canyon/

To watch Phantom of the Opera itself (the version we're referring to in the cast) watch it here: https://youtu.be/TUamUHcxMVY?si=VpW4QjvN0tMfpaJJ

And if you want bonus Phantom '25 content, please subscribe to our friend Jala Prendes' podcast, Jala-Chan's Place, to hear us delve into the notable production and film preservation issues surrounding the film. That companion episode will release on October 25.

Be sure to follow us on Instagram in particular since that's where we post bonus content, and on TikTok (@nostalgiumarcanum) for Doug's impressions.

Musical Credits:

Intro - Dark Flute (Jim Guthrie)
Score from The Phantom of the Opera by Gustav Hinrichs
M.A.S.K. - Haim Saban / Shuki Levy