Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

Time has been kind to this glitter rock musical-horror movie from a young Brian De Palma, who both directed and penned the screenplay; audiences in 1974, however, were bewildered by its mixture of decadent camp and Gothic kitsch, and shunned the picture. Plot is a grab-bag of Faust and "Phantom of the Opera" highlights, with music-biz impresario Paul Williams (a latter-day Dorian Gray) stealing the cantata of a sensitive singer-songwriter, but not exactly living to regret it. Williams' super-oily Swan forms an uneasy partnership with the musician, who has been maimed by a vinyl record press (!) and now wears an owl's head helmet over his disfigured face. Williams, who also composed the hit-and-miss score, saunters through the film in gravelly monotone; he never quite cuts loose, which is in direct contrast to De Palma's fruit-loop handling. The mismatch of ingredients can be felt elsewhere, too, particularly in the character of the Phantom (who remains a cloaked enigma). The film, though with flashes of interest, has gloppy, dated color and disappointing musical performances, however its view of world domination via rock music is amusing, as are the various cartoony characters dotting the scenario. ** from ****

An early, atypical outing for horror/thriller expert Brian De Palma, PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE works in many ways that the similarly-themed ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (a film that left me cold) does not. A hilarious combination of a horror classic, a musical show, and a comedy with plenty of laughs and humorous situations along the way, this undiscovered classic remains pretty much forgotten these days, relegated to late-night television slots and forgotten in favour of the Tim Curry-starrer, which was released the following year. De Palma's skilled direction is already in evidence this early in his career, with plenty of stylish camera tricks, pans, split screen, even some hand-held camera work at one point that comes off successfully, plus one or two techniques that remain highly original.The insane storyline works on many levels and throws in bits of The Picture of Dorian Grey, The Phantom of the Opera, and Faust, with a few of De Palma's expected Hitchcock homages along the way, including a bizarre take on PSYCHO's famous shower sequence. The music is stylish and hummable and extremely well written by song writer Paul Williams, who also stars as the totally sleazy and smugly evil Swan. Winslow Leach is played by William Finley as a gangly bespectacled geek who undergoes a bizarre transformation into a masked avenger. Jessica Harper (SUSPIRIA) also makes her acting debut as the young singer Phoenix in one of the few roles that doesn't gel together properly, with the actress's character failing to connect to the audience at hand.However, totally stealing all of his sequences is Gerrit Graham, giving the performance of a lifetime as the outrageously homosexual rocker named Beef, who makes Gary Glitter look like Cliff Richard! Beef's demise, in which he is electrocuted live on stage in front of hundreds of screaming fans, is totally through the roof and will have you reaching for the rewind button. Things culminate in an exciting finale which plays up the tragedy aspect of the storyline. My only recommendation can be to seek out and watch De Palma's musical classic immediately.

this is a excellent horror musical that blends Gothic and modern themes together with stunning effect. it makes the current rock scene and music industry appear like something out of a Gothic novel.the music is just great. i've always felt that Paul Williams was a underrated music genius. the music he's done for cinema is memorable and this work in particular smacks of brilliance. it's too bad it wasn't better appreciated and Williams might have written more ambitious musicals like this one.i also think that Williams is underrated as a actor too. he may be of small stature, but he is very suave and his performance generates a debonair sophistication. his vocal talent is also effective and top notch.the rest of the cast is also swinging and gives off excellent vibes with their rock abilities. Depalma's direction is also hilariously theatrical and fun and lively.a definite must for fans of rock and classic rock in particular, as well as lots to appease fans in the horror genre. a true classic and wickedly gleeful fun.

Talented underground creators. How great it is to be in their worlds! that's when we get them at the height of their more uncontrolled and pure creativity. unmanipulated, wild. The outcome of what they do when they work within the underground is hardly the best work they produce, but it's often their more passionate creations, and practically always indicates what they will master when they "grow up".Here we have a film that exists in 3 levels (at least 3 that matter to me): this is a film within a social and cultural context. The kind of music we hear here (not the multiple parodies, but the music that is intended to be "good") was a reaction to the 60', or the next step of the evolution. Within the same underground spirit that created this film, there was a growing tendency to extend and invent forms that would accommodate the fantasies of new musicians. That's what today we know as progressive rock. This film would pave the way for Tommy, for Live at Pompei, and for The Wall.Paul Williams, great mind, great talent. Much of what works here is his vision, from the mood even to some roots of the story. His parodies are great, but his real stuff is good enough. I enjoyed getting to know him better, and it Is funny that he comes to perform the guy who steals his own music.de Palma, who was my first interest when coming to this. The fact is i didn't know so well what to expect, and i ended up appreciating more the other levels than this one of the director. Apparently by this time he had clarified what he wanted to explore, but he was far from mastering any of his enormous visual skills, or this film was such a collective work that he just couldn't make his personal statement so well. Anyway we have here eventually the first split screen of his career (i'm not absolutely sure of this), something he would take all his careers with incredible results. Other than that, we don'te have his magical camera eye yet.The story matters only for the fact that we have a battle between creative and money grower, something that all the people involved here might know pretty well back in those days.Jennifer Harper has a pretty face, and illuminates the set when she sings.My opinion: 4/5 http://www.7eyes.wordpress.com