Phantom of the Paradise

Rating:
Summary: A long lost, but not forgotten, Midnight Movie Classic
Review: Still playing on double-bills with The Rocky Horror Picture Show in England, Brian DePalma's foray into the psychodelic world of the musical excesses that was the 70's becomes more than just another rock musical. With a fusion of Faust, Dorian Grey, Phantom of the Opera, the Twilight Zone (courtesy of an opening narration by Rod Serling)and Psycho, using multiple camera angles cleaved into split screens, we follow the tragic trials and tribulations of one Winslow Leech (William Findley, the scary side splitting surgeon of DePalma's "Sisters"), composer, whose music is stolen by mook henchman Philbin (George Memmoli, Joey Clams of Scorsese's "Mean Streets")on the orders of his boss, rock impresario Swan (song writer Paul Williams, in a role that must have had him giddy) to be used in the opening of his new rock palace, The Paradise.

Attempting to get his music back, Winslow befriends a young, up and coming singer called Phoenix (Jessica Harper, who many have accused of being woefully miscast. Watch for her in "My Favorite Year"). Beaten by Philbin, set up on drug charges by Swan, subjected to stainless steel dentures because of Swan's own campaign to wipe out dental decay in the penal system, Leech escapes prison upon hearing his music on the radio, breaks into the record factory, and when caught, accidentally has his faced mauled by a hot record press, and sent moaning in pain into the East River.

Swan continues his preps for the opening, using his former 50's doo-wop group, the Juicy Fruits, now a surfer band called The Beach Bums (Later, they become a Kiss-like bunch called The Undead. The band is made up of the same three actors, Archie Hahn, Jeffery Commanor and Harold Oblong. Watch for Hahn in many more films, including "Innerspace" as the deadly deliveryman), to perform Winslow's music. A shadowy figure, donning a leather bodysuit, lame lined cape and a hawk-like mask invades the Paradise and starts reeking havoc.

From here, all the cliches play out from Phantom of the Opera, but in one absolutely looney twist is the addition of a fay glitter rock star called Beef (Gerrit Graham, singing voice by Ray Kennedy), who delivers a Hitchcock homage that will never let you look at Janet Leigh in the Bates Motel shower the same way ever again. Toss in a bit of Dorian Grey, with a videotape instead of a portrait taking on the years(and we wonder about Dick Clark's never aging profile!), a strange transformation of several musical themes, all familiar but somehow morphed into different personnas, and you have a cult classic on your hands.

This movie fits into so many different viewer interest groups. First, the DePalma fans, watching his early work before classics like "Sisters", "Carrie" and "Dressed To Kill"; for musicians/soundtrack fanatics, the mutation of a handful of themes into different works, as well as an incidental soundtrack filled with string quartets, classic piano and organ; for movie trivia fans, the appearance of the star of one of DePalma's all time suspense/horror classics as a production associate, not as an actress (I'm not telling you. watch the credits!).

For the rest of us, a great popcorn night movie that will leave you laughing, tapping your feet and wondering "Where was I when this movie came out and how did I miss it the first time?"

Rating:
Summary: A classic rock & roll movie which was somewhat prophetic
Review: Brian De Palma's 1974 rock opera film Phantom of the Paradise was seen by some as a mediocre update of Phantom of the Opera but it isn't. The Phantom in the movie is one Winslow Leach (played by William Finley), a nerdy songwriter whose "pop cantata" about Faust(a magician who sold his soul to the Devil for fame) is stolen by devilish rock impressario who goes by the name Swan(Played by Paul Williams, the songwriter whom wrote hits for The Carpenters and Three Dog Night and wrote all the songs for this movie. He later appeared in all three Smokey and the Bandit movies). Winslow then sneaks into Swan's mansion where he meets and befriends a struggling singer named Phoenix(Jessica Harper in her film debut) and was blown away by her singing that he offered to help her get her big break singing his song. However, Swan's henchmen take Phoenix away and initially try to do more than audition her. Next, after scaring her off, Swan's henchmen attack poor Winslow. He then dresses in drag to get to Swan but is then subsequently assaulted by Swan's henchmen and gets framed by Swan for drugs that the cops plant on him. Winslow then gets imprisoned, has his teeth removed and then after hearing The Juicy Fruits(a 50s doo-wopish group) butcher his pop cantata, he snaps and assaults a security guard and breaks out of jail. Winslow then proceeds to trash the Death Records plant(the label was originally named Swan Song but Led Zeppelin had just created their record label with the same name so the producers changed it to avoid conflicts). As he destroys the plant, he slips on a record after getting shot by a security guard and gets his head caught in a vinyl-LP compressor and badly scars the whole right side of his face. Leach then transforms into The Phantom, and haunts Swan's music palace, the Paradise. The movie is somewhat prophetic in some scenes like the Studio 54 type party scene at the finale(you have to watch to find out what happens). The partying atmosphere at 54 would not happen until a few years later, Swan airing his rock concerts on his own music channel(seven years before MTV came to existence) and the hard rock band with the white and black facepaint from The Undead (whom looked like somewhat prototypes of what KISS would appear like after this film was released and this trio was the same singing trio known as The Juicy Fruits and the Beach Bums). The real scene stealer in this film is Beef, a screeching glam-rock/heavy metal singer played by Gerrit Graham(with singing voice by Ray Kennedy). Beef steals the show in the movie with the song Life at Last, which is a great song. Then, the Phantom electrocutes and kills him(strangely enough, Led Zeppelin wanted that scene removed due to the fact that Zeppelin's manager Peter Grant had managed a musician who was electrocuted on stage but they didn't). I don't want to give the rest away. As a historical musical tidbits, the drummer in the movie was future Steve Miller Band drummer Gary Mallaber(whom would join The Steve Miller Band two years after this movie was filmed) and the guitarist Art Munson would appear on KISS drummer Peter Criss' 1978 solo album. Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: A classic rock & roll movie which was prophetic to a degree
Review: Director Brian De Palma's 1974 rock opera film Phantom of the Paradise was seen by many as a somewhat mediocre version of Phantom of the Opera, but it's anything but. The Phantom in the movie is one Winslow Leach (played by William Finley), a nerdy songwriter whose "pop cantata" about Faust(a magician who sold his soul to the Devil for fame) is stolen by an evil rock impressario who goes by the name Swan(Played by Paul Williams, the songwriter whom wrote hits for The Carpenters and Three Dog Night among others. He wrote all the songs for this movie. He would later appear in all three Smokey and the Bandit movies). Winslow then sneaks into Swan's mansion where he meets and befriends a beautiful, struggling singer named Phoenix(Jessica Harper in her film debut) and was blown away by her singing that he offered to help her get her big break singing his songs. However, Swan's henchmen take Phoenix away and initially try to do more than audition her. After scaring Phoenix away, Swan's henchmen attack poor Winslow. He then dresses in drag in an attempt to get to Swan but is then subsequently assaulted by Swan's henchmen again. Then, he gets framed by Swan for drugs that the cops plant on him. Winslow then gets imprisoned and has his teeth removed for all metal teeth(a look that Marilyn Manson would take to the enth degree in the 1990s). Then after hearing The Juicy Fruits(a 50s doo-wopish group) butcher his pop cantata, he snaps and assaults a security guard and breaks out of jail. Winslow then proceeds to trash the Death Records plant(the label was originally named Swan Song but Led Zeppelin had just created their own record label with the same name so the producers changed it to avoid conflicts). As he destroys the plant, he slips on a record after getting shot by a security guard and gets his head caught in a vinyl-LP compressor and badly scars the whole right side of his face. Leach then transforms into The Phantom, and haunts Swan's music palace, the Paradise. The movie is like I said, somewhat prophetic. Aside from the all metal teeth look that Marilyn Manson would adopt, scenes like the Studio 54 type party scene at the finale(you have to watch to find out what happens). The partying atmosphere at 54 would not happen until a few years later. Swan airing his rock concerts on his own music channel(seven years before MTV ever came into existence). Also, the hard rock band with the white and black facepaint called The Undead(whom looked like somewhat prototypes of what KISS would appear like after this film was released and this trio was the same singing trio known as The Juicy Fruits and the Beach Bums). The real scene stealer in this film is Beef, a screeching glam-rock/heavy metal singer played by Gerrit Graham(with singing voice by Ray Kennedy). Beef steals the show in the movie with the song Life at Last, which is a great song. Then, the Phantom electrocutes and kills him(strangely enough, Led Zeppelin wanted that scene removed due to the fact that Zeppelin's manager Peter Grant had managed a musician who was electrocuted on stage but they didn't). I don't want to give the rest away. As historical musical tidbits, the drummer in the movie was future Steve Miller Band drummer Gary Mallaber(whom would join The Steve Miller Band two years after this movie was filmed) and the guitarist was Art Munson, whom would appear on KISS drummer Peter Criss' 1978 solo album. Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: revenge of the nerds
Review: Phantom Of The Paradise is perhaps one of the most unusual and intriguing films i've ever come to know. it is one the most creative spectacles of Brian DePalma's lengthy career, and may very well be his best film to date. on the surface, it is a send-up of Glam Rock, Faust, and Phantom Of The Opera. in reality, it is a film about getting revenge on those who have hurt us, as shown in the dynamic story of the nerdy and disgruntled composer Winslow Leach (whose Phantom outfit and make-up could easily have been the predecessor to the Goth Rock era of the 80's) wreaking havoc on the devilish (and that terms comes in quite handy here) record tycoon Swan for stealing Leach's 'Faust' cantata and basically destroying Leach's life (and appearance). talk about persistance: Leach will stop at nothing to terrorize Swan, and even dabbles in arson (blowing up the set design during one of the 'Faust' rehearsals) and murder (electrocuting over-the-top singer Beef mid-performance)to get his point across: one should never f**k with a 'somewhat' dead man's music. and i prove my point by concluding that Phantom Of The Paradise is a wonder to behold.

Rating:
Summary: He Sold His Soul for Rock 'n' Roll
Review: The movie synopsis:

In the 1974 film PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE, William Finley stars as Winslow Leach, a very talented composer who is working on a rock opera based on FAUST. Pop composer Paul Williams plays Swan, an aloof and mysterious record producer who has made the careers of many popular rock musicians. [For the youngsters reading this, a record is, like, an antique version of a music CD.] Swan has built the Paradise, a massive enclosed amphitheater that will be used to showcase the many bands and musicians under his auspices, but he wants to find new material and new talent for the extravagant gala he is planning for opening night. Enter Winslow--who wants Swan to consider his FAUST material for the Paradise grand-opening--and an attractive and talented young female singer named Phoenix (played by the cute Jessica Harper, here in her film debut). While waiting to audition for Swan, Winslow and Phoenix meet and...well, it's love at first sight. Unbeknownst to the two lovebirds, though, is their imminent appointment with destiny--and with the evil Swan. Swan indeed wants Winslow's music for the theater debut, but he wants to present it as his own work, and with knowledge of the feelings that the composer and singer have for each other, he uses Phoenix as leverage to manipulate Winslow like marionette.

So Swan steals Winslow's work, then arranges for Winslow to get arrested on a bogus drug-possession charge. In prison, Winslow learns of Swan's manipulation, which spurs him to escape and, soon after, to break into Swan's record factory and destroy the machines cranking out recordings of his stolen music. However, in a freak accident, Winslow's head gets caught in a hot record press and his face is thereby mutilated. He flees from the scene and finds his way to the Paradise, where he swipes a really cool costume, sets up house, and then starts lurking around incognito. When he begins causing mayhem and thwarting the efforts of Swan and his theater staff, Winslow is dubbed The Phantom of the Paradise. And now the real fun begins....

He's been beaten, mutilated, maimed, and framed, but he's not gonna let Swan keep him from his music or from the woman he loves.

The review:

On the surface, Brian De Palma's excellent PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE may seem like little more than a send-up of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, but it is much more complex than that. It is actually a very hip, very surreal satire of the depravity and decadence in the rock-and-roll music industry of the 1970s--specifically the two sub-genres known as Concept Rock and Glitter Rock--as well as a humorous yet affectionate homage to several classic horror stories and movies such as PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, PSYCHO, FRANKENSTEIN, FAUST, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, and many others.

De Palma's directing style for this film is sometimes very unique and inventive (of course, it doesn't hurt that he is directing his own material). Especially nice is his effective use of the split-screen technique in a few key scenes, and the frenetic cuts and camera angles he uses for some scenes--especially the musical performances inside the Paradise--convey the genuine atmosphere of a 1970s-era rock concert.

The sets are outrageously exaggerated in layout and color, especially the set for the inside of the Paradise theater. In many ways, the overall look of the movie harkens back to the silent German Expressionist films, specifically METROPOLIS and THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI. That isn't to say that it looks too old-fashioned. Indeed, the bright sets, surreal costumes, and extravagant staging are all honest reflections of the performances and ostensibly flamboyant lifestyles of the 1970s rock artists like Glitter Rock's Alice Cooper or David Bowie and the Concept-Rock band Jethro Tull. By the way, those aforementioned sets were designed and dressed by Sissy Spacek, who a few years later would start on the road to greater fame playing the title role in the horror film CARRIE (1976).

The acting in PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE is also outstanding. Paul Williams exudes a perfect air of smarminess as the evil music impresario, Swan. In real life, Williams has composed and produced many successful pop songs for groups like The Carpenters and Three Dog Night, and this inside knowledge of the music industry only adds to the realism of his performance. Incidentally, Williams also wrote or co-wrote the music and score for PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE.

As Winslow Leach, William Finley creates a very convincing naive and nerdy musician (as well as a naive and nerdy Phantom!), and pretty Jessica Harper does a fine job in her debut role as an up-and-coming singer and dancer (the object of Winslow's love). But it is the over-the-top performance of Gerrit Graham that really steals the show. Graham plays Beef, a Glitter-Rock singer whose stage persona is that of a big, tough-and-buff Frankenstein's-monster type. Off stage, however, Beef is a stereotypical homosexual queen, and Graham really chews the scenery as he plays the character to great humorous effect. Don't get the idea that Graham is merely poking fun at homosexuals, though; he is really satirizing the misconception, especially prevalent in the 1970s, that all Glitter-Rock artists are gay. (One of the best and funniest scenes in the film is a takeoff on the shower scene from PSYCHO, with Graham's Beef replacing the Janet Leigh character and Finley's Phantom filling in for Norman Bates.)

PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE is one of those nearly forgotten gems that is a must-see for horror fans and admirers of director De Palma.

The DVD from Twentieth Century Fox offers a nice anamorphic widescreen transfer of the film, but little by way of extras (in fact, the theatrical trailer only). However, it is very reasonably priced, so fans of horror & satire have no excuse for not adding this film to their collections.

Rating:
Summary: A great rock and roll movie which was prophetic
Review: Almost 30 years ago,Brian DePalma's rock music film Phantom Of The Paradise was released. Phantom of the Paradise is perhaps one of the most unusual and intriguing films I've ever come to know. This film was one of DePalma's best films to date next to 1976's haunting take of Stephen King's Carrie, 1983's masterwork Scarface with Al Pacino and 1987's The Untouchables with Robert DeNiro as a kick-ass Al Capone. The bad rap this film gow was that it seen as somewhat as a rock and roll version of Phantom Of The Opera but it's a film about getting revenge on the big man who have hurt the little man. The hero in the film is nerdy and disgruntled rock music composer Winslow Leach(played by William Finley) whose rock cantata about the magician Faust(whom sold his soul to Satan for power and fame) was stolen by music impressario Swan(played by legendary songwriter Paul Williams)whom was a huge music mogul (way before people like Madonna and Puff Daddy were big CEO types of their music companies) whom had his own record label Death Records(originally was called Swan Song before Led Zeppelin coincidentally came up with the same record label name and the producers changed the label to Death to avoid conflict with Zeppelin) and his own music television channel(itpredates MTV by seven years). Swan then proceeds and destroys Leach's life (steals the lovely Phoenix from Winslow, has him wrongfully framed, arrested, teeth pulled and had metal teeth in its place(predates the look that rappers and rockers (like Marilyn Manson would adopt) and appearance). After being badly disfigured, Leach disguises himself as a phantom (whose Phantom outfit and make-up could easily have been the predecessor to the Goth Rock era of today) wreaking havoc on the devilish (and that terms comes in quite handy here) and will stop at nothing to terrorize Swan. He tries arson (blowing up the set design during one of the 'Faust' rehearsals with a Beach Boys send-off The Beach Bums) and even murder (electrocuting over-the-top singer hard rock singer Beef mid-performance whose backing band look like what KISS would appear like a few months after this film was made). Also, the people at the door scene predicts the Studio 54 scene by a few years as does the partying/wedding scene at the end. The music in this film is great and the story proves that in the end, the nerds win over the arrogant types! Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Overlooked rock music film which was somewhat prophetic
Review: The 1974 rock music film Phantom Of The Paradise is perhaps one of the most unusual and intriguing films i've ever come to know. This film was one of Brian DePalma's best films to date next to 1976's Carrie, 1983's masterwork Scarface and 1987's The Untouchables. The film is seen as somewhat as a rock and roll version of Phantom Of The Opera but it's a film about getting revenge on those who have hurt us. The hero in the film is nerdy and disgruntled composer Winslow Leach(played by William Finley) whose rock cantata about the magician 'Faust' whom was stolen by music impressario Swan. Swan had his own record label Death Records(originally Swan Song before Led Zeppelin coincidentally came up with the record label name and the producers changed the label to Death) and his own music channel(predated MTV by many years. Swan then proceeds and destroys Leach's life (steals the lovely Phoenix from Winslow, has him wrongfully framed, arrested, teeth pulled and had metal teeth in its place(predates the look that rappers and rockers like Marilyn Manson would adopt) and appearance). After being badly disfigured, Leach disguises himself as a phantom (whose Phantom outfit and make-up could easily have been the predecessor to the Goth Rock era of the 80's) wreaking havoc on the devilish (and that terms comes in quite handy here) and will stop at nothing to terrorize Swan. He tries arson (blowing up the set design during one of the 'Faust' rehearsals with a Beach Boys send-off The Beach Bums) and even murder (electrocuting over-the-top singer hard rock singer Beef mid-performance whose backing band look like what KISS would appear like a few months after this film was made. Also, the people at the door scene predicts the Studio 54 scene by a few years as does the partying/wedding scene at the end. The music in this film is great and the story proves that in the end, the nerds win over the arrogant types! Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Light Dose of 70's Pop Culture
Review: 1974 was a wierd year for the music industry and a stranger one for 20th Century Fox.The music industry was struggling with the demise of glam rock and the emergence of heavy metal. The rock opera was being born with Superstar and Tommy. Into this mix Fox films released two films that would become midnight movie classics: The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Brian dePalma's Phantom of the Paradise.

Now 29 years later both films act as cultural artifacts.De Palma's film is hard to classify. It can't be as easily dismissed as one would like to. A recent viewing brought back all the campy parody that made the movie so much fum when it was released.

The story is simple enough: Winslow Leach (William Finley) sells his soul to music producer Swan(Paul Williams) in order that he become rich and famous. Swan steals the music to be used for the opening of his musical palace, the Paradise.

Along the way we get some of the best musical self parody in cinema history that predates Spinal Tap. All in all the movie is fun even if it is a little dated. Williams' Swan is a defining 70's image and the bird like costume of Leach is memorable.

Even though the movie is great fun there are a few issues with the DVD. The picture quality and sound quality are respectable enough for a film of this age. The biggest complain is that Fox pushes all the special features on their discs and this disc simply has no extra features.

For the price this is a fun journey back to the time when rock had meaning and a good if light dose of 1970's culture.

Rating:
Summary: Strange Hybrid is Strangely Compelling
Review: Talk about a strange brew... a mixture of horror, comedy, rock music, unrequited love and fantasy. A songwriter's music is stollen by a promoter (Paul Williams) who has the writer thown in jail, beaten and almost killed. The songwriter returns as the "phantom" and haunts the rock palace of the promoter.
It's hard to recommend this movie to someone. If they like the music, they may hate the horror elements, or visa versa. But if you're a child of the seventies, this will probably appeal to you.

First off: the music is excellent. It was written by Paul Williams, who also sings some of the songs. It was nominated for an Academy Award (it is also available on CD).
Next: If you like Brian Depalma, with his split screens, mood lighting and quick cuts, it's all here.
Also: Jessica Harper, in her film debut as the love interest, is great, and she does her own singing. Gerrit Graham is absolutely hysterical as "Beef" the glam rock KISS wannabe.

A truely strange film that will appeal to the more adventurous, but if you like a happy ending, you'll have to look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: climatic letdown
Review: I,m a fan of the movie but the dvd I just purchased has 1 big flaw. What I consider the apex of the movie, the Paradise numbers:(Somebody Super Like You, and Life At Last)audiolly speaking sucked. I can't believe the sound enginneer opted to focus on the background noise and not in the music. What an idiot. I was anticipating hearing these through my great speakers and the dvd sound sucked. What a letdown. Had I known that the main reason I bought the dvd was so flawed I would not have bought it.