Rating: 
Summary: An uproarious, rip-roaring satire of the record industry
Review: An uproarious, rip-roaring satire of the record industry, a veritable gem! This movie is to the recording industry what 'Life of Brian' is to the Bible, 'The Producer' is to Nazi Germany, 'Spitting Image' is to parliamentary politics in London, 'Dark Star' is to '2001 A Space Odyssey', 'Galaxy Quest' to Star Trek .... you get the message! A ruthless, absolutely tongue-in-absolute-cheek savagely funny dig of the musical industry set to great (satirical) music, with everyone acting in it hamming it up violently and with great relish. Borrowing from the Faustian myth but remade in the mode of Phantom of the Opera, this is a deeply dark rollicking fun fun FUN!!!! And how mod mod MOD it is! Oooh it just oooozes style and raw panache. Gawd this is GOOOOD! I'd pay twenty bucks just to see 'Beef' perform as the Frankenstein monster in this movie. GERRIT NOW NOW NOW!!!! I would give it seven stars but this webpage only let me go up to 5.... Priceless!
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Rock Film of All Time!!!
Review: I WAS PROBABLY 17 WHEN I SAW THIS ORIGINALLY. I HAD NO IDEA WHAT I WAS GOING TO SEE BUT I CAN REMEMBER SITTING IN A SMALL MALL THEATER IN THE LATE 70'S AND JUST BEING FLOORED.ALMOST 20 SOME YEARS LATER THIS MOVIE STILL AFFECTS ME THE SAME WAY. WITHOUT A DOUBT ONE OF THE BEST THINGS BRIAN DEPALMA EVER DID. FROM THE ACTING TO THE MUSIC, THIS MOVIE IS EVERYTHING YOU WOULD WANT IN A ROCK AND ROLL FILM. IF ANYTHING YOU HAVE TO BUY THE SOUNDTRACK!!! I CAN STILL SING EVERY SONG WORD FOR WORD AFTER 24 YEARS.
Rating:
Summary: Ink isn't worth anything to me....
Review: I first saw Phantom Of The Paradise at the Uptown Theatre in Toronto. It was 1974 and me and a buddy went to see it about six times that summer. The soundtrack has a hook but also holds up very well over time. This has got to be the best work of Paul Williams career (I'm trying to think of anything else in his career besides that Smokey and the Bandit tour de force performance).
The movie doesn't take itself too seriously and that's part of it's charm. The story is fast paced and just glides by.
Years went by and then I saw it again at Woodstock 1999. It was playing at one or two in the morning in an airforce hangar. I was thrilled when I found out it was playing and the people I was with didn't understand why I was leaving them in the middle of a party to go watch a movie alone. Once it started playing and the Juicy Fruits were singing Eddy, Goodbye I couldn't get the smile off of my face.
I just received the cassette I ordered from Amazon and enjoyed it all over again. From the Rod Serling introduction on I was thinking to myself "is this a really cool movie or do I enjoy it because I am so familiar with it?". I am going to lend it to some people who haven't seen it to get an idea of how it will be received today. I think this would make an excellent Broadway Musical or modern remake. How about Eddy Vedder as Winslow, Tori Amos as Pheonix and Bowie or Jagger as Swan?
Rating: 
Summary: New release but old Audio quality::::
Review: I have been waiting for this release for several weeks, but I feel a little disapointed, for me who already saw this movie several times, I did not found anything new. I was expecting a lot of more quality audio but was recorded just on stereo.
There aren't additional features to explore.
Then I just recommend to buy it just if you already know the movie and you like it, in this case is a good option to collect it.
Rating:
Summary: Entertainment at Any Cost !...
Review: Phantom of Paradise is an interesting time capsule film. It was briefly ahead of it's time, but then dated itself very quickly. It was influential, yet forgotten or passed over by many. It's a campy rock musical, dark cynical satire, and tragic love story. It contains some wonderfully staged musical sequences (even if you don't enjoy the music all that much). There's some very varied but fun and worthwhile performances to be enjoyed here as well. You'll also see a very different type of film than one you normally associate with Brian De Palma. The DVD package is bare bones, but the film looks and sounds as good as it ever has before. I'm a long time fan of the film and this looks and sounds much better than old VHS copy of the film I obtained a while ago. It's priced under 20 bucks and a film I'm glad to put into my DVD collection. Phantom of Paradise combined several types of music, from a satire of the early 70s 50's revival which had just past its peak in 1974 (but would return with even more fervor following the success of Grease just a few years later) to folk-rock to a hybrid of Glam and hard rock. It took a little bit from Faust, a whole lot of Phantom of the Opera, a sprinkle of The Picture of Dorian Grey updated them all and set itself in the world of modern pop music so it could add a few twists and make some satiric cynical comments about the entertainment industry. . It featured narration by Rod Serling, introduced future Suspiria star Jessica Harper, and had an Academy nominated song score that was written by (stick with me now) Paul Williams and George Aliceson Tipton. Today, in this age of Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson, the once somewhat shocking and far-fetched rock concert in Phantom of the Paradise looks positively old fashioned and not particularly abnormal. It's still very enjoyable as camp of course, but I'll bet new viewers will fine it difficult to fathom how it was once considered somewhat shocking and viewed as an utterly over-the-top exaggeration of a rock show. De Palma experiments with his fluid camera, and uses split screen quite effectively. He explores several themes including the growing interest and fascination with death. The film shows how the attraction and desire to be a celebrity is very much like a moth to a flame. How being naïve and less sophisticated can make you a stepping stone for someone else's greed and desire. We see artistic delusion. We see how almost anything can be turned into a temporary disposable entertainment for an unsophisticated crowd. If all this sounds very dark and cynical--you're right. It is an extremely dark and cynical tale that is wrapped up with an extremely illusory wrapping of high camp. I can not predict how people who grew up watching MTV will view something like Phantom of the Paradise. In 1974, the general public was not nearly as media savvy as it is today and not everyone seemingly had an opinion about the manufacture of pop trends. We were just entering the first wave of disco, and seeing Glam rock's influence spread. We had not yet experienced the disco explosion of the late 70's, punk rock, New wave, LA hair bands, speed metal, world music, or grunge yet. Heck, cocaine's popularity was barely beginning and Studio 54 wasn't even a pipe dream yet.
Fans of the film will of course want to proclaim how it incredibly predicted some musical trends and styles (Alice Cooper, Kiss, bigger wilder rock shows, new wave, Goth) and how influential it was in being a trail blazer so that The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Little Shop of Horrors and perhaps even Andrew Lloyd Weber's Phantom of the Opera (a big stretch of course) could be successful. It's an influential film, but how much so is very difficult to say. The story of how a songwriter is ripped off and abused still works pretty well, but William Finley's (Winslow) performance is uneven. He's pretty convincing as a milquetoast but as he becomes part martyr, part avenging Phantom he's not as convincing. Paul Williams' (Swan) presence is a strange one. He's almost too self consciously playing a somewhat melodramatic villain--though it's a performance I've always enjoyed. He's at times winking at the audience and at other times he's too convincing in the role. Jessica Harper as Phoenix is a slightly aloof, natural beauty. We can believe that Winslow sees an honest soulfulness in her when she awkwardly auditions for a role in the stage show. I found her a captivating believable presence but the script gives her character that makes an abrupt transition few actresses could navigate flawlessly. Some of the supporting players give nearly perfect performances. Archie Hahn as one of the members of the clone Beach Boy group the Juicy Fruits is wonderful. He's a face you'll probably recognize from dozens of films and television shows and was a member of San Francisco's the Committee (a famed improvisational comedy group). Gerritt Graham is another recognizable actor whose turn here as "Beef' an Ozzie Osborne type lead singer (his singing voice was dubbed by Ray Kennedy) is priceless. You might remember him from Used Cars or as Bud the Chud. I'm way too close to the film to be able to venture a worthwhile guess of it's potential to connect to a new audience today. A sensitive 12 or 13 year old is likely to consider the film a very mean-spirited and somewhat sad film with really mediocre music. There's a suggested orgy scene in the film which while within the bounds of a P.G. rating might be considered a bit too strong for some. Christopher Jarmick,is the author of The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder a critically acclaimed, steamy suspense thriller.
Rating:
Summary: De Palma's rock opera is a fun ride
Review: This vastly entertaining movie manages be both funny and tragic (often within the same scene), with neither facet undercutting the other. For someone previously familiar only with De Palma's more popular works (which I also like quite a bit) this lesser-known movie was a terrific discovery. I especially liked its unpredicability, appreciating how the story went off in several interesting directions. The DVD offers an excellent print of the film, and good sound. Extras are modest but fun: I especially liked the nice selection of genre trailers available for our viewing pleasure.
Rating:
Summary: They just don't make 'em like this anymore
Review: POTP ROCKS! I was instantly captivated by everything about this film. The music is beautiful. The performances are both dramatic and goofy at the same time. Jessica Harper is one of the weirdest, unsung actresses of the era.
Get this movie and DIG IT! In this day of multi-million dollar middle of the road Hollywood monkey fudge, a film like Phantom will never happen again.
Rating:
Summary: Very funny!
Review: This is a very cleaver rendition of The Phantom of the Opera. It is very funny, and I enjoy watching it. The rock star in the movie is hilarious when he asks "What was that?" (You'll have to see the movie to undersand.)
Rating:
Summary: Stunningly inventive - this movie gets better and better
Review: I first saw this movie at age 13 in a theater in England in 1977, double-billed with "Rocky Horror Picture Show". Needless to say, I didn't know quite what to make of either picture. About 10 years later I saw the movie on British TV and made my own video copy (taped from the broadcast) that I watched subsequently a couple more times. Not having seen the movie for over 10 years I bought the DVD with the expectation that I would have a pleasant viewing experience that would be at least partly based on nostalgia. How wrong I was! First of all, the technical attributes of the DVD are excellent. This presentation is from flawless source materials and Fox have done a terrific job with the sound, which is superb. More importantly the movie is, by today's standards, staggeringly inventive. Quite honestly it puts most movies that we see today to shame. The story is witty, inventive and self-referencing, the visuals are brilliant, the songs catchy and well-integrated, and the performers are all brilliant, from Bill Finlay to Jessica Harper to Gerrit Graham. Of course this is not a "conventional" movie, so it is not going to be for everyone, but if you are attracted to this type of material - or like me have fondness for this picture - you should definitely see this DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Life at last! Salutations from the other side.
Review: DVD at last! One of the most unique rock operas from the mid 70's is finally here. I never thought I'd get to meet the devil, and when I did, who knew he would look like Paul Williams? I wish I could have seen this film in theaters, I have watched it on Laser Disc, and VHS, and loved it from the moment the Juicy Fruits started singing Eddie. I went right out and tracked down this magnificent soundtrack on vinyl. I was glad to see that Williams got a chance to sing as well as act. But I admit that the main thing that attracted me to this movie was the introduction of, in my opinion, one of the most down to earth divas of all time, Jessica Harper. Harper plays the female lead and the object of more than one character's affection, Phoenix. She has since been in "Shock Treatment" (the sequel to "The Rocky Horror Picture Show") and Susperia. She has a dominating voice and unique dance style that make me want to watch her perform over and over again. While the movie flips back and forth between humor and drama, when you watch a movie like this it doesn't matter. There is humor in the drama and vice versa. It requires a certain mindset to appreciate the irony of William Finley getting mangled by the press used to copy his stolen songs, then laugh as we watch Gerrit Graham's character, Beef prance around the stage in his platform shoes. I feel that this is one of the greatest cult movies of all time, and am happy that it is finally out on DVD.
| 
