Phantom of the Paradise

Rating:
Summary: We loved it while sailing around under the polar ice cap
Review: While on a US submarine cruising around on a under the polar ice cap in 1977, we hauled this flick out of the pile we had taken along for our 90 day mission after viewing all of the "hot" flicks, and it became an instant hit. For the remainder of the mission, (about 3 weeks), it was shown twice a day because everyone loved it so much. It's one of those shows that bears rewatching because every time you see it, you notice some nuance that you haven't seen before. Only drawback--You have to be into 50's/60's music and have lived through the "payolla" scandals to really appreciate it.

Rating:
Summary: Even Better Than Rocky Horror
Review: It seems Sacriligious to write such a thing & yet it is true. This movie is better than the most famous Midnight Movie. It has everything. Sex, drugs, cross-dressing, lesbianism, Rock'n'Roll, DePalma's trademark split-screen and a PG rating! Paul Williams seems miscast (I would certainly never have pictured him in such a role) but is having great fun as the villain, an unscrupulous record producer who steals a Rock Opera based on Faust from a hapless composer and frames him as he bastardizes the music for what he feels would be a more commercial take. The composer escapes from jail and in an attempt to sabotage the factory pressing the albums, gets horribly disfigured in the attempt, dons a mask & cape and becomes the Phantom bent on revenge. This is also one of a very few movies directed by DePalma where he doesn't try to rip-off Hitchcock. He does, however, have fun with a variety of other film conventions -- using a mock-silent film style (speeded-up picture, etc.) for the Phantom's imprisonment & escape sequence, for example. The soundtrack is also memorable. If only someone would deem this movie worthy to put out on DVD.

Rating:
Summary: What is this~?
Review: What's up with this film? It was my waste of money, and I saw anything good in it. Why is this film has almost 5 stars? American thing it must be.....worst class, worst art, and worst story. I want my money back. I would rather spend it for MacDonald Sandwhich or something.

Rating:
Summary: A tongue-in-cheek, cutting-edge gem
Review: Talk about a film that needs to be put out on DVD! An early DePalma classic, "Phantom..." is just what my twisted little high school mind needed at the time: a wry, ironic twist on the Faust legend and the Phantom of the Opera, all done to a rock opera score. I remember first seeing this as a double bill at the drive-in with "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and was much more impressed with "Phantom". At the time (1974), the emerging record industry needed to be reminded there were folks who knew how the game was played, not just them. DePalma, obviously a music and gadget freak, was one of those folks and, with this film, exposed its sleazy underpinnings. The characters were very imaginative and well fleshed out. Paul Williams, as the music idol Swan, looks miscast at first, but he pulls off the role brilliantly. He is also to be highly commended for the witty soundtrack, which, although very intricate to the plot, stands up quite well on its own. Everybody else in the cast is wonderful too - William Finley as the tragic hero Winslow Leach, is dramatic, funny, lovable and pitiable in all the right places. Jessica Harper is desirable, innocent and believable as singer Phoenix, Leach's object of desire. And, of course, Gerrit Graham is unforgettable as glitter-metal star Beef (you just have to see him for yourself!). The Paradise, Swan's rock palace in-the-making, looks very authentic (in the mid-70s, this was a very believable concept). The story and pacing are very tight and, although it's based on Phantom of the Opera, there are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. Anyone who's a student of music, filmmaking or 70s retro absolutely needs to see "Phantom of the Paradise". It's fun, it's scary, it's laugh-out-loud funny, it's tragic, even tear-jerking. A great ride.

Rating:
Summary: A great satire of the music biz with literary overtones
Review: I think that those people who pan this film simply did not get it, or having heard it's a satire of the music business, were perhaps expecting something like Spinal Tap. The movie is a terrific satire of the music industry, mixing Goethe's Faust and Leroux's Phantom of the Opera (which probably drew on The Hunchback of Notre Dame) to tell the story. Like several other reviewers have noted, the film almost eerily predicts music trends to come (one wonders if Kiss got their idea for the makeup from this movie). It is also worth pointing out that Paul Williams can write music and lyrics that go well beyond "Rainy Days & Mondays" and "Evergreen". Just note the different styles he uses to adapt Winslow's "original" song for the other groups that performed it after Swan stole the music. And some of the lyrics are amazing, and not at all what one tends to think of when one hears Paul Williams' name attached to a song - "good for nothing, bad in bed, nobody likes you and you're better off dead" - hardly what the Carpenters or Barbra Streisand would have recorded.
While I'm on the subject of Paul Williams, his acting in this film is so beyond that for which he is better known (Smokey & The Bandit). He portrays a man who sold his soul to the devil to attain incredible success and eternal youth. Swan is an awful person, yet Williams manages to convey the man's misery in the short scene where he watches the videos that he is compelled, by the deal with the devil, to view every day.
Jessica Harper has a great singing voice and does a nice job; William Finley is fine; but Gerrit Graham is really fabulous as Beef - the scene where he leaves the theater after being accosted in the shower and asserts that he knows "drug-real" from "real-real" is priceless.


Rating:
Summary: Paradise Lost
Review: I am innately suspicious of films that were bombs that later develope cult followings which appears to be the case with "Phantom of the Paradise" after perusing all the 5 star reviews(?!). I enjoyed director Brian DePalma's earlier forays into comedy with "Greetings" and "Hi,Mom" and later with "Scarface" but this film is virtually bereft of any humor, macabre or otherwise. This film does not work as a good rock satire like "This Is Spinal Tap" because it offers nothing resembling insight into that world. It does not work as a horror comedy because it's stabs at macabre humor fall flat. It does not even work as a good comic re-working of "Phantom of the Opera". The acting is nothing to write home about. I don't know what is worse, Paul Williams lame acting or the abysmally forgettable song score he contributed here. I guess this film can be appreciated on some camp level but you have to be in the mood.

Rating:
Summary: A love story in true rock and roll fashion
Review: There is the unrelentless love that plays out in this tragic tale of the underdog who has more to offer than the world will ever know. He loves from afar and suffers the torment of being locked away to suffer both physically and emotionally while someone else gets the girl (and the credit). The music is brilliant, and the characters are so unique and different that one is fascinated from start to finish. Brian DePalma, who brought us "Carrie" and "Blowout," departs in his style all together to let us know that he too was a slave to the world of rock and roll - and all the craziness that goes with it.

Rating:
Summary: Much better than "Rocky Horror"!
Review: "There really is a phantom! He was just in my shower!"

This is one of the few films where Brian DePalma's sometimes stilted and melodramatic directorial methods (screen wipes, split screens, etc) are used to perfect effect. This satirical, extremely funny rock opera is an adaption of the original "Phantom of the Opera", with some Faust and a bit of "The Picture of Dorian Grey" thrown into the mix.

Paul Williams portrays Swan, a devilish music producer who steals composer Winslow Leach's original rock cantata score. Leach (William Finley) is disfigured while trying to wreak revenge on Swan, then succumbs to Swan's invitation to re-write the cantata if Phoenix (Jessica Harper) is allowed to perform it. The music alone is worth having, as Paul Williams is an excellent songwriter, with beautiful songs such as "Old Souls" included along with the campier fare.

Several scenes and characters stand out: Beef, portrayed by Gerrit Graham, is my favorite: a mixture of the ridiculous "glitter rock" musicians of the time, with an ultra-effiminate side. Jessica Harper, in her first screen role, is sweet, pretty, effective, and her little dance around the stage as she auditions (I call it her "chicken dance") for Swan never fails to make me laugh out loud. Paul Williams is kind of creepy-looking any day, and is perfect for this part, resembling Bud Cort in a way (if Cort were blonde) of "Harold and Maude".

I'd recommend owning this over "Rocky Horror Picture Show" any day. This is as good a movie, if not better, in my opinion, but it unfortunately never achieved that level of popularity. It's worth watching over and over, run through the stereo speakers, and LOUD!



Rating:
Summary: This movie is it.
Review: Easily the best movie that has been presented to mankind. You have no idea how cool this movie is until you watch it. Do not listen to any bad reviews about it.

Rating:
Summary: Great music which became a prophecy to certain music events
Review: The 1974 rock music/comedy 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 Phantom of the Paradise 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 may have hurt the underdogs.
The hero in the film is nerdy and disgruntled composer Winslow Leach(played by William Finley) whose rock cantata about the magician 'Faust' was stolen by music impressario Swan(Paul Williams). Swan had his own record label Death Records(originally the label was called Swan Song but Led Zeppelin coincidentally came up with that record label name and the producers changed the label to Death) and his own music channel(it predated the MTV concept by many years). Swan then proceeds and destroys Leach's life (he 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 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 do win over the arrogant types!
Historic music info: the guitarist in the film Art Munson would play on KISS drummer Perer Criss' 1978 solo debut and drummer Gary Mallaber would go on to join The Steve Miller Band and remain his long serving drummer.
This film is highly recommended!