Michael_Elliott
Phantom of the Paradise (1974) ** (out of 4)The talented but hot-tempered composer Winslow Leach (William Finley) agrees to hand his masterpiece, an adaptation of Faust, over to hot-shot music legend Swan (Paul Williams) who of course ends up stealing it. Leach goes to get his music back when he face is horribly burned so he takes shelter at the Paradise where he plans to get revenge as well as make Phoenix (Jessica Harper) a star.Brian DePalma's take on The Phantom of the Opera is a film that I admire and respect more than I actually enjoyed. Over the past four decades the film has gained a huge cult following and it's easy to see why. It's just so goofy, over-the-top but extremely well-made that it's easy to see why so many people enjoy it for what it is. With that said, if you don't "get" what's going on then you're going to be left scratching your head, which is pretty much where I was. Again, I thought the performances were great, the direction wonderful and visually the film is impressive. With that said, it just didn't click with me to the point where I was fully engaged with the film.Again, there's a lot to admire in the film including the wonderful visual style. DePalma certainly knows how to keep the camera moving and cinematographer Larry Pizer is constantly busy with the camera floating around picking up countless strange but beautiful shots. The set design is another major plus because you really do feel as if you're watching and seeing things for the first time. The alternate universe created really does come across like a new world and this here helps push the story as well. The costumes, of course, are one of the more memorable aspects including the Phantom's look but also the various looks given to the musical performers whether it's a spoof on The Beach Boys or a take off on KISS. The performances are another major plus with Finley and Williams perfect in their roles. I thought Finley was extremely good at bringing across the temper but there's also a part of you that feels sorry for the guy and his broken dreams. Williams, who appears to be acting like Phil Spector, is also excellent in how much of a cold snake he is but he never goes over-the-top and instead plays it pretty cool. Harper is also a delight as the love interest but the real start here is Gerrit Graham as a Queen-like prima donna who easily steals the show. Some might be offended by the type of performance he gives but hey, this was the 1970s. I found him to be extremely entertaining in the part and managed to give the film the shot of energy it needed.So, I've just praised just about everything in the film yet I've given it two stars. That might not make much sense but the film simply didn't entertain meant outside the technical department. Again, PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE is an extremely well-made movie and a very impressive one but it just didn't connect with me. If you are able to connect with it then obviously you're going to be in with a large group of people that see this as a cult classic.
LadyBeth10
This is one of those rare films that unfortunately flew under the radar. I hope that is no longer the case. I had a copy of this and watched it over and over over the years, but I lost my DVD. Just watched it again and DVR'd it from cable. God how I still love this movie!! Very operatic and melodramatic. If you are a lover of musicals, Faust, The Phantom of the Opera, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Beauty and the Beast must get the tongue in cheek humor, the glam rock "Kiss" references, and the ultimate tragedy of a talented geek who had the unfortunate luck of meeting the Devil. Paul Williams' understated and perfect pitch portrayal of Swan is wonderfully perverse with a good dose of wink, wink, nudge, nudge... His cherubic outer image juxtaposing his inner evil was simply delicious! (I'm licking my lips. Can you tell?) And his score is still strong enough to pull me back through the years to a magically specific point in time. I'm really pushing for a musical on Broadway. This is just a natural for that venue! And Mr. Williams could expand on his score. It would be perfection. It's nice to know I can still dream.....
TheFinalAlias
Ah, what better film to review for my 50th than Brian De Palma's weird and wonderful Rock & Roll send-up of "Phantom of the Opera'. Alternately overpraised as a Kubrickian genius, or dismissed as a lame Hitchcopycat, De Palma is still a genuinely interesting director to study if not exactly easy to understand. While I agree that 'Carrie' is his masterpiece, his most unique and re-watchable film is this bizarre take on Gaston Leroux's often-filmed tale, which is filmed with lots of things which will alternately make you marvel or start scratching your head in confusion, not the least of which being that this version probably features THE most faithful portrayal of the Phantom since the days of Lon Chaney Sr and drives home the Faustian element of the story farther than any other version, and in some ways, much better than even in Leroux's own novel.Yeah, you read that correctly.The film sets its tone with the opening scenes(following a bizarre "Twilight Zone'-like voice-over)as we see a greaser nostalgia group called the Juicy Fruits perform a deceptively cheerful song about an unsuccessful musician who kills himself so that he will become a legend overnight so that it will help support his sister. Scenes like this are great, as they pretty much tell you that you will be getting more of the same in alternating doses of effectiveness. The whole film is like this opening: Fast-paced, bouncy, but with an underlying sense of menace, tragedy and heartbreak. If James Whale was alive in the '70's, this is the film he would have made.The plot is a comedic update of the 1962 Terrence Fisher version of 'Phantom'. William Finley plays Warren Zevon-look a like Winslow Leach, a character clearly patterned after Herbert Lom's Professor Petrie. The nerdy but easily angered(he goes berserk at the prospect of his music being sung by the Juicy Fruits, whom he despises)Winslow is writing a rock opera based on 'Faust' which he insists on performing himself, and although he does quite a good job in my opinion, record dealer Swan(Paul Williams, playing a cross between Phil Spector, Dorian Gray and Michael Gough's Lord D' Arcy character from the 1962 version)decides he likes the music more than Winslow and steals it. After several unsuccessful attempts to get his music back, Swan has drugs planted on Winslow and he ends up getting life(?). However, after hearing his music performed on the radio by the Juicy Fruits, our hero snaps, kills a guard and escapes in a montage straight out of Loony Tunes, only to get disfigured by, wait for it, a RECORD PRESS. Yeah.....You can tell what happens next, but that doesn't mean things don't become more and more twisted. He may now be the disfigured, caped masked madman, but Winslow is soon going to discover he's not the only one inhabiting Swan's performance house who is worthy of being called "The Phantom". Often criticized for his overindulgence(only in the '70's could such a minor celebrity have so many guest appearances) and diminutive size, Paul Williams nevertheless crafts a wonderfully slimy and urbane villain in Swan. The Phantom may be deformed, kill and terrorize, but Swan is the real monster in more ways than one. William Finley shines as Winslow, managing to make us instantly care and sympathize with him despite being a nerdy, naive, egotistical goof-ball. Yet, as the Phantom, he is genuinely menacing. Winslow, much like Erik in the novel, is more at home writing and performing than interacting with other people, and although he is targeting a genuinely evil man, he nevertheless has no qualms whatsoever about brutally slaughtering innocent stagehands and musicians he does not care for, annoying though they may be. It is genuinely disturbing watching him cackle insanely with his high-pitched robotic voice as he maims and kills people. Like Erik, he may be a tragic victim, but he really does enjoy being an evil monster more than he would care to admit. Finley makes his murders progress from bad tempered outbursts, to circumstantial ones to "Wheeeee!!! Murder is FUN!" in a believable fashion. And his Phantom costume, depending on your point-of-view, is either the best or worst ever created, even though he looks more like a superhero(or villain)than anything else. Husky-voiced Jessica Harper is also good as Winslows' love interest, man can she sing. Despite prominent billing, Gerrit Graham has little more than an overlong cameo as quite possibly the biggest gay stereotype on the face of the earth; a metal singer named Beef(!!!??)who ends up being killed in an outrageously offensive quadruple-visual pun(I'll let the smart people guess what I mean, and no, it's not because of his Frankenstein costume).The film has great songs, and a fun cartoon sensibility that makes several gaping plot holes and outrageous coincidences overlook-able. The film's only flaw, is that it is too short, and too fast-paced. Nevertheless, this is still essential viewing for any cult film enthusiast.~
