Cheap Phantom of the Paradise (DVD) (Paul Williams (III), William Finley) (Brian De Palma) Price

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Customer Reviews of Phantom of the Paradise

A tongue-in-cheek, cutting-edge gem
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.

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Guilty pleasure; 70's time capsule
Although often compared to Rocky Horror Picture Show, Brian DePalma's very strange Phantom of the Paradise is not in the same genre, if only because it works so hard to define its own quirky niche. It is, perhaps, DePalma's most original film, inasmuch as his usual penchant for homage (of everything from Rupert Julian's 1925 Phantom of the Opera, to 50's nostalgia group Sha Na Na, and even Welles' Touch of Evil) is tempered with heavy doses of righteous Liberal indignation.

Composer Winslow Leach (played by DePalma regular William Finley) is a dedicated but naive artist who is ruined by his entanglement with a record producer known only as Swan (the impish Paul Williams). Swan steals his music, his would-be girlfriend (Jessica Harper), and eventually, his soul, in the Faustian developments that follow.

As dated and ham-handed as some of the material is (the 70's era slang, the costumes, the anti-establishment rhetoric), Phantom is curiously redeemed by its earnestness. In spite of what you may have heard, this film is NOT camp; it is SATIRE - the major difference (in my estimation) being that camp is self-kidding; it knows of its outrageousness and wallows in it. Satire is nearly the opposite: it adopts an external perspective, dissecting human behavior from on-high - as aliens from another planet might regard us in all our wondrous absurdity.

I approached this DVD with some trepidation. Having only seen Phantom of the Paradise once as an eight year-old in its theatrical release, I was left with an indelible impression. I missed the satire and remembered only the horrific surface elements (the disfigured anti-hero with his creepy electronic voice, the Dorian Gray-like climax, etc). But how would I see it through adult eyes? Would it hold up?

The answer, in a word, is yes. The horror elements are intact, but deepened by some smartly crafted comic-dreadful moments, scathing commentary on the music industry (such as Garrit Graham's hilariously over-the-top portrayal of an effeminate glam-rocker named Beef), and a genuine sense of almost Teutonic angst. Don't let it escape your notice that, far from being "pure", Jessica Harper's pop-singer wannabe Phoenix (the Phantom's love interest) is tainted by her hunger for stardom. She sells her soul, too, for all the wrong reasons, and does nothing to redeem herself. It's that sort of underlying dark realism that keeps this film afloat on repeat viewings.

I categorized it as a guilty pleasure because I don't fall in the typical audience demographic that enjoys so-called "camp classics" (I wouldn't be caught dead watching Surf Nazis Must Die). But since Phantom of the Paradise rises above its only half-deserved reputation, maybe I don't feel so guilty, after all. And if your teen-aged kids ask you what the 70's was like, it's a stylish and entertaining way to introduce them to the social dynamic of one very strange decade!

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What is this~?
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.