antoniocasaca123 I really like almost every movie I've seen from Brian De Palma. I have not yet seen some films from the earliest phase of his career and I have only now seen this "phantom of the paradise" which is a very crazy and entertaining film constituting an intelligent satire to the music industry of the time. This type of films generally do not have an immediately positive reception of the public and the critic, but some become, over time, cult films, with legions of followers, as it is the case of this. See, for example, too, the case of "scott pilgrim vs. the world" by director Edgar Wright, 2010, whose humor bears quite a resemblance to this De Palma film. Also he had a cold reception initially, but with the passage of the years is more and more appreciated, being already considered by many also a cult film. Such films, different, of great creative freedom, and that satirized in an intelligent way many of the aspects of present-day society, so dormant and amorphous, are needed today.

moonspinner55 Time has been kind to this glitter rock musical-horror movie from a young Brian De Palma, who both directed and penned the screenplay; audiences in 1974, however, were bewildered by its mixture of decadent camp and Gothic kitsch, and shunned the picture. Plot is a grab-bag of Faust and "Phantom of the Opera" highlights, with music-biz impresario Paul Williams (a latter-day Dorian Gray) stealing the cantata of a sensitive singer-songwriter, but not exactly living to regret it. Williams' super-oily Swan forms an uneasy partnership with the musician, who has been maimed by a vinyl record press (!) and now wears an owl's head helmet over his disfigured face. Williams, who also composed the hit-and-miss score, saunters through the film in gravelly monotone; he never quite cuts loose, which is in direct contrast to De Palma's fruit-loop handling. The mismatch of ingredients can be felt elsewhere, too, particularly in the character of the Phantom (who remains a cloaked enigma). The film, though with flashes of interest, has gloppy, dated color and disappointing musical performances, however its view of world domination via rock music is amusing, as are the various cartoony characters dotting the scenario. ** from ****

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.

MBunge Like a dog playing the bassoon or Rush Limbaugh delivering the keynote address at the annual convention of the NAACP, there are some things in life you have to see to believe. Phantom of the Paradise definitely falls into that category. A willfully campy stab at creating a "Rocky Horror" style midnight movie, this film inherently defies critical analysis. Almost everything about it that's goofy or terrible is intentionally that way. All you can authoritatively say about it is that it features a lot of great music by Paul Williams and it shows that Brian De Palma had no freakin' idea what to do when his characters started singing.As the title implies, this is a take off on The Phantom of the Opera but one where the origin of the Phantom is acted out twice in the story. It's also a musical version of Faust where the a main character has actually written a musical version of Faust. Then if that wasn't enough for you, the movie also throws a heaping portion of The Portrait of Dorian Gray into the cinematic stew pot. The end result is an intentionally bizarre muddle that you have to enjoy for its own dreadfulness. William Finley stars as Winslow Leech, the talented musician who is betrayed, disfigured, becomes the Phantom and is then weirdly betrayed again by the same guy. Of course, since Finley looks like the genetic results of a four way orgy of Barry Manilow, Randy Neuman, Gene Wilder and Marty Feldman, he's probably the only Phantom in history to look better after he's disfigured. Paul Williams is Swan, the mega-successful and manipulative record producer who steals Winslow's music to christen the opening of his new theater, "The Paradise". Jessica Harper is Phoenix, the young singer caught between Swan and the Phantom. Harper appears to be the only one in the cast to not understand that she's in a deliberately bad film, resulting in her giving both the best and most incorrect performance in the whole mess. There's also George Memmoli as Swan's chief stooge and Gerrit Graham as a glam rocker Swan recruits to perform Winslow's cantata about Faust, which somehow transforms into a rock opera about Frankenstein.I could go on and on about how Phantom of the Paradise sucks in this, that and every other way…but that would miss the point. Even the abominable 70s fashions on display are so obviously exaggerated beyond what even people in the 70s wore that you can't really comment on it. All I can say is that the music, written but not usually performed by Paul Williams, is quite catchy. If they'd been part of a straightforward musical, even a terrible one, some of these tunes would probably have become standards that get covered over and over again by different artists. The other noteworthy thing about this movie is the direction of Brian De Palma. I t's interesting to see him work before he threw in the towel and became a Hitchcock drag queen, but the experience is somewhat spoiled by De Palma being completely out to lunch when it comes to making a musical. The singing and dancing in Phantom of the Paradise is so blandly staged and lamely filmed that you could show those scenes to the most devoted De Palma fans in the universe and they would never guess he directed them.If you can imagine The Rocky Horror Picture Show starring The Monkees, you have a fairly good idea of what this film is like. If that sounds like something you would enjoy, you can either rent this DVD or get yourself some much needed therapy.