Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

Directed by Brian De Palma

Featuring William Finley, Paul Williams, Jessica Harper and Gerrit Graham

In this extravagant rock musical/horror/comedy version of Phantom of the Opera, naive composer Winslow Leach tries to catch the eye of record producer Swan. Winslow wants Swan’s help in getting his rock cantata version of ‘Faust’ recognised by the world. He does manage to catch the producer’s eye, but tiny, evil Swan steals Winslow’s score. Swan ignores Winslow’s pleas, and after he sneaks into Swan’s home disguised as a female groupie (!) Swan has him framed for drug dealing and thrown into jail. There, to add to the indignity, Winslow’s teeth are stolen from him via the Sing Sing dental research program and replaced with a pair of hideous metal dentures.

Winslow is driven to madness when he realises that his cantata has been given to one of Swan’s pop groups to perform, and escapes from jail. Before he can retrieve his music, his face is horribly mutilated in a record press accident. Presumed dead after this incident, he heads to Swan’s new music venue, the Paradise, dons a leather suit and bird-like mask (a look which I suspect may have influenced Marilyn Manson at some points of his career) and tries to get his revenge as Phantom of the Paradise.

Although destroyed by Swan, Winslow ends up selling himself to Swan for a second chance at his cantata – not realising that Swan in turn has made a bargain with the devil. Winslow will only allow his songs to be performed by the pure and idealistic singer Phoenix, but Swan secretly swaps her out for ridiculous glam rock nelly/macho man Beef. Stealing the score a second time, Swan, like a cartoon villain, has Winslow bricked into his hiding place within the Paradise. But Winslow busts out to exact his revenge – and to rescue Phoenix from Swan’s clutches.

Before watching this film, I was uncertain of what to expect. Not being a fan of musicals, I was ready to be annoyed. But overall I loved it. The songs were mostly actually pretty good, to my surprise, and definitely did not detract from my enjoyment of the film. The film is shot in a stylised manner, verging on cartoonish at times – it never lets you forget that you are watching a movie. Similarly, the film is set in a slightly surreal and disorienting world, full of absurdly low doorways and other weird touches. Overall I found it to be an engaging and interesting mix of genres and a keen music industry satire. And keep an eye out for Beef: his over the top character was a highlight for me.

Worth watching? Yes, especially if you enjoy things like Rocky Horror Picture Show. Although this film has more serious moments, the two share enough similarities to likely have a shared appeal.

Truth in advertising? Pretty accurate: 5/5.