Phantom of the Paradise
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Movie Reviews of Phantom of the Paradise
Movie Review: HILARIOUS AND HORRIFIC!
Summary: 5 Stars
From the great mind of Brian De Palma comes the very entertaining and bizarre film "Phantom Of The Paradise". This 1974 cult classic from Brian De Palma is pure film genius. The story is well crafted and the casting in my opinion is terrific. The amazing aspect about this movie is it's not limited to one genre of film making. It has an unusual mix of comedy, horror and part musical and that's what makes it great. The combination of De Palma's imaginative directing and Paul Williams acting and impressive music soundtrack make "Phantom Of The Paradise" a scream to watch. This movie was a box office dud in it's original debut and lurked in the shadows of The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and other films for many years. Fans of this movie will be delighted with the video transfer from 20th Century Fox Studios.
The video transfer is presented in it's 1.85:1 Anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio and the image is crisp and clean. It's really too bad that the sound wasn't remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 given the movies awesome soundtrack. My only real complaint is that the DVD lacks bonus material. It would have been nice if 20th Century Fox had approached Brian De Palma to provide some commentary or include cast footage and interviews for this release. After all these years I'd love to hear his thoughts on what I believe is an underrated 70's classic. Brian De Palma has given us a number of great films over the years, but it's the hilarious and horrific images of this movie that are forever embedded in my mind.
The DVD Features:
* Anamorphic widescreen [aspect ratio 1.85:1]
* Interactive menus
* Scene selection
* Theatrical trailer
* Audio Options: English stereo, French mono
* Subtitles: English, Spanish
Movie Review: Much better than "Rocky Horror"!
Summary: 5 Stars
"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!
Movie Review: Personal Favourite
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw this film for the first time as a teenager in the early 70's at the cinema. It was showing as a double bill with "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", which was the film I actually went to see, but found "Phantom" much more enjoyable and memorable. I immediately rushed out and bought the sound track, (which I would love to own on CD but have yet to find it).I love the music by Paul Williams, apparently big in the States but mostly unknown in the UK, though best known for writing the music for the film "Bugsy Malone", and playing Little Enis in the "Smokey and ths Bandit" movies, (only other appearances I know of are, "Beneath the Planet of the Apes", as an ape, though you can still recognise him, and, if I remember correctly, an episode of "Star Trek Voyager").
Gerrit Graham is just brilliant as the camp, (I don't know if that's a word used in the US in this context), character "Beef", (you can see him in the film "Used Cars" starring Kurt Russell, and he was in a recent US Sci-Fi series, though the name escapes me now, I don't know what else).
This is a mostly unknown and underated cult classic, but maybe you had to be there at the time.
Glad to know there are other fans of this film.
If you like cult films, check out "Crimewave" (Sam Raimi), and "Brazil" (Terry Gilliam). Both have unusual and visually stunning camera angles and sets, and great (black) humuor.
Movie Review: Life at last! Salutations from the other side.
Summary: 5 Stars
DVD at last! One of the most unique rock operas from the mid 70's is finally here. I never thought I'd get to meet the devil, and when I did, who knew he would look like Paul Williams?I wish I could have seen this film in theaters, I have watched it on Laser Disc, and VHS, and loved it from the moment the Juicy Fruits started singing Eddie. I went right out and tracked down this magnificent soundtrack on vinyl.
I was glad to see that Williams got a chance to sing as well as act. But I admit that the main thing that attracted me to this movie was the introduction of, in my opinion, one of the most down to earth divas of all time, Jessica Harper. Harper plays the female lead and the object of more than one character's affection, Phoenix. She has since been in "Shock Treatment" (the sequel to "The Rocky Horror Picture Show") and Susperia. She has a dominating voice and unique dance style that make me want to watch her perform over and over again.
While the movie flips back and forth between humor and drama, when you watch a movie like this it doesn't matter. There is humor in the drama and vice versa. It requires a certain mindset to appreciate the irony of William Finley getting mangled by the press used to copy his stolen songs, then laugh as we watch Gerrit Graham's character, Beef prance around the stage in his platform shoes.
I feel that this is one of the greatest cult movies of all time, and am happy that it is finally out on DVD.
Movie Review: BRIAN DE PALMA'S BEST HUMOR NOIR. A LOVE STORY
Summary: 5 Stars
This superb movie had it all, but was underrated when it came out. Only the afterwards perspective and the appreciation of its impact on rock, rock operas and attire can do it justice. An excellent music score and camera managment frame the story of the struggle between good and evil, greed and ultimate personal sacrifice, in a modern Faust. Dark and humorous, for those who were 20 at the time, it was a sensorial experience as well as a crazy trip into the exploitation of the human condition. It is therefore not surprising how strongly this picture has aroused fidelity and how many people can remember when and where they fist saw it for the first time, after 25 years. Not to speack about how many have been singing its songs, in times of trouble and joy, by memory. I was 19 when I listened and taped a friend's record with the music score for the first time in 1974. For three years I tried to see the movie, until in 1977 I finally succeded in a midnigth theatre in Montmartre, Paris. I still remember the amazement of the people I took with me and how fast they stopped the jokes about a night lost in Paris.....After that I searched for the record for two years, until one day I found it in the student's cooperative in Harvard in 1977 !! And it was not until 1982 that I saw the picture again in Santo Domingo in a hotel's television...SO THEN THANK GOD FOR NEW TECHNOLOGY, VHS AND DVD. I don't have to wander around the world anymore....IT IS A MUST FOR A COLLECTOR.