Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
Fledgling singer-songwriter Winslow Leach finds himself double-crossed by the nefarious music producer Swan, who steals both his music and the girl Winslow wants to sing it, Phoenix, for the grand opening of his new rock palace, the Paradise. After Swan has Winslow sent to prison for trespassing, Winslow endures a freak accident that leaves him disfigured and seeking revenge.
- Burt Bluestein
- Michael J. Dmytryk
- Robert Enrietto
- Brian De Palma
- Brian De Palma
- Louisa Rose
- Gaston Leroux
Rating: 7.5/10 by 660 users
Alternative Title:
Aavemusa - FI
Το Φάντασμα του Παραδείσου - GR
천국의 유령 - KR
Country:
United States of America
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 32 minutes
Budget: $1,300,000
Revenue: $250,000
Plot Keyword: mask, new york city, rock 'n' roll, suicide attempt, greed, haunted house, phantom, palace, musical, satire, gay interest, revenge, soul selling, rock music, pianist, false accusations, masked man, glam rock, car explosion, rock opera, rock musical, sing sing, music production, record company, faustian pact, songwriting, phantom of the opera, music industry, abuse of power, music producer, moral corruption, deal with the devil, printing press, horror musical
William Finley as the eponymous character and Paul Williams as the duplicitous record producer "Swan" both ham up enjoyably in this update of the Gaston Leroux novel. "Finley" is writing a cantata, parts of which are overheard by the unscrupulous "Swan" who gets his sidekick "Philbin" (George Memmoli) to pinch the score. Next thing, auditions are ongoing and the poor old writer has been well and truly sidelined. He's determined to wreak his revenge, a determination amplified after an accident sees him hideously disfigured. With chaos ensuing all around, "Swan" decides to try and make a peace with his nemesis - but pretty soon it's clear that's never going to work and as the opening night of the rock club "The Paradise" looms ever closer, you have to wonder if you'd really want a ticket after all. It's good fun this film with some entertaining performances at the top, Jessica Harper holds her own as the feisty chanteuse "Phoenix" and there's just about enough menacing megalomania to prevent it descending into farce. It's quite easy to see how many subsequent films or concepts it may have spawned as it takes much from musical theatre and high drama and mingles them into something that's a sort of an hybrid of the "Man from U.N.C.L.E" and "Jesus Christ Superstar". Williams also wrote much of the of the original soundtrack with a few power ballads packed in to keep the pace moving along and it's worth sticking about for the credits. It has dated, but I still enjoyed it.
