Review of Phantom of the Paradise (1974) by Stuart K — 30 Jun 2009
Weird but enjoyable horror/musical/comedy written and directed by Brian De Palma. A fusion of the tales of Faust, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and of course, Phantom of the Opera.
It's got a likeable charm, and it does take more than one viewing to 'get it', but it's got a touch of Rocky Horror about it, which came out a year after this did. This has disfigured musician Winslow Leach (William Finley), who tries to get his revenge upon the corruptly Satanic record mogul Swan (Paul Williams), who stole Winslow's music.
Now behind a mask, Winslow's soul now belongs to Swan, who betrays him again, and even tries to groom young Phoenix (Jessica Harper) for stardom with Winslow's work. Another mad rock film from the 1970's, but it has good music, written by Williams, yet it is a world away from De Palma's darker films such as Carrie, Scarface and The Untouchables.
However, it's a pity we don't get odd rock musical films like this anymore, but they were products of their time, they probabily wouldn't work now.
This review of Phantom of the Paradise (1974) was written by Stuart K on 30 Jun 2009.
Phantom of the Paradise has generally received positive reviews.
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