Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Fulke Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Ulf Kjell Gür I refused to see this film when it was released. Rumor had that it was a sorry collection of imitations and extensive plagiarism of real music, theater and film. In addition, Paul Williams had a lot of influence over production. Tonight I dared to watch this hullabaloo. I found Jessica Harper OK. And the suction cup in Beef's face. Otherwise it sounded a lot like Queen and occasionally as The Doors. The show was expressed like "Jesus Christ Superstar", "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" or a pimped up "Hair". Paul Williams was re-using melodies of Elton John and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Some Randy Newman too. There's also a negative side.

PimpinAinttEasy Dear Brian De Palma,you really hate the American music industry, don't you? You didn't even spare The Beach Boys. The songs in the film were truly awful, lol. I guess that was deliberate. Phantom of Paradise is an over the top depiction of American excess, debauchery and bad taste. That and the characters with grotesque faces and garish sets makes Phantom of the Paradise America's Satyricon (the Fellini film) - a study of how uninhabited devotion to pleasure eventually leads to the decline of a civilization. The exaggerated social satire set to music reminded me of A Clockwork Orange. The film might have had an influence on the makers of This is Spinal Tap. William Finley is such a great actor to have in your movie. His odd long face with the big nose, peppered with the cat eyes makes him almost like a special effect. Jessica Harper was disappointing, it was hard to imagine that the talented song writer (Finley) would be so enamored by her. I wonder what you and Dario Argento saw in her. She did act reasonably well though. Paul Williams nailed the creepy and cruel music producer. I noticed some of your trademarks like split screens, long point of view tracking shots and morally repugnant Italians. I was not enamored by the film beyond a certain level. I mean, I like the fact that you are being tongue in cheek with all the over the topness. But there are times when you lost your way with this style (Get to Know Your Rabbit was also an example of this).Best Regards, Pimpin.(5/10)

Scott LeBrun This viewer feels obliged to point out that his hometown - Winnipeg, Canada - is one of the two cities in the world to truly embrace Brian De Palmas' operatic spoof of the glam rock era. (The other being Paris, France.) Therefore, it's mystifying that it should have taken me so long to finally watch it, but now I'm glad that I have.It's a thoroughly flamboyant, marvelously designed and decorated rock musical that combines the themes of Phantom of the Opera, Faust, and The Picture of Dorian Gray. William Finley stars as Winslow Leach, a naive, trusting singer-composer who is taken advantage of by conniving producer Swan (who's played by real-life singer-composer-actor Paul Williams). Several circumstances later, the disfigured Leach seeks revenge against Swan while falling madly in love with aspiring pop star Phoenix (the radiant Jessica Harper).The late, great character star Finley and the engaging Williams were never better than in this funny and fast paced exercise in style. It gets off to a great start with opening narration by none other than Rod Serling. Well shot, by Larry Pizer, and designed, by Jack Fisk, it features some thoroughly catchy ditties by Williams. The parodies of such performers as Sha-Na-Na and the Beach Boys are spot on. De Palma is also most effective at capturing the insanity of the emerging shock-rock trend, especially with the effeminate rocker Beef, one of the all- time best roles for top character actor Gerrit Graham.Harper is beautiful and extremely appealing and it's a shame that neither she nor Graham nor anyone else here ever became big stars. Williams is great fun, and Finley fully embraces the tragic arc of his character. Heavy set George Memmoli is also solid as Swans' gopher Philbin.This film manages to maintain that feeling of fun throughout while also being rather sad at the same time.Trivia note: Fisks' wife, actress Sissy Spacek, who went on to play the title role in De Palmas' next film, the feature adaptation of Stephen Kings' "Carrie", was the set dresser here. And look for such familiar 70s actresses as Jennifer Ashley, Janit Baldwin, Janus Blythe, Robin Mattson, Patrice Rohmer, and Cheryl Smith among the groupies.Eight out of 10.

zlucasz DePalma at (almost) his best, which is not too good but intermittently entertaining, mostly for the visual aspects.The problem is that everything else is obviously a subordinate concern to the effects and scenes that DePalma (who wrote as well as directed). This holes in the narrative and lack of internal logic are made all the more painful by awkward scenes of exposition that are either unnecessary ("But I'm innocent! Swan framed me and stole my music" is not something that needs to be stated to the audience immediately after showing it) or shoehorned in, putting the brakes on the movie.The lack of internal logic undermines dramatic effect, but that's no surprise, as DePalma's inability in that regard is amply illustrated in his attempts at "serious" movies such as Bonfire of the Vanities and the Untouchables.In his best films (the underrated Greetings and the effectively unpretentious Carrie), DePalma doesn't overreach himself. In most of his movies, however, his "homages" to classic scenes of other movies only serve to underscore that he is not in a league with the filmmakers that he idolizes.Phantom of the Paradise could have been more than an amusing curiosity if the music wasn't so prevalent, interminable, and awful. The music that's supposed to be "good" is the worst sort of sensitive balladeering. The music that's supposed to be trashy rock bastardizations of the "artist's vision" are way more Broadway than rock and not trashy enough: the character Beef deserved better.