The Phantom of the Paradise

Brian De Palma, USA, 1974, 91 minutes

One of De Palma's earlier films, Phantom of the Paradise is a bizarre blend of rock, horror and comedy, as well as being a pastiche of a number of sources, including Faust, Hitchcock and a wry comment on the rock word's commercialiam and on showbiz as a whole.

Swan (Paul Williams), a megafamous rock producer; steals Winslow Leach's (William Finley) rock cantata on Faust frames him and gets him sent to prison. Leach escapes and breaks into Swan's studios but inadvertently gets crushed in a record press, becoming horribly deformed, and starts to haunt the Paradise, Swan's new club/theatre, where Swan plans to crown the opening night with Leach's opus. Thereafter Leach, a la Phantom of the Opera, proceeds to wreak havoc on anyone who murders his beloved work except for one girl, Phoenix (Jessica Harper).

De Palma as usual puts in a few cinematic references, a cheap joke Psycho shower scene, a programmed assassination faintly reminiscent of The Manchurian Candidate, and of course echoes of earlier versions of The Phantom of the Opera. The film is adorned with the unattractive side of 70s style: tight half T-shirts, huge bell-bottoms, the ubiquitous lank hair with centre-parting, men with chunky black polo-necks, overgrown fringes and nasty 'taches, plus the encroaching drugs scene and primitive music technology. He also uses his split screen device, and makes good use of sound and video technology (then). The general feeling is (partly since the film has dated quite remarkably) quite bitter, but this is intentional, as De Palma deliberately sets out to satirise showbiz - the machine you have to conform to (as he had to and still has to) to get anywhere, the sad wannabees, and pathetic easily-pleased crowds.

The grand finale is a grotesque almost cartoon-like amalgam of rapid cutting, bizarre colours, wild music and crazy people, with a touch of Grand Guignol thrown in for good measure - it has to be seen to be believed. It suitably encapsulates De Palma's quirky film, an entertaining period piece from the 1970s, whose satire still holds much relevance in the cut-throat world of showbusiness today.

Review by Mark Radice
Taken from EUFS Programme 1994-95