By https://www.movieposters.com/product...ise-mpw-107238, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5811937 Phantom of the Paradise - (1974)
Phantom of the Paradise is one of the greatest films ever made - I won't accept any other assessment as valid, and my love for the film was reaffirmed last night after watching it yet again. I was put in the mood by a couple of reviewers who forewent their usual topic once the film came up in a previous discussion, and decided to talk about it*. One hadn't seen it, and was instantly won over - so their discussion of it's greatness had me watching it again. It's an early Brian De Palma film, with hundreds of little touches paying tributes to all the other films that mean something to the director. It's also a rock musical, with music composed and sometimes sung by Paul Williams, although Jessica Harper and others contribute to it's richly varied sound. It's a bizarre comedy, based on Faust and
Phantom of the Opera, featuring William Finley as a composer whose music is stolen by a man who has made a bargain with the devil - this composer, Winslow Leach, is framed, sent to jail, mutilated once before and once after he escapes, and haunts a music palace run by Swan (Paul Williams) - the man under contract to Satan, and the man who will fool Winslow's Phantom into signing a contract as well.
This is a wonderfully strange film, with absolutely great music, inspired cinematography which references such films as
Touch of Evil and
Psycho, perfect casting and a very unique feel to it. Gerrit Graham appears as a glam rock caricature with an interesting off-stage persona, and is a lot of fun. There's a very sharp edge to it, which gives a heavy, sometimes sad, feel to the film as a whole. It's in a similar category to films like
The Rocky Horror Picture Show and
Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and a cult classic that grows more in stature as the decades pass. A festival known as "Phantompalooza" sprung up in Winnipeg to celebrate it - and next year is it's 50th Anniversary. Shortly before passing away, my brother got me into this film by recording it for me late at night - and I never looked back. I love
Phantom of the Paradise and it easily slots into my top 50 Best Films of All Time.
10/10
*
Two guys talk about how great Phantom of the Paradise is.