Ah, what better film to review for my 50th than Brian De Palma's weird and wonderful Rock & Roll send-up of "Phantom of the Opera'. Alternately overpraised as a Kubrickian genius, or dismissed as a lame Hitchcopycat, De Palma is still a genuinely interesting director to study if not exactly easy to understand. While I agree that 'Carrie' is his masterpiece, his most unique and re-watchable film is this bizarre take on Gaston Leroux's often-filmed tale, which is filmed with lots of things which will alternately make you marvel or start scratching your head in confusion, not the least of which being that this version probably features THE most faithful portrayal of the Phantom since the days of Lon Chaney Sr and drives home the Faustian element of the story farther than any other version, and in some ways, much better than even in Leroux's own novel.
Yeah, you read that correctly.
The film sets its tone with the opening scenes(following a bizarre "Twilight Zone'-like voice-over)as we see a greaser nostalgia group called the Juicy Fruits perform a deceptively cheerful song about an unsuccessful musician who kills himself so that he will become a legend overnight so that it will help support his sister. Scenes like this are great, as they pretty much tell you that you will be getting more of the same in alternating doses of effectiveness. The whole film is like this opening: Fast-paced, bouncy, but with an underlying sense of menace, tragedy and heartbreak. If James Whale was alive in the '70's, this is the film he would have made.
The plot is a comedic update of the 1962 Terrence Fisher version of 'Phantom'. William Finley plays Warren Zevon-look a like Winslow Leach, a character clearly patterned after Herbert Lom's Professor Petrie. The nerdy but easily angered(he goes berserk at the prospect of his music being sung by the Juicy Fruits, whom he despises)Winslow is writing a rock opera based on 'Faust' which he insists on performing himself, and although he does quite a good job in my opinion, record dealer Swan(Paul Williams, playing a cross between Phil Spector, Dorian Gray and Michael Gough's Lord D' Arcy character from the 1962 version)decides he likes the music more than Winslow and steals it. After several unsuccessful attempts to get his music back, Swan has drugs planted on Winslow and he ends up getting life(?). However, after hearing his music performed on the radio by the Juicy Fruits, our hero snaps, kills a guard and escapes in a montage straight out of Loony Tunes, only to get disfigured by, wait for it, a RECORD PRESS.
Yeah.....
You can tell what happens next, but that doesn't mean things don't become more and more twisted. He may now be the disfigured, caped masked madman, but Winslow is soon going to discover he's not the only one inhabiting Swan's performance house who is worthy of being called "The Phantom".
Often criticized for his overindulgence(only in the '70's could such a minor celebrity have so many guest appearances) and diminutive size, Paul Williams nevertheless crafts a wonderfully slimy and urbane villain in Swan. The Phantom may be deformed, kill and terrorize, but Swan is the real monster in more ways than one. William Finley shines as Winslow, managing to make us instantly care and sympathize with him despite being a nerdy, naive, egotistical goof-ball. Yet, as the Phantom, he is genuinely menacing. Winslow, much like Erik in the novel, is more at home writing and performing than interacting with other people, and although he is targeting a genuinely evil man, he nevertheless has no qualms whatsoever about brutally slaughtering innocent stagehands and musicians he does not care for, annoying though they may be. It is genuinely disturbing watching him cackle insanely with his high-pitched robotic voice as he maims and kills people. Like Erik, he may be a tragic victim, but he really does enjoy being an evil monster more than he would care to admit. Finley makes his murders progress from bad tempered outbursts, to circumstantial ones to "Wheeeee!!! Murder is FUN!" in a believable fashion. And his Phantom costume, depending on your point-of-view, is either the best or worst ever created, even though he looks more like a superhero(or villain)than anything else. Husky-voiced Jessica Harper is also good as Winslows' love interest, man can she sing. Despite prominent billing, Gerrit Graham has little more than an overlong cameo as quite possibly the biggest gay stereotype on the face of the earth; a metal singer named Beef(!!!??)who ends up being killed in an outrageously offensive quadruple-visual pun(I'll let the smart people guess what I mean, and no, it's not because of his Frankenstein costume).
The film has great songs, and a fun cartoon sensibility that makes several gaping plot holes and outrageous coincidences overlook-able. The film's only flaw, is that it is too short, and too fast-paced. Nevertheless, this is still essential viewing for any cult film enthusiast.~
Yeah, you read that correctly.
The film sets its tone with the opening scenes(following a bizarre "Twilight Zone'-like voice-over)as we see a greaser nostalgia group called the Juicy Fruits perform a deceptively cheerful song about an unsuccessful musician who kills himself so that he will become a legend overnight so that it will help support his sister. Scenes like this are great, as they pretty much tell you that you will be getting more of the same in alternating doses of effectiveness. The whole film is like this opening: Fast-paced, bouncy, but with an underlying sense of menace, tragedy and heartbreak. If James Whale was alive in the '70's, this is the film he would have made.
The plot is a comedic update of the 1962 Terrence Fisher version of 'Phantom'. William Finley plays Warren Zevon-look a like Winslow Leach, a character clearly patterned after Herbert Lom's Professor Petrie. The nerdy but easily angered(he goes berserk at the prospect of his music being sung by the Juicy Fruits, whom he despises)Winslow is writing a rock opera based on 'Faust' which he insists on performing himself, and although he does quite a good job in my opinion, record dealer Swan(Paul Williams, playing a cross between Phil Spector, Dorian Gray and Michael Gough's Lord D' Arcy character from the 1962 version)decides he likes the music more than Winslow and steals it. After several unsuccessful attempts to get his music back, Swan has drugs planted on Winslow and he ends up getting life(?). However, after hearing his music performed on the radio by the Juicy Fruits, our hero snaps, kills a guard and escapes in a montage straight out of Loony Tunes, only to get disfigured by, wait for it, a RECORD PRESS.
Yeah.....
You can tell what happens next, but that doesn't mean things don't become more and more twisted. He may now be the disfigured, caped masked madman, but Winslow is soon going to discover he's not the only one inhabiting Swan's performance house who is worthy of being called "The Phantom".
Often criticized for his overindulgence(only in the '70's could such a minor celebrity have so many guest appearances) and diminutive size, Paul Williams nevertheless crafts a wonderfully slimy and urbane villain in Swan. The Phantom may be deformed, kill and terrorize, but Swan is the real monster in more ways than one. William Finley shines as Winslow, managing to make us instantly care and sympathize with him despite being a nerdy, naive, egotistical goof-ball. Yet, as the Phantom, he is genuinely menacing. Winslow, much like Erik in the novel, is more at home writing and performing than interacting with other people, and although he is targeting a genuinely evil man, he nevertheless has no qualms whatsoever about brutally slaughtering innocent stagehands and musicians he does not care for, annoying though they may be. It is genuinely disturbing watching him cackle insanely with his high-pitched robotic voice as he maims and kills people. Like Erik, he may be a tragic victim, but he really does enjoy being an evil monster more than he would care to admit. Finley makes his murders progress from bad tempered outbursts, to circumstantial ones to "Wheeeee!!! Murder is FUN!" in a believable fashion. And his Phantom costume, depending on your point-of-view, is either the best or worst ever created, even though he looks more like a superhero(or villain)than anything else. Husky-voiced Jessica Harper is also good as Winslows' love interest, man can she sing. Despite prominent billing, Gerrit Graham has little more than an overlong cameo as quite possibly the biggest gay stereotype on the face of the earth; a metal singer named Beef(!!!??)who ends up being killed in an outrageously offensive quadruple-visual pun(I'll let the smart people guess what I mean, and no, it's not because of his Frankenstein costume).
The film has great songs, and a fun cartoon sensibility that makes several gaping plot holes and outrageous coincidences overlook-able. The film's only flaw, is that it is too short, and too fast-paced. Nevertheless, this is still essential viewing for any cult film enthusiast.~