An early, atypical outing for horror/thriller expert Brian De Palma, PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE works in many ways that the similarly-themed ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (a film that left me cold) does not. A hilarious combination of a horror classic, a musical show, and a comedy with plenty of laughs and humorous situations along the way, this undiscovered classic remains pretty much forgotten these days, relegated to late-night television slots and forgotten in favour of the Tim Curry-starrer, which was released the following year. De Palma's skilled direction is already in evidence this early in his career, with plenty of stylish camera tricks, pans, split screen, even some hand-held camera work at one point that comes off successfully, plus one or two techniques that remain highly original.
The insane storyline works on many levels and throws in bits of The Picture of Dorian Grey, The Phantom of the Opera, and Faust, with a few of De Palma's expected Hitchcock homages along the way, including a bizarre take on PSYCHO's famous shower sequence. The music is stylish and hummable and extremely well written by song writer Paul Williams, who also stars as the totally sleazy and smugly evil Swan. Winslow Leach is played by William Finley as a gangly bespectacled geek who undergoes a bizarre transformation into a masked avenger. Jessica Harper (SUSPIRIA) also makes her acting debut as the young singer Phoenix in one of the few roles that doesn't gel together properly, with the actress's character failing to connect to the audience at hand.
However, totally stealing all of his sequences is Gerrit Graham, giving the performance of a lifetime as the outrageously homosexual rocker named Beef, who makes Gary Glitter look like Cliff Richard! Beef's demise, in which he is electrocuted live on stage in front of hundreds of screaming fans, is totally through the roof and will have you reaching for the rewind button. Things culminate in an exciting finale which plays up the tragedy aspect of the storyline. My only recommendation can be to seek out and watch De Palma's musical classic immediately.
The insane storyline works on many levels and throws in bits of The Picture of Dorian Grey, The Phantom of the Opera, and Faust, with a few of De Palma's expected Hitchcock homages along the way, including a bizarre take on PSYCHO's famous shower sequence. The music is stylish and hummable and extremely well written by song writer Paul Williams, who also stars as the totally sleazy and smugly evil Swan. Winslow Leach is played by William Finley as a gangly bespectacled geek who undergoes a bizarre transformation into a masked avenger. Jessica Harper (SUSPIRIA) also makes her acting debut as the young singer Phoenix in one of the few roles that doesn't gel together properly, with the actress's character failing to connect to the audience at hand.
However, totally stealing all of his sequences is Gerrit Graham, giving the performance of a lifetime as the outrageously homosexual rocker named Beef, who makes Gary Glitter look like Cliff Richard! Beef's demise, in which he is electrocuted live on stage in front of hundreds of screaming fans, is totally through the roof and will have you reaching for the rewind button. Things culminate in an exciting finale which plays up the tragedy aspect of the storyline. My only recommendation can be to seek out and watch De Palma's musical classic immediately.