Phantom Of The Paradise
As both a spoof of the music industry back in the 70s (that’s still relevant today), and as a gothic rock n roll horror film that harkens back to classics of the past but still retains an original vibe, Brian DePalma was in his 70s prime when he came up with this concoction, even if it was not a box office success in 1974 and remains a cult item seen by only a relative handful to this day. The actual story combines the classic Phantom Of The Opera template mixed in with the story of Faust, as the Phantom himself (William Finley) is NOT the villain here but rather the satanic music impresario Swan. Combining equal (chilling) elements of both Michael Jackson and Phil Spector, there is a bit of controversy with the casting of the diminutive Paul Williams in the part of the larger than life mogul: While certainly not anyone’s first choice in the role, Williams manages to embody Swan with a suave charisma and slickness that puts forth the character as a genius prodigy who may have at one time brought great artistic intentions to his work but has since sold out (literally) to peddle whatever fad or trend of music he deems appropriate on the public. By stealing The Phantom’s brilliant work and bastardizing it into tasteless junk, he maintains the level of mediocrity that has become the fastest and easiest way to make money in the business. In short, Swan is one of the most underrated villains in movie history, and a lot of fun to watch. Williams also composed the songs for the movie, and with the exception of the numbers that are SUPPOSED to be bad, they remain catchy and entertaining to this day, as seen by his Oscar nomination (out of five for his career, with one win) for Best Score; In the ingénue role of the beautiful singer The Phantom and Swan compete for, Jessica Harper brings looks and amazing untapped talent to the table, and makes us invest in her character even as her newfound fame brings an unpleasant layer of shallowness; Gerrit “Marshall Lucky” Graham as the camp homosexual singer Beef, takes an offensive stereotype and turns it into high comedy, singlehandedly inspiring the later and better known Rocky Horror phenomenon. DePalma uses all his skills to make a metaphor about the ravages of fame while still keeping the viewer riveted with the unholy bond between Swan and The Phantom, leading to the touching, emotional ending with the moral being to never give up your dreams no matter what corrupt elements try to derail your path. Overall, DePalma’s most underrated work, and arguably the greatest cult film of the 70s…
10/10