The powerful and awarded producer of records and owner of the successful label Death Records, Swan (Paul Williams),steals the Faust cantata composed by the unknown and naive composer Winslow Leach (William Finley) for the grand-opening of his rock-palace, The Paradise. When Winslow bothers Swan trying to meet him to produce his album, he is framed by Swan and sentenced to life in Sing Sing. Winslow escapes from the prison and is accidentally disfigured by the record press of the Death Record. He haunts The Paradise and finds Swan, who proposes a thick contract to Winslow to be signed with his blood. In accordance with the deal with the evil producer, the composer could finish the cantata he was composing for his muse and passion, the singer Phoenix (Jessica Harper),to sing in the theater. However, Swan double-crosses Winslow again, and he finds the dark secret of his contract.

The kitsch "Phantom of the Paradise" is a super-cult of my generation, with a tragic love story that blends "The Phantom of the Opera", "Faust" and "The Picture of Dorian Gray". I do not know how many times I have heard the delightful soundtrack of this movie on CD and watched this film on VHS, and today I have just seen it again on DVD for the first time, thirty-three years after the original release and still enjoying and singing the songs together with Phoenix, Beef and the Juicy Fruits. My family also loves this movie and the songs of this underrated masterpiece. The awesome composer of the some of the most important classic songs of The Carpenters, Paul Williams, fits perfectly to the role of the evil Swan, with his blond hair and dark heart. I do not recall seeing William Finley in another movie, at least in a remarkable role. However, the debut of the talented Jessica Harper was stunning, with a top-notch performance and an awesome voice. I could bet at that time that she would become a sensation as actress and singer, but unfortunately I just recall her in "Suspiria", "Love and Death" and "Tales from the Crypt". Brian De Palma pays homage to Alfred Hitchcock with the shower scene of Beef. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "O Fantasma do Paraíso" ("The Phantom of the Paradise")

On 18 January 2011, I saw this film again.

It's amazing to read the reviews for this ultra-cheesy film. While I can easily understand why people might enjoy watching PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (a film so bad, it's good),I just can't understand how any sane person can see this as a quality film. Maybe some assume that Brian DePalma is a genius who can do no wrong, though I think this film clearly proves DePalma is VERY capable of making junk. Aside from Jessica Harper (who sings very well),I can't see how anyone associated with this film could look at themselves in the mirror after creating this giant pile of Velveta! But, for bad film buffs like myself who LOVE to watch over-the-top bad films (like SGT. PEPPER or THE APPLE or ROLLER BOOGIE or XANADU),then this film is a must-see!

Of the films listed above, PHANTOM is the most similar to THE APPLE--a little-known German monstrosity from 1980. Both films are rock and roll morality tales about success and the Devil and both are amazingly big budget and glitzy--very, very, very glitzy! Both feature bad but catchy music, ridiculous costumes, silly stories and many singers who can barely carry a tune (in this film, William Finley needs to be heard to believed as well as the "Juicy Fruits"). THE APPLE is clearly worse, but both are monuments to bad film making.

The story is a mishmash of several classic stories. Most of the story is taken from "Phantom of the Opera" and "Faust". Finley is clearly a 1970s version of the Phantom--complete with a mutilated face, a silly mask and stolen music. Paul Williams(?) is a man who is Devilish--having long ago given his soul for success. However, there are also elements of "The Portrait of Dorian Gray" and other tales. I could explain the plot, but there are already many reviews that do this very well when it comes to the particulars.

The bottom line is that again and again, DePalma chooses to go the loud and obnoxious and silly route with this film. Subtle, it certainly ain't!! And because of that, you can't miss it--it's a monumental work of badness.

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.