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Click above to purchase "Phantom Of The Paradise" at
amazon.com
Phantom Of The Paradise
review by Anthony D.
Rated R
Running Time: 92 minutes
Starring Jessica Harper, Paul Williams, William
Finley
Written and Directed by Brian DePalma
Studio: Fox
Retail Price: $19.98
Features: Photo Gallery, Theatrical Trailers
Specs: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English Dolby
Stereo, French Mono, English Closed Captions, English
Subtitles, Spanish Subtitles, Chapter Search
Released: September 4th, 2001
Every generation, it would seem, has its very own take on
Gaston Leroux's penny-dreadful novel, THE PHANTOM OF THE
OPERA. Mary Philbin unmasked Lon Chaney in the 1920's,
Susanna Foster revealed Claude Rains in the 1940's, Herbert
Lom was unmasked by Hammer Horror heroine ? In the 1960's;
while on stage Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical truimph, THE
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA won world-wide audiences over with its
theatricality and romantic songs, granting a second career
to Michael Crawford, and beginning the career of diva Sarah
Brightman. Television audiences saw Charles Dance and Burt
Lancaster enact an Arthur Kopit script, which later was
musicalized by Maury ("Titanic") Yeston. Italian director
Dario Argento created two vital versions, if not entirely
faithful, of Leroux's tragic tale: "Opera" and "The Phantom
of the Opera." With the exception of the Argento pieces, no
one attempted to take this same material into the world of
rock and roll, (even Argento's pieces are set in real
operatic situations, but make firm use of a rock score)
until Brian De Palma wrote and directed his personalized
riff: 1974's "The Phantom of the Paradise."
Even though it is very early De Palma, evidence of his
personal stamp is already on display: quirky humor in
horrible situations, girls, girls, girls, split-camera
photography and a misunderstood outsider. De Palma takes the
very structure of Leroux's novel: gifted composer's music is
stolen by a self-serving producer, composer meets a tragic
accident which leaves him thought to be dead, composer
becomes an "angel of music," tutoring a gifted young woman
in the art of singing, composer lashes out violently at
anyone who comes between him and the woman - - often
creating chaos which kills. De Palma retains the element of
the composer having written a piece based on the Faust
legend (man sells his soul to the devil to achieve eternal
life), but adds yet another surprising layer to it, in what
is easily De Palma most restrained and accessible film.
Taking the elements of the story into the world of 1970's
sex, drugs and rock and roll makes perfect sense in De
Palma's film - even though, by today's standards, everything
is very tame. Substituting for an opera house manager is
recording world boy wonder, Swan ( a miscast, but believable
Paul Williams - yes, the composer of "Evergreen") a
pint-sized bundle of bullshit, who bullies his way through
life, protected by a group of Hell's Angels-like body
guards. Swann is tired of the retro-50's bubblegum music
he's producing, so of course when he hears the lofty, piano
rock of Winslow Leach (William Finlay), Swann finagles a
deal which will make Leach's music his own. Leach's
composition is a cantata based on the Faust legend, which he
feels only he can sing - -until he hears lovely soprano
Phoenix (the ever beautiful Jessica Harper) at an audition
for Faust, and audition to which he, the composer, has been
forbidden to attend.
Swan actually frames Leach into a prison term on a
trumped up charge of heroin possession. Leach makes a
dazzling escape from Sing Sing, infiltrates Swan's recording
studio, where he tragically gets his face mangled in a
record pressing machine. The newspapers report his tragic
demise on the same page that they announce the opening of
Swan's dream palace: The Paradise.
With the imminent opening of The Paradise, Leach begins
his vengeful deeds. By donning a black cape, and
silver-bird-like helmet, he hides his infirmity and himself
backstage, creating chaos for those onstage. Swan, never the
dummy, tricks this phantom into signing a contract with him
- - a contract with clauses no lawyer has ever heard of - -
to finish the writing of Faust for the opening of The
Paradise, and for Phoenix. But the singer Swan really has in
mind is Beef, an outrageously funny Gerrit Graham, a
pre-Billy Idol pouter, with a queenly demeanor where a
masculine one should be. Graham's scenes are played quite
broadly, and provide a humor not seen in most of De Palma's
work.
So the stage is set for the premiere of Faust. Leach sees
to it that Beef only gets to sing one chorus of his big song
before striking him with a neon lightning bolt, successfully
electrocuting him. Swan's personal assistant, Philbin
(named, no doubt in honor of the silent screen star), forces
the frightened Phoenix to take the stage, where she
unbelievably wows this hard-rock audience with a tender
ballad. Not only is the audience won over, but Swan decides
that Phoenix will become his bride on a live television
broadcast. Well, that's what he promises Phoenix anyway; his
real plan is to have her assassinated on live television,
just as she utters the words, "Til death do us part." At the
same time, Leach has discovered the loophole in the
contract, a loophole which will mean certain death for at
least two leading characters. As the broadcast goes on,
Leach sets his own diabolical scheme into motion, saving the
day by saving Phoenix's life. The resulting melee deals out
comeuppance for all who deserve it, while at the same time,
unlocking some surprising secrets.
Aside from some minor quibbles with the casting, I found
"The Phantom of the Paradise" to be a highly enjoyable film.
There seem to be two schools of acting going on here, one
natural and one so far over the top that it nearly parades
into self-parody. Williams is not an actor, but that fact
the villain is a short blond man makes his performance
varied; Harper is really wonderful; Graham never lets his
Beef become a stereotype; but Finley never seems to know
what to do at any given moment, with his hang-dog
expression, and bad-hair, his Leach never reaches the
operatic heights that such a character should.
Fox's presentation of "The Phantom of the Paradise" is
one of their better efforts with a library title. Though a
tad on the light side, everything about "Phantom" looks
right - from the shimmery black leather of Leach's costume,
to the feathery confections worn by Phoenix, up to and
including the fleshtones, "Phantom" looks every bit the
1970's film that it is. Time, however, has been very kind to
this "Phantom," as I rarely spotted an age-related artifact
or signs of grain. Blacks could go a little deeper, but the
Mandarin red within the corridors of Swan's Paradise never
bleed, and contrast nicely with the slightly less red doors
therein. And of course, this is an anamorphically enhanced
presentation of the film in its original 1.85:1 aspect
ratio. Remember when you watch this one that Academy Award
winning actress Sissy Spacek was responsible for all of
"Phantom of the Paradise's" set dressings - - all of which
are nicely rendered on this DVD.
Nor are there any real problems with the audio
presentation. Fox opted not to digress from the film's
original stereo soundtrack, which suffices. As "Phantom of
the Paradise" was a low-budget film, the soundtrack reflects
the budgetary restraints; there are no bells and whistles
here, just a simple, well-crafted audio track. Of course,
the score is the sound's selling point, and here there is
enough spaciousness to suggest the stage of the Paradise
itself. Harper's solo number seems to be on the soft side,
but perhaps that's because it follows so closely on Graham's
"Life at Last" which probably should rock a lot louder than
it does. The song score itself, composed primarily by star
Paul Williams, is not your "Woodstock" or "Tommy" rock, but
a rock-flavored pop style that would work wonders with
Williams and Barbra Streisand in "A Star is Born." The score
should have been written by Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf, as
the film's Beef is obviously supposed to be a Meat Loaf like
figure, and the chords and arpeggios that Leach plays in his
opening song are very Steinmanesque. A French mono
soundtrack is also provided, along with Spanish subtitles in
addition to the very literal Closed Captions for the hearing
impaired.
Five similar films are featured under the "Fox Flix"
heading in the disc's Extra Features section, and while four
have them have attained true cult status, one questions the
inclusion of 2000's "Bedazzled's" trailer along side of "The
Legend of Hell House," "The Rocky Horror Picture Show,"
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Big Trouble in Little
China," but that's a minor nit-pick. "Rocky Horror's"
trailer is soft, full-framed and scratched, looking nothing
like the film's excellent DVD; also presented full-frame is
"Phantom of the Paradise's" original Theatrical
Trailer, filled with enough spoilers to be a Reader's
Digest Condensed version of the film. One of my personal
favorite ghost story's trailer is presented in an 1.85:1
aspect ratio, "The Legend of Hell House" quite possibly
looks better than I remember it being with its choice scenes
in the trailer. "Buffy," "Big Trouble in Little China" and
"Bedazzled" all are presented in 2.35:1 aspect ratios.
This one is a real keeper folks. Of course, De Palma fans
will snatch this up quickly, since it is his most
sure-handed directing - although early critics didn't find
anything nice to say about it* - this "Phantom" has wit,
energy and a love for the film medium that De Palma's later
films would only hint at. There is of course, a delicious
Hitchcock hommage within, a funny poke at "Psycho's" shower
scene; as well as other obvious film references including
the silent era's "Phantom of the Opera" and "Cabinet of Dr.
Calgari" along the way. Jessica Harper, in her debut film,
is sure of voice, and lovely to look at. Not surprisingly,
Jessica would go on to make a couple of other musical films:
Herbert Ross's brilliant "Pennies from Heaven" and 20th
Century Fox's illogical sequel to "The Rocky Horror Picture
Show," where she played Janet in "Shock Treatment." But it
was her return to the horror genre that will forever make
Harper an object of fan idolatry, her work in Dario
Argento's "Suspiria" continues to win new fans with every
passing year. Oh, for you Buckheads out there, like me: once
again, Betty Buckley's voice appears uncredited in a Brian
De Palma film.
*Rex Reed in The Daily News wrote: "Pay a visit to De
Palma's new film...and you'll want to throw up. I can't
think of anything within recent memory that I have hated
more than this terrible rock and roll parody of "The Phantom
of the Opera." Totally lacking in structure, style,
coherence and talent, it is one of the most disgraceful
abuses of money that has been trashed upon the screen since
"Candy" [1968]. It should have been reviewed with a machine
gun, since it seems to have been made with one."
 (4/5 - NOT included in
final score)
 (3.5/5)
 (2/5)
 (1/5)
 (3/5,
NOT an average)
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