Phantom of the Paradise
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Phantom of the Paradise - Brian De Palma's great, overlooked 1970s glitter-rock comedy-musical spectacle is a memorable combination of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and FAUST. Winslow Leach (William Finley) is a talented young rock composer/janitor whose music is stolen and whose life is destroyed by a ruthless record tycoon named Swan (Paul Williams)--who just happens to have sold his soul in exchange for rock-n-roll success and eternal youth! The ruined and disfigured Leach becomes the Phantom, an imposing leather-clad creature who is hell-bent on demolishing Swan as the diabolical music mogul prepares to open his biggest venture yet-- a rock-and-roll palace called The Paradise. Eerily prescient in it's depiction of yet-to-exist musical genres, this stunningly original and darkly comic rock nightmare features voice over narration by Rod Serling, and memorable original songs by the multi-talented Williams. Academy Award Nominations: Best Original Song Score (Paul Williams/George Aliceson Tipton).
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(6 total reviews)
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Family Video
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Rating (4.52/5)
1828 reviews
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Brian De Palma's great overlooked 1970s glitter-rock comedy-musical spectacle is a memorable combination of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and FAUST. Winslow Leach William Finley is a talented young rock composerjanitor whose music is stolen and whose life is destroyed by a ruthless record tycoon named Swan Paul Williams--who just happens to have sold his soul in exchange for rock-n-roll success and eternal youth! The ruined and disfigured Leach becomes the Phantom an imposing leather-clad creature who is hell-bent on demolishing Swan as the diabolical music mogul prepares to open his biggest venture yet-- a rock-and-roll palace called The Paradise. Eerily prescient in it's depiction of yet-to-exist musical genres this stunningly original and darkly comic rock nightmare features voice over narration by Rod Serling and memorable original songs by the multi-talented Williams. Academy Award Nominations: Best Original Song Score Paul WilliamsGeorge Aliceson Tipton.... More Info
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$7.99
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(In stock)
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Amazon Marketplace
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☼ Trusted Store
Rating (2.75/5)
234 reviews
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Describing Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise as an update of the classic Phantom of the Opera doesn't do justice to this demented movie. While De Palma's Hitchcock homages have sometimes led him into dead ends, this rock & roll remake seems to have liberated De Palma's imagination, and the result is weird and funny, with the scruffy underground spirit of the director's early pictures. The Phantom is one Winslow Leach (William Finley), a nerdy songwriter whose pop cantata on the subject of Faust is stolen by a freakish, Phil Spector-like rock impresario called Swan (Paul Williams). After getting his head caught in a vinyl-LP compressor, Leach is transformed into a masked creature, haunting Swan's music palace, the Paradise. De Palma proves how nimbly he can establish narrative rhythm: the story moves like a cannon shot, and the musical numbers (especially in the Alice Cooper-like Paradise sequences) are brilliantly cut. The movie seems to predict the Studio 54 scene, MTV, and punk rock--the last, especially, in the figure of Beef, a screeching singer played by the unhinged Gerrit Graham. The songs were written by Paul Williams, that diminutive '70s music icon (he cowrote the Barbra Streisand wet noodle Evergreen), and his performance is a reminder of his peculiar, self-spoofing presence: at one point, the preening Swan announces, You know how I abhor perfection in anyone but myself. Comedy, musical, horror film, '70s artifact--this movie isn't quite definable, and that's what's wonderful about it. --Robert Horton... More Info
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$12.98
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Rating (2.75/5)
234 reviews
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Composer Winslow Leach (William Finley) is determined to seek revenge on Swan (Williams), an evil record tycoon who steals his pop cantana of the Faust legend to launch his enemy's palace as the mysterious Phantom of the Paradise and continues to plan his gruesome retaliation.... More Info
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$3.89
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