Phantom of the Paradise is a 1974 musical film written and directed by Brian De Palma. The story is a loosely adapted mixture of The Phantom of the Opera, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Picture of Dorian Gray and Faust and also briefly references Frankenstein and The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. Initially, it had box office failure and was panned by some critics, but it was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe and has since acquired a cult following.
Plot
The story follows music composer/singer Winslow Leach (William Finley), who is seen by Satanic record producer, Swan (Paul Williams) during his performance as a back-up act to the no-talent nostalgia band The Juicy Fruits, whom Swan produces. Swan is deeply moved by Winslow's song, and, deeming Winslow's music as the perfect music to open "The Paradise" - Swan's anticipated concert hall, has his right-hand man Philbin (George Memmoli) steal it.
When Winslow arrives at Death Records, Swan's record label, he is thrown out. When he sneaks into "Swanage", Swan's private mansion, to find out what's going on, he observes several women all rehearsing his music for an audition. One of them is Phoenix (Jessica Harper), an aspiring singer, whom Winslow deems perfect for his music and the two quickly fall for one another. Winslow is told of Swan's plan to open the Paradise with Winslow's music. When Winslow sneaks in once more, Swan orders he be thrown out again and for his minions to beat up Winslow and frame him for drug dealing.
Winslow is given a life sentence in Sing-Sing Prison. In prison, Winslow's teeth are extracted as part of an experimental prisoner program funded by the Swan Foundation. His teeth are now replaced with shiny metal ones. Six months later, Winslow hears on the radio, while assembling tiddlywinks games in the prison rehab center, that The Juicy Fruits, whom he hates, have made an anticipated hit record of his music with Swan's backing. Winslow goes berserk, punches out a guard and escapes from prison in a delivery box driven off prison property.
He breaks into the Death Records building and tears the place up. He then breaks into Swan's record factory where he sets out to destroy a record press. When a guard catches him fiddling with the record press, Winslow slips and the record press catches his sleeve, tumbling him head first into the record press and crushing his face. Bleeding profusely and with his face now severely mutilated, a very disoriented Winslow makes his way to the edge of the East River and tumbles into the water. The newspaper reports the details of the night and that his body was not recovered.
Sneaking backstage into the Paradise, Winslow makes his way into the costume department where he dons a black leather costume, a long, black cape (though later in the film he also wears a red one) and a silver, owl-like mask to cover his now scarred face and becoming the Phantom of the Paradise so he can terrorize Swan and his musicians. He plants a time bomb on a prop car and nearly kills The Juicy Fruits (now calling themselves The Beach Bums). Swan, seeing the Phantom on a security camera, realizes there is an intruder about.
The Phantom confronts Swan who recognizes him as Winslow. Swan offers the composer the chance to have his music produced his way. Auditions are held and the Phantom selects Phoenix. Later, in a secluded recording studio, Swan provides the Phantom with an electronic voice-box, enabling him to speak and sing (but with the voice of Paul Williams). Swan asks the Phantom to rewrite his cantata for Phoenix. The Phantom reluctantly agrees on the condition that Phoenix is the lead singer and that Swan plays "what I write!" Swan promises and the Phantom signs a contract in blood.
While the Phantom remains in the recording studio rewriting his cantata, Swan breaks the deal by telling Philbin that he resents Phoenix's "perfection" for the lead role: "You know how I abhor perfection in anyone but myself." Swan puts a pill-popping feminine male glam-rock prima donna named Beef (Gerrit Graham) in the lead of Winslow's Faust with Phoenix as a backup singer.
The Phantom completes Faust. Swan then drugs him and steals the cantata while ordering his minions to seal the Phantom up inside the recording studio with a brick wall. However, when the Phantom awakens and realizes he's been betrayed he manages to escape. The Phantom then confronts Beef and threatens to kill him if he performs. Beef tries to flee, but is stopped by Philbin, who suggests to Beef that it was all a drug-induced hallucination.
Onstage the glam-rock band The Undeads (formerly The Juicy Fruits), costumed to resemble the sonambulist from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, sing of the perfect man, taking numerous body parts and "turning" them into Beef dressed as a glitter-clad Frankenstein's Monster. As Beef performs, the Phantom, hidden in the rafters, strikes Beef dead (to the great delight of the crowd) with a lightning bolt-shaped neon sign. Horrified, Philbin orders Phoenix onstage as a replacement. Phoenix is an immediate sensation with the audience. Swan now realizes the potential of the situation.
In Phoenix's dressing room, Swan arrives and seduces Phoenix, telling her of her future stardom. As she leaves she is nearly overwhelmed by the zealous crowd but is quickly carted away by the Phantom. On the roof the Phantom tells Phoenix his true identity. He implores Phoenix to leave the Paradise so Swan won't destroy her like he's destroyed everything else. Phoenix doesn't believe him and, fearing the Phantom, flees.
At Swanage, the Phantom observes Swan and Phoenix locked in a tight embrace. Heartbroken, he commits suicide by stabbing himself through the heart with his own knife. However, the Phantom awakens from death to see Swan standing over him. Swan tells the Phantom that he cannot die because he is locked to the blood contract he'd signed earlier: The Phantom can't die until Swan himself has died. With that knowledge, the Phantom attempts to stab Swan through the heart but Swan is unharmed and merely pulls the knife away replying, "I'm under contract, too!"
Rolling Stone announces the upcoming wedding between Swan and Phoenix during Faust's finale. While everyone prepares, the Phantom sneaks into Swan's private taping room to watch the tape containing the blood contract. Watching the tape, the Phantom then learns that Swan made a pact with the devil years ago: Swan will remain youthful forever unless the videotaped recording of his contract is destroyed. In turn, the tape reveals Winslow's contract with Swan and another one Swan made with Phoenix when she was drugged. Then on a live TV camera, the Phantom observes a hit man and realizes Swan is planning to assassinate Phoenix. The Phantom destroys all the recordings by setting them on fire and heads off to the wedding between Phoenix and Swan.
The wedding is in full swing onstage. The Phantom manages to stop the assassin's bullet from hitting Phoenix, and it ends up killing Philbin, who was officiating at the wedding. The Phantom swings down onto the stage and rips off Swan's mask, exposing Swan as a monster on live television. Swan's face is now hideous, melting away due to the tapes being destroyed. Realizing what is happening, Swan tries to strangle Phoenix, but the Phantom intervenes and stabs Swan through the heart. The moment he does, his own fatal wound reopens.
As he is dying, Swan is carried around by the audience, which is driven to the point of hysteria. The dying Winslow also removes his mask to reveal his own face, and cheered on by the crowd, crawls on the floor towards the shocked Phoenix. Just as he holds out a hand to her, Swan dies, allowing Winslow to die of his own wound.
As Winslow collapses, Phoenix finally recognizes him as the kind man she met in line. Phoenix rushes over and lies down next to him, crying and heartbroken.
The closing credits feature a series of montages of the cast members, identifying each by name, commencing with the musical trio and concluding with Winslow/The Phantom. These montages are made up of shots ostensibly from the movie, and most of them are, but there are also numerous outtakes.
Cast
Musical numbers
The film's soundtrack album features all the songs except for "Never Thought I'd Get to Meet the Devil".
- "Goodbye, Eddie, Goodbye" - The Juicy Fruits
- "Faust" - Winslow
- "Never Thought I'd Get to Meet the Devil" - Winslow
- "Faust (1st Reprise)" - Winslow and Phoenix
- "Upholstery" - The Beach Bums
- "Special to Me" - Phoenix
- "Faust (2nd Reprise)" - The Phantom
- "The Phantom's Theme (Beauty and the Beast)" - The Phantom
- "Somebody Super Like You" (Beef construction song) - The Undeads
- "Life at Last" - Beef
- "Old Souls" - Phoenix
- "The Hell of It" - Swan
Production
The record press in which Finley's Winslow character was disfigured was a real pressing plant (an injection-molding press at Pressman Toys). He was worried about whether the machine would be safe, and the crew assured that it was. The press was fitted with foam pads (which resemble the casting molds in the press), and there were chocks put in the center to stop it from closing completely. Unfortunately, the machine was powerful enough to crush the chocks and it gradually kept closing. Finley moved fast enough to avoid injury.
The "electronic room" in which Winslow composes his cantata (and where Swan restores his voice) is in fact the real-life recording studio, The Record Plant. The walls covered with knobs are in reality an oversize custom-built electronic synthesizer dubbed TONTO, which still exists to this day.
The "Paradise" concert scenes were filmed at the Majestic Theater in Dallas, Texas. The "extras" in the audience had responded to an open "cattle call" for locals interested in being in the film.
Sissy Spacek was the film's set dresser, assisting her then-boyfriend-now-husband Jack Fisk, the film's production designer.
Release
Box office
The film was a box-office bomb the year of its initial showings. Curiously, the film's major market during its theatrical release was in Winnipeg, Canada where it stayed in local cinemas over four months continuously and over one year non-continuously until 1976.
Critical
While it was panned by critics on its initial release, it has been re-examined and hailed as a classic. As of April 2009, it has a 94% "Fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
Soundtrack
Related, the soundtrack sold 20,000 copies in Winnipeg alone, and it got Gold status in Canada.
Later release
The film was later shown on area IMAX screens in the 90s. A 2006 fan-organized festival, dubbed 'Phantompalooza', reunited the original cast and featured a concert by Paul Williams in the very theatre where the film played during its original run.
Trivia
Daft Punk has said this film was an inspiration for their costume design.
External links
