Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

Directed by Brian De Palma. Starring Paul Williams, William Finley, Jessica Harper, Gerrit Graham, George Memmoli. [PG]

Garish horror melodrama in the guise of a rock musical, loosely adapted from “The Phantom of the Opera,” with bits of the German play Faust, silent horror classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” thrown in for good measure. Music producer Williams steals original compositions from highfalutin songwriter Finley and frames him for a crime that carries a life sentence. Finley escapes prison, gets horribly disfigured, and seeks masked revenge as the Phantom of the Paradise (the name of the concert hall that Williams opened). De Palma’s excess-drenched filmmaking is fun most of the way, overloaded with saturated colors, wild camera angles, frantic montage cutting, and loud rock n’ roll, although energy has a tendency to wane for a period of time after each major event (the scarring, the electrocution, etc.). Doesn’t add up to much beyond the sensory assault—stabs at satire are often ineffectual because this particular rock scene was already knowingly outrageous—but it’s become a major cult item for a reason, and not just because of stylistic similarities to the último cult item, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Graham steals the show as a flamboyant, prima donna glam rocker known as “Beef.” Songs written by Williams, who had a hand in a lot of pop music hits of the era from the Carpenters, Three Dog Night, and more.

71/100