Writer-director Brian De Palma pumps 1970s decadence into The Phantom of the Opera story with a rock opera that replaces divas with pop stars. A pastiche of cultural influences and references, Phantom Of The Paradise is a smart, funny, and surprisingly affecting commentary on how artists get exploited and destroyed by businessmen.
Winslow Leach, an aspiring songwriter, makes the mistake of pitching his music to the rock ’n’ roll impresario known as Swan (played by 1970s soft-pop legend Paul Williams, who also wrote the movie’s songs). Swan steals Winslow’s cantata—based on the legend of Faust—intending to give it to one of his many novelty acts to perform at his new theater, The Paradise. But a scarred, masked Winslow works behind the scenes to make sure that his true love, Phoenix (Jessica Harper), sings the songs he wrote for her.
Reviews
"There’s a hell of a lot more to Phantom of the Paradise than its reputation as a goofy one off De Palma cult weirdie would allow." –Den of Geek
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