4. Phantom of the Paradise (dir. Brian De Palma, 1974)
Horror comedy rock musicals dont come round that often, so when they do youre pretty much guaranteed something special, or at least memorable.
Phantom of the Paradise doesnt disappoint, reworking
The Phantom of the Opera for the 1970s rock scene. Paul Williams plays Swan, a rock impresario looking for a big act to open his new club, the Paradise. Having found what he was looking for in Winslow Leach, Swan steals his music and throws him jail. After escaping and becoming horribly disfigured (by a record press, no less), Winslow returns to haunt the Paradise and falls in love with one of the singers This early effort from Brian De Palma (
Carrie,
Scarface,
The Untouchables) is on a par with
The Rocky Horror Picture Show in terms of sheer lunacy, and arguably has the better musical score, at least in terms of production. It blends
The Phantom of the Opera storyline with different horror tropes from
Faust,
The Portrait of Dorian Gray and even
Psycho, restaging the shower scene using a toilet plunger (its funnier than it sounds). If nothing else its an interesting companion to the Andrew Lloyd Webber version, and a damn sight better than Joel Schumachers take from eight years ago.
Mumby at the Movies review - The Movie Hour podcast: #62