Phantom of the Paradise

Phantom of the Paradise
Theatrical poster by John Alvin
Directed by	Brian De Palma
Written by	Brian De Palma
Produced by	Edward R. Pressman
Starring	Paul Williams William Finley Jessica Harper
Edited by	Paul Hirsch
Music by	Paul Williams
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release dates	October 31, 1974
Running time	92 min.
Country
Language	English
Budget	$1.3 million
Box office	$5,386,107

Phantom of the Paradise is a 1974 horror-thriller musical film written and directed by Brian De Palma. The story is a loosely adapted mixture of Phantom of the Opera, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Picture of Dorian Gray and Faust. The film was marketed with the tagline "He sold his soul for rock n'roll", and then with "He's been maimed and framed, beaten, robbed and mutilated. But they still can't keep him from the woman he loves." Initially a box office failure and panned by some critics, it has since gained a cult following.

Plot

The story follows a music composer and singer named Winslow Leach (played by William Finley). Winslow's pop cantata "Faust" is stolen by Satanic record producer, Swan (played by Paul Williams). Winslow tries to get it back, and along the way falls for Phoenix, an aspiring singer (played by Jessica Harper). Swan orders his minions to frame Winslow for drug dealing.

In prison, after his teeth are removed and replaced with metal ones, Winslow goes berserk, escapes and tries to destroy Swan's record factory. His face is mutilated and vocal chords crushed in a record press accident. Winslow sneaks into Swan's concert hall and residence, the Paradise, and wears an owl-like mask and black leather costume so he can terrorize Swan's musicians.

Swan confronts Winslow, and offers the composer the chance to have his music produced and the return of his voice, in exchange for signing a contract in blood. Winslow agrees, on the condition that Phoenix is the lead singer.

Swan breaks the deal, seduces Phoenix, and puts a gay male prima donna named Beef (Gerrit Graham) in the lead of Winslow's "Faust". Winslow kills Beef, then learns that Swan made a Pact with the Devil years ago: Swan will live forever, with a youthful appearance, unless the videotaped recording of his contract is destroyed. Winslow's contract with Swan, in turn, says that that Winslow can't die until Swan himself has died.

The story ends with Winslow crashing Swan's sensationalized wedding to Phoenix at the Paradise and exposing him as a monster on live television. Both men are killed.

Cast

• Paul Williams as Swan
• William Finley as Winslow Leach / The Phantom
• Jessica Harper as Phoenix
• George Memmoli as Philbin
• Gerrit Graham as Beef
• Archie Hahn as The Juicy Fruits / The Beach Bums / The Undeads

Trivia

• The character Philbin, who is the chief henchman of the villain Swan, borrows his last name from Mary Philbin, star of The Phantom of the Opera (1925).
• According to IMDB.com, the record press in which his Winslow character was disfigured was a real pressing plant (it was an injection-molding press at an Ideal Toy Co. plant). 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 that it gradually kept closing. It was Finley's speed and timing that saved him from truly being hurt, as he got his head out just in time. Incidentally, his scream in the scene was real.
• The "Death Records" secretary's card index includes files on Alice Cooper, David Geffen, Bette Midler, Peter Fonda, Dick Clark and 'Kris Kristofferson' .
• On Phoenix's mirror after the concert in which she becomes a star is a magazine ad with the headline "I'm a Harper's Freak". Phoenix was played by Jessica Harper .
• The Death Records logo is optically printed over the originally planned "Swan Song" label at several points in the film
• Cameo: Rod Serling introductory voiceover.
• Phantom was a box office flop the year it came out. The only place in North America where the film had lasting power was in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada where it stayed on the screens, off and on, for months.
• Sissy Spacek is credited as "set dresser" for this film, assisting her boyfriend (now husband) Jack Fisk, who was the film's production designer.
• William Finley came up with the bird motif of the Phantom costume, a collaboration with costume designer Rosanna Norton.
• Gerrit Graham has talked about the infamous "musical chairs" casting, where William Finley almost wound up with no part to play. At one point, Paul Williams was to play Winslow, Graham was to play Swan and Peter Boyle was cast as Beef. Williams turned down the role of Winslow mostly because he didn't feel physically large or menacing enough for the role. Somehow, Boyle was unavailable (probably shooting his role in the more successful Young Frankenstein), Graham took the Beef role, and Finley ultimately took the Winslow role, which had been written with him in mind. William Finley said in a recent interview that Jon Voight was at one time considered for the role of Swan.
• The character of Winslow Leach (the Phantom) was named after director Brian De Palma's mentor, Wilford Leach.
• The single-edit, "time bomb in the car trunk" sequence is an homage to Orson Welles' famous opening for Touch of Evil (1958).
• Gerrit Graham's singing voice was dubbed by Ray Kennedy.
• When Swan (Paul Williams) is adjusting Winslow's voice, the singer is not William Finley but Paul Williams. This makes it a little in-joke when Swan announces that the voice is "perfect".
• 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. Also, the walls covered with knobs are in reality a huge, custom-built electronic synthesizer. Dubbed TONTO, this instrument was featured on several albums by the pioneering electronica duo T.O.N.T.O.'s Expanding Head Band, and it still exists to this day.
• In addition to Leroux's "Phantom of the Opera" and Goethe's (et al) "Faust", the film also references Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein", Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray", and Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" for a total of at least five citations of classical horror stories.
• Jessica Harper beat out Linda Ronstadt for the part of Phoenix.
• The movie was a huge hit in Winnipeg, staying 4 1/2 months in theaters continuously and over one year non continuously until 1976. Was in the IMAX 2000 screen in the 90's
• The soundtrack sold 20,000 copies in Winnipeg alone, and it got Gold status in Canada

Mistakes/Goofs

• At the airport, one of the "Undeads" has a bandage on his hand and a splint on one finger. During the rehearsals he is wearing a full sling and (apparently) a cast on the arm. During the actual performance in the next scene he has no splints, casts or sling.
• Swan is sitting watching his tape, after the car blows up on stage and sees the Phantom for the first time, in a black suit with a red shirt. When he comes out of the room and sees Winslow he is wearing a tan suit with a white shirt.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack is still available. Track listing:

1. Goodbye, Eddie, Goodbye - Archie Hahn, Juicy Fruits
2. Faust - Bill Finley
3. Upholstery - Jeffrey Comanor, Beach Bums
4. Special to Me (Phoenix Audition Song) - Jessica Harper
5. Phantom's Theme (Beauty and The Beast) - Paul Williams
6. Somebody Super Like You (Beef Construction Song) - Harold Oblong, The Undeads
7. Life at Last - Ray Kennedy
8. Old Souls - Jessica Harper
9. Faust - Paul Williams
10. The Hell of It - Paul Williams

External links

• Phantom of the Paradise at IMDb
• Phantom of the Paradise at AllMovie
• Phantom of the Paradise at Rotten Tomatoes
• The 1975 Phantom phenomenon in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada: Phantompalooza
• Detailed fansite: Swan Archives