Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

In co-writer/director Brian de Palma's under-rated, visually-amazing classic rock-musical horror film - the visually-masterful 'Beauty and the Beast' tale was the director's single attempt at filming a musical. The film's theme of a gifted but lonely outcast seeking explosive revenge also found its way into de Palma's future film Carrie (1976), starring Sissy Spacek (who served as the film's Set Dresser in the Art Department). The film's main tagline was: "He sold his soul for rock 'n' roll!"

The film's musical score was by Paul Williams (who had orginally composed music for the pop-groups The Carpenters and Three Dog Night). The expressionistic film was noted for its excessively over-saturated colors, loud and energized rock performances, and experimental camera-work including split-screens, frantic jump-cuts and chaotic camera angles.

The garish rock-n-roll horror-comedy was a precursor to The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) that came a year later. It also paid homage to its literary roots: Christopher Marlowe's "Doctor Faustus", Gaston Leroux's "The Phantom of the Opera", and Oscar Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray." De Palma's film also borrowed from other classic horror films, including various film versions of 'Phantom of the Opera' (1925, 1943, 1962, and more), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920, Germ.), Faust (1926, Germ.), and The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945). Other films referenced included Touch of Evil (1958) and The Manchurian Candidate (1962). It also provided a satirical look at two extravagant, outrageous and flamboyant sub-branches of 1970s rock music: Concept Rock (Jethro Tull), and Glitter Rock (Alice Cooper and David Bowie).

Phantom of the Paradise was independently financed for about $1.3 million, and was filmed in late 1973 to early 1974. De Palma's niche rock-musical film, eventually praised as a true cult film, cleverly satirized horror films and elements of 70's culture (i.e., the corrupt and venal music industry and the elusive and corruptive goal of fame), but never became the gigantically-influential and global smash that Rocky Horror attained. Its gross revenues were negligible, and it failed to earn back its original budget, making only $159,000. The unique and offbeat 20th Century Fox film, regarded by some as a cinematically better but darker film than Rocky Horror, was overwhelmed in November of 1974 by other blockbusters in the theaters, including a trio of 'disaster films' at the end of the year: Airport 1975 (1974), Earthquake (1974), and The Towering Inferno (1974), and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974).

• the film's introductory narration (by The Twilight Zone's Rod Serling) briefly summarized the identity of the main character Swan (Paul Williams - also the composer of the original musical score) and his status in the music industry:
  • "Swan - he has no other name. His past is a mystery, but his work is already a legend. He wrote and produced his first gold record at 14; in the years since then, he has won so many other that he once tried to deposit them in Fort Knox. He brought the blues to Britain. He brought Liverpool to America. He brought folk and rock together. His band, the Juicy Fruits, single-handedly gave birth to the nostalgia wave of the '70s. Now he is looking for the new sound of the spheres, to inaugurate his own Xanadu, his own Disneyland: the Paradise, the ultimate rock palace. This film is the story of that search, of that sound, of the man who made it, the girl who sang it... and the monster who stole it"
• in the film's opening sequence, Swan's band The Juicy Fruits sang the opening number "Goodbye, Eddie, Goodbye"
• in its familiar tale, demonic music producer and evil record company tycoon Swan arranged for his loyal assistant Arnold Philbin (George Memmoli) to steal an original, unfinished cantata based on Faust from another more talented keyboard player-composer - the naive and tortured singer-songwriter Winslow Leach (William Finley)
• while eavesdropping inside Swan's private mansion ("The Swanage") during 'casting-couch' auditions with scantily-clad females, Winslow realized that the manipulative Swan was planning to have his music performed by aspiring singer and wide-eyed innocent ingenue Phoenix (Jessica Harper in her film debut); he immediately fell in love with her; Swan's ultimate machinations were designed to take credit and showcase Winslow's music during the opening of his own new rock concert music-hall known as The Paradise
• to eliminate Winslow, Swan ordered his rival to be beaten up, framed for drug possession, and imprisoned in Sing Sing Prison with a life sentence; Winslow protested in vain: ("But I'm innocent! Swan stole my music and FRAMED ME!")
• while incarcerated, Winslow's teeth were extracted and replaced with metal caps as part of a "medical experiment"; desperate to not have his music taken from him when he became aware that The Juicy Fruit's new hit single was one of his tunes, Winslow was determined to seek vengeful justice against Swan; one day, he managed to seriously injure a prison guard before his escape
• Winslow was facially-scarred (on a hot record pressing plate) and also ruined his vocal cords while on a wild rampage - during an attempt to destroy Swan's Death Records building and its record factory; the disfigured Winslow adopted a new persona as the brooding title character, the Phantom (with a silver owl-shaped metallic mask and black costume and cape); with his concealed deformed face and an electronic filter to restore his mangled voice, he sought to terrorize and destroy Swan's new "ultimate rock palace" - The Paradise
• Winslow confronted Swan, who recognized him and offered to negotiate a devil's bargain (with a blood oath) with Winslow; the deal was to have Winslow rework his own version of the Faust cantata, and to have Phoenix in a starring role as its lead singer
• however, Swan again broke his word and deal and betrayed Winslow; he replaced Phoenix with a male, glam prima donna, homosexual Glitter Rock singer-performer named Beef (Gerrit Graham) who impersonated the Frankenstein Monster on-stage; he also made Phoenix a secondary back-up singer, and stole Winslow's completed work
• Winslow was recaptured and sealed inside a brick enclosed recording studio; during an escape, he killed Swan's guards, and then threatened Beef in a shower with a toilet plunger instead of a knife (a comic replay of the notorious scene in Psycho (1960)); after the attack, Beef complained to Swan that his life had been threatened by the Phantom: ("He said his music was just for Phoenix. Only she can sing it. Anyone else who tries, dies....Now if I don't want to do a show, it's not because I got stage fright. It's because some creature from beyond doesn't want me to do the show! Now gangway!... the karma's so thick around here, you need an Aqua-Lung to breathe")
• Swan pressured Beef to sing a glam-rock version of Winslow's song "Old Souls" on stage; during his performance, Winslow confronted him: "Never sing my music again. Not here, not anywhere. Do you understand? Never again. My music is for Phoenix. Only she can sing it. Anyone else who tries, dies!"; he retaliated further in the film's most electrifying sequence - Beef was electrocuted with a lightning-bolt-shaped neon sign
• Phoenix was ordered to replace Beef, and sang beautifully; her performance of Winslow's true version was widely praised; however, she then found herself caught between Swan's seductive promises of stardom, and Winslow's offers of love and escape from The Paradise to avoid a terrible fate ("Phoenix, leave this place or Swan will destroy you too!"); she protested: "You're crazy! Why should I go with you? Don't you hear them down there? Why should I give that up?"
• distraught that the deceived Phoenix refused to listen to his warning, Winslow suicidally attempted to stab himself in the heart, but Swan informed him that the blood contract that he had signed earlier meant he couldn't die - until Swan himself had died, since he was - enigmatically - also "under contract": ("You gave up your right to rest in peace when you signed this contract. What if you do find a loophole? Is that what you're thinking? Forget it. That stays sealed only as long as I have the power to bind you. If I am destroyed, that gaping wound opens. You might say we terminate together")
• in the film's denouement, preparations were made for a wedding between Swan and Phoenix to occur during the finale of Faust; it was revealed to Winslow that Swan had video-recorded a pact with the Devil in 1953 (over 20 years earlier) to avoid aging: ("Saturday, November 19, 1953. Today, I have decided to kill myself. And being the greatest showman of my time, I'm recording live for the Swan archives. Why? It's simple, I'm getting old. I can't bear it. To see this beautiful face ravaged by the forces of time. If I can't be young forever, I'd rather end it all - now!")
• Swan's "contract" with the Devil specified that he would remain youthful, while instead, the video-recording would slowly deteriorate; the deal specified that if the videotape was ever destroyed, Swan's youthfulness would also end
• Winslow also viewed footage from two other videotapes: (1) his own earlier 'blood contract' with Swan, and (2) a recent videotape of a drugged Phoenix promising to give her 'voice' to Swan (to replace his scratchy, warped voice-box) upon her death
• to fulfill Swan's dream of having a restored voice, Winslow realized that Swan had made plans to assassinate Phoenix during their marital ceremony, to be aired on live television
• to set things right, Winslow destroyed the video recordings, crashed the wedding, and ripped off Swan's mask - exposing him as a decaying monster; he also repeatedly stabbed and killed Swan before he also perished, with Phoenix embracing him
• the film's closing credits presented each of the cast members (identified by name) in a series of montages (taken directly from the film or outtakes)