Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
What's It About?
A musical composer sells his soul so that a woman whom he loves can be a star. But when the disreputable record promoter he made a deal with betrays him, he beings haunting the Paradise theater o get revenge.
Is It Any Good?
There are two things that have just never been as prestigious as they want people to: the first is Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera, which is pure melodramatic pulp of the Belle Epoque era. The other, Briand De Palma is an exploitation director masquerading as a prestigious filmmaker. This makes Phantom of the Paradise the perfect combination of De Palma and Leroux.
Phantom of the Paradise is hokey and campy by design, playing to the strengths of the phantom story and De Palma's directing. The story of The Phantom now doesn't have to bear the weight of its own absurdity De Palma is free to cut loose, going as over the top and unrestrained as he possibly could. There's no artifice of prestige here and the irony is that by throwing off the yoke of seriousness makes for probably the strongest artistic work of De Palma's long career.
Beyond the aesthetic and the music, both of which are quite good, is a memorable turn by actor/musician Paul Williams as the film's evil record mogul. There's also a turn by cult actor Gerrit Graham as the show's primadonna, Beef. Beef is, of course, a crass gay stereotype that totally does not hold up in 2017 but he's memorable and enjoyable for what he is.
Phantom of the Paradise is far and away the best Phantom of the Opera adaptation.
Watch, Toss, or Buy?
Buy it.