Phantom of the Paradise
| Phantom of the Paradise | |
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Theatrical release poster
by John Alvin. |
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| Directed by | Brian De Palma |
| Produced by | Edward R. Pressman |
| Written by | Brian De Palma |
| Starring | |
| Narrated by | Rod Serling |
| Music by | Paul Williams |
| Cinematography | Larry Pizer |
| Edited by | Paul Hirsch |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
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Release date
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Running time
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91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.3 million |
Phantom of the Paradise is a 1974 American musical rock opera horror comedy film written and directed by Brian De Palma, and scored by and starring Paul Williams. In the film, a disfigured composer writes his music for a woman he loves so that she will perform his music. However, a record producer betrays him and steals his music to open his rock palace, The Paradise. Betrayed, the composer dons a new appearance and exacts revenge on the producer. It co-stars William Finley and Jessica Harper.
The story is a loosely adapted mixture of several classic European works: Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera,Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Faust by Goethe/Christopher Marlowe.
Initially, the film was a box office failure and received negative reviews, however it earned praise for its music, receiving Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. Over the years, the film has received much more positive reviews and has become a cult film.
The story follows music composer/singer Winslow Leach, heard by satanic record producer Swan as he played an original composition following a set run through by the 1950s' style nostalgia band The Juicy Fruits, which Swan produces. Swan believes Winslow's music perfect to open "The Paradise" – Swan's highly anticipated new concert hall – and has his right-hand man Arnold Philbin steal it under the guise of producing him. One month later, Winslow goes to Swan's Death Records to follow up about his music but is thrown out. He sneaks into Swan's private mansion and observes several women rehearsing his music for an audition. One is Phoenix, an aspiring singer, who Winslow deems "perfect" for his music. Winslow realizes Swan's plan to open the Paradise with his music after he is thrown out again. In response, Winslow disguises himself as a woman to sneak in and try to speak to Swan. Swan has Winslow beaten up and framed for drug dealing. Winslow is given a life sentence in Sing Sing Prison and his teeth are extracted and replaced with metal ones (part of an experimental prisoner program to decrease infection amongst inmates, funded by the Swan Foundation.)
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Wikipedia