Phantom of the Paradise

"He sold his soul for rock n’ roll!"

1974 1h 32m EN

👍

7.5

SOLID

★7.5TMDB · 790

DramaHorrorMusic

Synopsis

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Singer-songwriter Winslow Leach seeks revenge on the nefarious music producer Swan, who steals both Winslow's music and his favorite singer for the grand opening of Swan's new rock palace, the Paradise.

“He sold his soul for rock n’ roll!”

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Cast

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

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Brian De Palma
Writers: Brian De Palma, Louisa Rose
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 19% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

52 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Brian De Palma, shot by Larry Pizer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Paul Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Paul Hirsch shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

William Finley and Paul Williams and Jessica Harper carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "He sold his soul for rock n’ roll!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Brian De Palma directs. Larry Pizer behind the camera. Paul Williams scores. Paul Hirsch cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 19% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
352 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Brian De Palma, shot by Larry Pizer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Paul Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Paul Hirsch shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7William Finley and Paul Williams and Jessica Harper carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "He sold his soul for rock n’ roll!".
9IMDB entry: tt0071994 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 34 themes, including "mask", "new york city", "rock 'n' roll", "suicide attempt".

The technical file

Cinematography: Larry Pizer
Original score: Paul Williams
Editing: Paul Hirsch
Production design: Jack Fisk
Costume design: Rosanna Norton
Makeup / hair: Thomas R. Burman
Runtime: 92 min · 1h 32m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,300,000
Box office: $250,000
Return: 19% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

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Brian De Palma

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-09-20
★ 7/10
William Finley as the eponymous character and Paul Williams as the duplicitous record producer "Swan" both ham up enjoyably in this update of the Gaston Leroux novel. "Finley" is writing a cantata, parts of which are overheard by the unscrupulous "Swan" who gets his sidekick "Philbin" (George Memmoli) to pinch the score. Next thing, auditions are ongoing and the poor old writer has been well and truly sidelined. He's determined to wreak his revenge, a determination amplified after an accident sees him hideously disfigured. With chaos ensuing all around, "Swan" decides to try and make a peace with his nemesis - but pretty soon it's clear that's never going to work and as the opening night of the rock club "The Paradise" looms ever closer, you have to wonder if you'd really want a ticket after all. It's good fun this film with some entertaining performances at the top, Jessica Harper holds her own as the feisty chanteuse "Phoenix" and there's just about enough menacing megalomania to prevent it descending into farce. It's quite easy to see how many subsequent films or concepts it may have spawned as it takes much from musical theatre and high drama and mingles them into something that's a sort of an hybrid of the "Man from U.N.C.L.E" and "Jesus Christ Superstar". Williams also wrote much of the of the original soundtrack with a few power ballads packed in to keep the pace moving along and it's worth sticking about for the credits. It has dated, but I still enjoyed it.

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