Starring Paul Williams, William Finley, Jessica Harper, and George Memmoli
Directed by Brian DePalma
Music and Lyrics by Paul Williams
Our second Phantom adaptation is about as far away from the stately Universal film as a rock concert is from an opera gala. Director Brian DePalma moves the story into the present day, mixing it with elements of Faust and The Picture of Dorian Gray to create one of the truly unique musicals of filmdom. Let's start at Death Records, the company owned by Swan, just as he's auditioning new talent to find out just how bizarre a Phantom tale can get...
The Story: Mysterious producer Swan (Williams) hears eager young composer Winslow Leach (Finley) play his original rock concerto based on the story of Faust. Swan claims he likes it and will use it to open his new concert venue the Paradise, but even after a month, Leach hears nothing about it. He goes to talk to Swan, only to hear pretty singing hopeful Phoenix (Harper) and several other women performing his song. Turns out Swan and his assistant Arnold Philibin (Memmoli) stole his music, publishing it under Swan's name. He tries to see Swan, only to be thrown out, beaten, arrested, and tossed into jail at Sing Sing.
When Winslow hears Swan's 50's revival group the Juicy Fruits made a recording of his song. Raging angry that someone could let someone else sing his music, he makes his way to the Death Records plant to destroy the recordings. Unfortunately, this ends with him falling into a record press, crushing his vocal cords and half of his face. Now sporting a mask and a black cape, he calls himself "The Phantom" and attempts to sabotage Swan's Paradise theater. Swan offers him a deal to use his rock opera and have Phoenix play the lead...but first, he hires glam rock singer Beef (Gerrit Graham) to take the lead role, then tries to lure Phoenix into a bad deal of her own. Winslow is thirsting for revenge on Swan and determined to learn his big secret...even if it takes both of them down.
The Song and Dance: Wow. This was a bizarre one. Williams, who usually played comic roles, came across well here as the scheming music producer making soul-stealing lifetime contracts while being under a nasty one himself. Frawley almost matches him as the raging composer who first wants his work to be acknowledged, then sung in the way he desired. Graham is the stand-out in the supporting cast with his brief but memorable role as the aptly-named glam rocker who is a lot more sensible than his screechy vocals and glittering costumes would make one think. DePalma's dynamic direction gives us some wonderful shots of the Paradise and Swan's world in all its electric, decadent Disco Decade glamor.
Favorite Number: Like last year's cult flop Halloween movie Rocky Horror Picture Show, this one kicks off with a distinctive opening number that gives us an idea of what's to come. The Juicy Fruits, Swan's doo-wop revival group, performs "Good-Bye, Eddie, Good-Bye" onstage, the 50's-style tale of a young man who literally dies for his music. Winslow performs "Faust," his big rock concerto, three times. We first hear it when he's auditioning for Swan, then as a brief duet with Phoenix after he meets her at the audition, and then when he's expanding it into a full opera. The singers who performed as the Juicy Fruits earlier become the Undead for "Someone Super Like You," the spooky chorus number at the opening of the Paradise. Beef jumps in to shriek "Life at Last," spoofing all the noisy theatrics the glam rock movement was notorious for.
Trivia: Williams was the singing voice for The Phantom. Raymond Louis Kennedy dubbed Graham.
What I Don't Like: Did I mention how weird the plot is? A lot of this movie just doesn't make sense. When the smartest guy in the film is the coked-up glam rocker named Beef, you know a movie's weird. Apparently, the supernatural/Dorian Gray angle was added later, and it does seem kind of tacked on. They probably could have done the whole evil-rock-producer thing without bringing in the devil thing. Many critics at the time pointed out how overdone the rock spoof is; it may be even more now, after many such satires have come and gone.
The Big Finale: If you love your scares on the campy side like Rocky Horror, are a fan of Williams or DePalma's work, or want a little strange romance with your horror, this is absolutely worth checking out.
Home Media: Out of print on DVD on this side of the pond, but the Blu-Ray is readily available, and it's easy to find on streaming.
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