Whenever someone describes Brian De Palma as being "all style, no substance," occasionally I'll pull out "Sisters," occasionally "Blow-Out," but most often, my rebuttal is "Phantom of the Paradise." This is, without a doubt, one of my favorite films of all time. A nearly perfect mix of "Phantom of the Opera," "Faust," "Beauty and the Beast," and "The Picture of Dorian Gray," with superior music by Paul Williams (who also excels as Swan). William Finley is superb as Winslow/The Phantom, and Jessica Harper gives just the right combination of innocence and ambition as Phoenix. On top of it all is a sly satire on "selling out" to the entertainment industry. And how bad can a movie be when it offers perhaps your only chance to see Gerrit Graham in pseudo-glam drag dancing like a chicken? If your taste runs to the camp, if you enjoy either "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" or "The Abominable Dr. Phibes," then you owe it to yourself to see this. Amazing stuff.
Review of Phantom of the Paradise
