The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux has been adapted numerous times and inspired several movies. Among the movies it inspired was Brian De Palma's rock musical comedy Phantom of the Paradise (1974), which also drew upon the 16th-Century legend of Johann Faust and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Phantom of the Paradise was not a success upon its release in 1974, but in the years since then it has grown in popularity to the point that it can truly be considered a cult classic.
Phantom of the Paradise starred William Finley as Winslow Leach, a singer and songwriter whose cantata based on the Faust legend is stolen by legendary music producer Swan (Paul Williams), who intends to use it to open his new rock palace The Paradise. After being disfigured by a record press in an attempt to stop Swan from selling his work, Winslow takes up residence in The Paradise in order to sabotage the opening of the new rock palace and get revenge on Swan.
The inspiration for Phantom of the Paradise came to Brian De Palma in 1969 when he heard a Muzak version of a Beatles song (either "A Day in the Life" or "I Want to Hold Your Hand" depending upon the account) in an elevator. He realized that corporate America could take something beautiful and original and reduce it to nothing but elevator music. Further inspiration was taken from Brian De Palma's experiences with the mainstream studios.
Phantom of the Paradise started out as Phantom of the Filmore, "The Filmore" being the name of rock promoter Bill Graham's venue in San Francisco, which was followed by another in New York City.. Brian De Palma sold an early version of the screenplay to Martin Ransohoff, the head of Filmways. He bought it back from Mr. Ransohoff when it became clear that the studio executive had no real plans to make it into a movie. It would be producer Edward R. Pressman who would buy both the screenplays for Phantom of the Filmore and Sisters (Brian De Palma's 1972 horror movie). Edward R. Pressman would go on to produce movies from Wall Street (1987) to The Crow (1994).
Brian De Palma and Edward R. Pressman decided to go forward with Sisters (1972) first, as it would not be as difficult to shoot. Sisters (1972) was distributed by American International Pictures (AIP) and proved to be both a hit with critics and audiences. AIP greenlit Phantom of the Filmore, but wanted to make drastic budget cuts. There was no way that Messrs. De Palma and Pressman could make the movie for the budget AIP wanted. They then spent two years pitching the film to backers and studios. They eventually raised a $750,000 budget.
As a rock musical Phantom of the Paradise would need someone to compose its score. Brian De Palma had originally wanted a major rock group, like The Who or The Rolling Stones, to write the film's score. Of course, such bands were pretty much in accessible to an independent filmmaker. Ultimately, Paul Williams was chosen to write the movie's score. Paul Williams had started his career as a gag writer for comedian Mort Sahl. He later appeared in the movies The Loved One (1965) and The Chase (1966). He began his career as a songwriter in the late Sixties and had written the hits "Rainy Days and Mondays" for The Carpenters and "An Old Fashioned Love Song" for Three Dog Night. Brian De Palma and Paul Williams struck a deal whereby he would write the score for less money than usual if he was cast in the movie. Initially, they planned for Paul Williams to play Winslow, but Paul Williams was not confident that he could act wearing a mask. It would be decided that he should play Swan instead.
One hurdle for the movie is that its title would have to be changed from Phantom of the Filmore. Promoter Bill Graham refused to let Brian De Palma use the name 'The Filmore." The film's title then went from Phantom of the Filmore to simply Phantom and then Phantom of the Paradise.
Shooting on Phantom of the Paradise began in the winter of 1973. The interiors of The Paradise were actually an abandoned theatre in Dallas, the Majestic Theatre. It was donated to the City of Dallas in 1975 and has since been restored. The Paradise's exterior was the City Center in New York City. The building that would stand in for the exterior of Swan's mansion, Swanage, is also located in Dallas. It was the old Dallas County Court House, built in 1892 and replaced by a new courthouse in 1966. The interiors of Swanage were filmed at a mansion in Beverly Hills, the Greystone Mansion which has appeared in movies from Forever Amber (1947) to The Loved One (1965). The exterior of the headquarters of Death Records was originally the General Petroleum Building. It would later be vacated in 1994. In 2003, it was converted into apartments and remains open as Pegasus Apartments. Scenes involving Swan's recording studio were filmed at an actual recording studio, the Record Plant in New York City.
As to the record press in which Winslow Leach was disfigured, it was actually an injection-molding press at Pressman Toys. Precautions were taken to prevent the press from disfiguring actor William Finley in reality. Foam pads were fitted on the press, and chocks were placed in the press's centre to keep it from closing all the way. Even so, William Finley expressed some concern and it turned out his concerns were justified. The press crushed the chocks and kept going, so that William Finley had to be pulled out of the press before he was injured.
Phantom of the Paradise (1974) would have yet another problem once shooting was completed. The name of Swan's fictional record label had to be changed completely. It was originally called "Swan Song Records." Unfortunately, it was in 1974 that Led Zeppelin launched their own label, also called "Swan Song Records." Led Zeppelin's manager Peter Grant threatened legal action if the name of the label in the movie was not changed. All references to Swan Song Records were then changed to Death Records through optical printing or simply taken out of the movie entirely. This increased the budget for Phantom of the Paradise to $1.1 million.
Phantom of the Paradise (1974) was an independent production, and so the film needed a distributor. Edward R. Pressman then screened Phantom of the Paradise for the Hollywood studios, so that they could take bids on the film. 20th Century Fox made the highest bid, at $2 million and a percentage of its profits. 20th Century Fox would also be the studio that would distribute another cult rock horror musical, The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975).
Phantom of the Paradise (1974) opened at the National Theatre in Los Angeles, and the Trans-Lux East Theater in New York City, on Halloween, October 31, 1974. It opened elsewhere on November 1, 1974. Upon its release, Phantom of the Paradise (1974) did not fare particularly well with the critics. Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave Phantom of the Paradise (1974) only two stars and wrote, "The problem with all of the kidding is that what's up on the screen is childish; it has meaning only because it points to something else." Vincent Canby in The New York Times wrote, "Mr. De Palma is a very funny man, as he has shown in marvelously eccentric comedies such as Greetings" and Hi, Mom, and even in his more conventional films, Get to Know Your Local Rabbit and Sisters. Compared with even the least of these, Phantom of the Paradise is an elaborate disaster, full of the kind of facetious humor you might find on bumper stickers and cocktail coasters. The movie spends much too much time just laying out the plot, which is fatal to parody of any sort." Phantom of the Paradise did get some positive reviews. Kevin Thomas of The Los Angeles Times liked the film over all, stating that it was "delightfully outrageous" and praised its ending as "a truly stunning and ingenious finale." None other than Pauline Kael also gave Phantom of the Paradise a good review, writing, "Though you may anticipate a plot turn, it's impossible to guess what the next scene will look like or what its rhythm will be.."
If anything, audiences in 1974 seemed to like Phantom of the Paradise (1974) even less than critics. According to the Phantom of the Paradise (1974) fan site The Swan Archives, on the opening day Brian De Palma stopped by a New York City theatre only to find the theatre empty. At most theatres in the United States, Phantom of the Paradise (1974) closed after only a week. According to Variety at the time, after only two months it had grossed only $250,000 in the major markets.
While Phantom of the Paradise (1974) bombed nearly everywhere it played, an exception was Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada. It opened there on Boxing Day, December 26, 1974. In Winnipeg, it played continuously in theatres for four and a half months. Afterwards, it would continue to run in Winnipeg theatres with a few interruptions for over a year, clear into 1976. The film's soundtrack album also proved to be a hit in Winnipeg. It sold over 20,000 copies in the city and was ultimately certified gold in Canada because of it. Phantom of the Paradise (1974) continued to be phenomenally popular in Winnipeg, and the film would come back to theatres there from time to time. In 2005, the first Phantompalooza, an event to celebrate Phantom of the Paradise (1974), was held in Winnipeg. Further events celebrating Phantom of the Paradise (1974) have been held in Winnipeg, the latest being another Phantompalooza held last year on the occasion of the film's 50th anniversary.
A soundtrack album, Phantom of the Paradise - Original Soundtrack Recording, was released by A&M Records in conjunction with the film. The soundtrack album is missing two songs from the movie, ""Never Thought I'd Get to Meet the Devil," which only appears briefly in the film, and "Faust" (1st Reprise)," Like the movie, the soundtrack did not sell particularly well in 1974, with the notable exception of Winnipeg. In 1977, Paul Williams was a guest on the short-lived variety show The Brady Bunch Hour, where he performed "The Hell of It" from Phantom of the Paradise (1974).
20th Century Fox would try to get its money back where Phantom of the Paradise (1974) was concerned. It was in October 1976 that 20th Century Fox would pair Phantom of the Paradise (1974) with The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) on a double bill. Like Phantom of the Paradise (1974), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) also bombed upon its initial release. Like The Rocky Horror Picture Show(1975), Phantom of the Paradise (1975) would find success as a midnight movie. In the early 1980s, Phantom of the Paradise (1974) began popping up on television schedules. Between the midnight movie circuit and airings on television, many began to realize what Winnipeg had known all along, that Phantom of the Paradise (1974) was a very special film. Quite simply, it developed a cult following.
Phantom of the Paradise (1974) was released on VHS in 1993 and on DVD in 2001. It was in 2014 that Shout Entertainment released it on Blu-ray.
Phantom of the Paradise (1974) would have a lasting impact on Daft Punk, the French electronic duo who performed in silver helmets. The two of them have seen the movie more than 20 times. Japanese illustrator and character designer Yasushi Nirasawa was also influenced by Phantom of the Paradise (1974). The image of the Phantom himself recurs in this work, and the character Owl Imagin, who Yasushi Nirasawa designed for Kamen Rider Den-O, was inspired by the Phantom as well. The villain Griffith's helmet in the manga Berserk was inspired by the Phantom's helmet It has been argued that Phantom of the Paradise (1974) paved the way for The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), as well as other rock musicals, such as Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008). It has influenced other films in other ways as well. An electrocution scene in the movie Romeo's Distress (2017) drew inspiration from an electrocution scene in Phantom of the Paradise (1974). In 2006, a 50-minute documentary on the making of Phantom of the Paradise (1974), titled Paradise Regained: Brian de Palma's 'Phantom of the Paradise, was released.
Since its release in 1974, Phantom of the Paradise (1974) has grown considerably in popularity. Not only has the film developed a cult following, but even respect from several critics. At Rotten Tomatoes, it is certified fresh with a Tomatometer rating of 82%. Critics at Large ranked it at no. 25 on its list of neglected gems. In 2013, Den of Geek proclaimed it Brian De Palma's best film ever. I know many other people who also think so, including myself. Phantom of the Paradise (1974), a film that bombed upon its initial release, has become a cult classic.
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