Thursday, January 8, 2015

Phantom of the Paradise (1974)


IMDb plot summary: A disfigured composer sells his soul for the woman he loves so that she will perform his music. However, an evil record tycoon betrays him and steals his music to open his rock palace, The Paradise.
Directed by Brian De Palma. Starring William Finley, Paul Williams, Jessica Harper, and Gerrit Graham.

I think I like the idea of this movie more than sitting through the actual movie. This *should* work much better than it does -- a campy horror musical loosely based on Phantom of the Opera? How would I NOT like that? I'm not entirely sure why it doesn't quite gel for me, but something's missing. Maybe I need to rewatch it in a few years when I know what to expect but have enough distance that I'm not holding onto my current perception. Anyway, the humorous elements didn't quite mesh for me, and while the music was fun, it wasn't great. I didn't *dislike* it, but it was just kind of... meh.

3 stars.

Flickchart: #860 out of 2293, below Jonah and above The Recruit.

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