Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on August 14, 2019

I first saw Phantom of the Paradise (1974) a few years ago and immediately became obsessed with it; I downloaded the entire soundtrack and listened to it constantly for weeks. I was delighted to be able to revisit the film this week thanks to the Shudder streaming service, where the...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on April 28, 2017

Phantom of the Paradise (1974) is Brian de Palma's musical cult tribute to a number of iconic horror tales, most notably The Phantom of the Opera and Faust, although it also functions as a scathing satire of the music industry and its obsession with sex, fame, and eternal youth. As...   read more

Virtual Virago Posted by Jennifer Garlen on April 28, 2017

Phantom of the Paradise (1974) is Brian de Palma's musical cult tribute to a number of iconic horror tales, most notably The Phantom of the Opera and Faust, although it also functions as a scathing satire of the music industry and its obsession with sex, fame, and eternal youth. As...   read more

The Stop Button Posted by Andrew Wickliffe on May 28, 2016

Phantom of the Paradise has all the trappings of a failed passion project, only not a lot of passion for the project. Director De Palma, with a couple notable exceptions, doesn’t have much interest in directing a musical. When I say couple, I mean two–there are two scenes where he...   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on October 6, 2015

(1974) Written and directed by Brian De Palma; Starring: Paul Williams, William Finley, Jessica Harper and Gerrit Graham; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: **** “I got the idea riding in an elevator, and listening to a Beatles song done on Muzak, and I said to myself, ‘T   read more