The phantom in paradise

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Movie
German title The phantom in paradise
Original title Phantom of the Paradise
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1974
length 92 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Brian De Palma
script Brian De Palma
production Edward R. Pressman ,
Gustave M. Berne ,
Jeffrey L. Hayes
music Paul H. Williams
camera Larry Pizer
cut Paul Hirsch
occupation
chronology

←  Predecessor
A Little Bit of Love

Successor  →
Ordinary Fool

The Phantom in Paradise is an American musical horror drama film grotesque from 1974, which is loosely based on the novel " The Phantom of the Opera ", but also contains elements from " The Portrait of Dorian Gray " and " Faust " . The title role was played by William Finley and directed by Brian De Palma .

action

The still completely unknown composer Winslow Leach dreams of a great career and applies for an audition with the record company "Death Records" of the mysterious record mogul Swan. He is fascinated by Winslow's as yet unfinished pop cantata “Faust”, but does not want to hear anything from the inconspicuous artist himself. He offered to publish his music and had the composer in good faith give him the only original manuscript.

When Winslow still doesn't hear any news about his music after a whole month, he visits Swan in his mansion. There he met the young Phoenix, who came to an audition for “Swan's Faust”. Winslow calls for the situation to be rectified, but is accused of drug trafficking by Swan and sentenced to life imprisonment in Sing-Sing . When Winslow hears on the radio that Swan is planning to publish the cantata under his own name for the opening of his ultimate rock 'n roll palace “Paradise”, he breaks out. He sneaks into the production facility of "Death Records" to sabotage the record production. He is surprised by a night watchman who immediately opens fire. The bullet shreds Winslow's vocal cords . He staggered back and got his face in a plate press. Terribly disfigured, he flees and falls into New York's East River . Winslow is officially declared dead.

As a phantom, masked with a helmet with a raptor-shaped visor, he haunts the “Paradise” and sabotages the preparations for the opening wherever possible. He also attempts to kill Swan. However, the latter can persuade him to work with him. He constructed a kind of portable synthesizer for Winslow that he could use to speak again. In addition, he guarantees Winslow in a contract that the cantata will be published under his name if he manages to finish it by the opening of "Paradise". Furthermore, Phoenix, of whose talent Winslow is convinced, is to sing the lead role. Both seal the contract with their blood. But Swan has his own plans. After working through the cantata for a week, Swan has the completely exhausted Winslow walled up in the recording studio, Phoenix joins the background choir, and the lead role is played by the fluffy, shrill singer Beef. Winslow, who was betrayed again, manages to break out of the recording studio. He electrocuted beef on stage in the middle of the opening show of "Paradise", much to the enthusiasm of the fans. Since the show has to go on and there is fear of further acts of revenge from Winslow, Phoenix is ​​unceremoniously chosen as the main actor. Their performance was a huge success and the crowd went nuts. In the mess, Winslow manages to push Phoenix into an emergency staircase and onto the roof. At first she does not recognize him and thinks he is an insane murderer. But even when she recognized him, she ignored his warnings. She is convinced that she owes her success exclusively to Swan and therefore wants to do everything for him. She runs away from Winslow and drives Swan to his private mansion. There she sleeps with him, which Winslow, who has followed the two, watches through a glass roof. He wants to kill himself on the roof and stabs a knife in his chest. Swan, whose cameras also monitor this place completely, did not escape Winslow's presence. He goes to the roof, pulls the knife out of Winslow's chest, and throws him a copy of the contract between them. Winslow then returns to life, Swan advises him that he has no right to take his own life because of the contract, as it was closed for his entire life. Winslow then tries to kill Swan, which fails because Swan is also subject to a lifetime contract, but it remains open with whom. Swan then also has Phoenix sign a contract signed in blood. She gets the lead role and Swan gets her voice in return.

Winslow discovers some old video recordings in Swan's private archive. Swan, who had everything that happened around him recorded by surveillance cameras before, wanted to commit suicide more than twenty years ago because he is afraid of getting old. Then the devil appears to him and, in exchange for his soul, offers him a pact that guarantees him eternal youth, while in his place only his image on the video ages. However, the devil admonishes him that the now recorded video must not be destroyed, as this would mean Swan's death. Winslow then sets the archive on fire.

As the culmination of the housewarming ceremony, which will be televised, Swan plans to commit a spectacular murder for ultimate entertainment. To do this, he wants to have Phoenix shot live on stage in the finale of the second part of the show. In the meantime, the fire in the video archive has destroyed the tape that recorded the agreement with the devil, which also disfigured Swan. Winslow succeeds at the last second in foiling the attempt on Phoenix and killing Swan by driving a black feather into his heart.

Phoenix is ​​saved, but Winslow dies too, as his contract with Swan has expired and the stab wound he sustained in his attempt to commit suicide is reopened.

Reviews

“A musical variation of the horror novel 'The Phantom in the Opera', in which pop music does not simply serve as an embellishing element, but is equated with the medium of film. Despite a few lengths at the beginning, excellently staged, captivating entertainment. "

- Lexicon of international film

"Especially thanks to the psychedelically staged horror finale, De Palma's exaggerated satire is still electrifying today."

- Cinema

"Brian de Palma delivers a portrait of a broken scene, sometimes overflowing with original ideas, aptly caricatured the garish mannerisms of the superstars à la Alice Cooper as well as the hysterical exaltations of the young fans."

- The time

DVD release

  • Phantom of the Paradise / June 30, 2003 / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
  • The Phantom in Paradise - Collector's Series / June 29, 2007 / Capelight DVD

Others

  • Although she was already a well-known actress by the time, Sissy Spacek was named as a set-dresser in the credits of the film. Presumably she took the job to assist her boyfriend and future husband, the production designer Jack Fisk .
  • De Palma originally wanted to cast the rock band Sha Na Na for Juicy Fruits , but then decided that it was too difficult to work with the group.
  • According to Gerrit Graham , the casting was as chaotic as an armchair dance and William Finley was almost not cast. The studio originally wanted Paul Williams as Winslow, Graham as Swan, and Peter Boyle as Beef. Williams turned down the role because he did not feel threatened enough or physically fit enough for the part. Besides, he didn't want to do anti-advertising for the big record companies. Boyle was not available so Graham was cast as Beef and Finley was finally given the title role. According to William Finley, Jon Voight was also under discussion for the role of Swan for a while.
  • The platen press in which Winslow Leach's face is mutilated was a real injection-molded press from a toy factory. Actor William Finley was concerned about the safety of the facility. He was assured that it was safe and that additional wedges had been placed inside to prevent the machine from closing completely. However, the pressure was too strong and the wedges were simply crushed. Fortunately, Finley was able to pull his head back in time before he was really injured. His scream in this scene was not acted out.
  • When Swan Winslow stops the voice synthesizer, the vocals are not from William Finley, but from Paul Williams. This turns the scene into an inside gag as Swan describes the created voice as perfect.
  • William Finley came up with the idea of ​​giving the phantom a bird mask and developed it in collaboration with costume designer Rosanna Norton .
  • The Phantom in Paradise became the US flop of 1974. The only places in North America where the film ran successfully were Winnipeg and Manitoba , Canada , where it was shown for months.

Awards

Academy Awards 1975

Golden Globe Award 1975

Saturn Award 1976

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Phantom in Paradise. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed July 3, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. ↑ Film tips . In: Die Zeit , No. 32/1975