Phantom of the Paradise (Brian de Palma, 1974)

[no_marigolds]

Comments

[danschank]

i've never seen this, but you make a persuasive argument about de palma's project in general, especially in the more deliberately over the top examples (scarface comes to mind).

[no_marigolds]

In what way? The "sorrow as entertainment" angle? My comments were somewhat vague as I wrote this after a late night out.

[danschank]

yeah... and "tragedy and garishness" being paired together... and "this unsettling death-obsessed melancholy underneath." all of which also applies to carrie, at least according to my memory of it.

[no_marigolds]

It's supposed to be "Suffering and death become camp fodder, moreso than your usual over-the-top slasher flick," by the way.

[glazomaniac]

paul williams' performance in this made me doubt my assumption that it was the same paul williams that wrote "rainy days and mondays," but it really is the same person. he's just got a bit of a campy, demented streak a mile wide, apparently. i haven't listened to the soundtrack to this in a long while, but it's always struck me as incredibly dark (though not in context of the film). i always found it jarring how it utterly defeated my expectations, but i liked to be jarred.

[no_marigolds]

I'm more of a "Superstar" guy myself.

Oh, he admits his strangeness himself as recent as two days ago: “I’m the most grandiose vapid shallow arrogant little fuck."

That's another one of the perversions of the movie, I think. Williams as a songwriter always seemed to work in a simpler, prettier pop vein where you ended up with something like "Rainbow Connection" and "Just an Old-Fashioned Love Song" (I prefer his version to Three Dog Night's) but then a good chunk of the songs in this came off as prolix, vague and dark in accordance with being derived from Faust. They interest me but there's definitely quotation marks around them.

For someone who works well with sentiment like he does, it's hard to place it in the Paradise songs...with the exception of, as I've said, "The Hell of It" (one of my favorite end credits musical moments). Whether the darkness comes from De Palma's urging or him getting free reign on a soundtrack, I'm not sure.

On another note, Muppet Paul Williams:

[dominoparker]

Coincidentally, there is going to be a Phantom of the Paradise tribute concert with Paul Williams himself in attendance at the Silent Movie House in LA on June 16th. The night before that they are having a double feature of The Muppet Movie and Phantom of the Paradise. I'm both curious and nostalgic enough to want to go see both.

[dominoparker]

And now I have seen Phantom of the Paradise.
I thought the design aspects of this movie were amazing. From the crazy setup that Swan thrusts the Phantom into to compose, to the fact that the Phantom's helmet has only one eye hole, I loved the majority of the aesthetic choices. A few of the slower songs lost my interest and I didn't really feel entranced by Phoenix as an actress, but wow the ending of this movie is something really special.
Making chaos look good on film is something I really love in filmmakers. Fukasaku is great at it, Michel Gondry does it fairly well, and De Palma does a wonderful job orchestrating the final sequence.

[discotarantula]

I don't remember this film that well, but I do recall the feeling that it was extraordinarily unpleasant to look at. And not in an enjoyable way. Just looking at these stills, it seems like the lighting has no feeling to it. Comment?

[no_marigolds]

As in flat lighting? Some of the stage scenes definitely seem to have a tinge of that problem (the audition scene and Beef rehearsing) along with Swan's bedroom. The ending could probably use a little less overhead lighting:

[discotarantula]

those are some better stills. maybe there was a problem with the transfer i watched? i remember the stock being generally ugly or something.

[dominoparker]

I haven't seen the film, but the stills piqued my curiosity.