Reviews & Ratings for
Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

Phantom of the Paradise is a 1974 American rock musical comedy horror film written and directed by Brian De Palma and scored by and starring Paul Williams. In the film, a naïve young singer-songwriter (played by William Finley) is tricked by legendary but unscrupulous music producer Swan (Williams) into giving up his life's work, a rock opera based on the Faust legend. The composer dons a bizarre new persona to terrorize Swan's new concert hall in revenge and to have his favorite singer, Phoenix (played by Jessica Harper), perform his music.

The story is a loosely adapted mixture of several classic European works: Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera, Oscar Wilde's 1890 The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Faust by Goethe/Christopher Marlowe.[2]

The film was a box office failure and received negative reviews contemporaneously, while earning praise for its music and receiving Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. However, over the years, the film has received much more positive reviews and has become a cult film.