Phantom of the Paradise in '70s Horror and Sci-Fi Forum

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Phantom of the Paradise

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MarkDClark	Re: Phantom of the Paradise	#21	[-]
Jan 18 07 4:01 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	>>De Palma then discovered that a subdivision of Atlantic Records was actually called Swan Song Records.<< I guess DePalma wasn't a Led Zeppelin fan! Swan Song was Zeppelin's vanity label. The group eventually signed a few other artists to the label, most notably Bad Company.
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Bill Warren	Re: Phantom of the Paradise	#22	[-]
Jan 18 07 4:46 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	There are a couple of shaky mattes of "Death Records" with the dead bird icon covering up Swan signs. One, for example, is on Swan's podium in the airport scene. Ever noticed that "Upholstery" is a rewrite of Winslow's first song?
JimPV	Re: Phantom of the Paradise	#23	[-]
Jan 19 07 1:05 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	One of the problems with Phantom is the songs are completely forgettable, which obviously is death to a musical. Rocky Horror, on the other hand, has terrific songs; everyone of them is memorable. "How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone" -Coco Chanel
ByronOrlok	Re: Phantom of the Paradise	#24	[-]
Jan 19 07 2:14 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I think it's generally kinda pointless to compare ROCKY HORROR and PHANTOM -- though I suppose it's inevitable, 2 rock 'n' roll horror spoofs released within a year of each other -- but the 2 movies aren't really all that similar. Personally, I love them both, and that goes for the scores as well. And actually, come to think of it, I listen to the PHANTOM soundtrack quite a bit more often than ROCKY HORROR.
The Mighty Kraken	Phantom of the Paradise	#25	[-]
Jan 19 07 2:44 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I love it too. But I hardly have a choice in the matter - I'm from Winnipeg. I remember well the days of being called in from onorous chores because PHANTOM had come on TV! So I owe it a lot in addition to the entertainment it's provided.
GaryP11111	Re: Phantom of the Paradise	#26	[-]
Jan 19 07 4:04 AM Burgomaster Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* One of the problems with Phantom is the songs are completely forgettable, which obviously is death to a musical. Rocky Horror, on the other hand, has terrific songs; everyone of them is memorable. I dunno. I think the songs from ROCKY HORROR are better in general, but only marginally so. And "Old Souls," performed by Jessica Harper in PHANTOM, is easily a much better ballad than any of the slow songs in ROCKY HORROR. I'd also place "Life at Last" on par with "Sweet Transvestite." Here's a brief clip of Harper reprising "Old Souls" at Phantompalooza 2 in Winnipeg: www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRllIuC-9AA Also, PHANTOM isn't a musical in the conventional sense as is ROCKY HORROR because the music numbers are contextually either rehearsals, auditions or concert performances within the movie (I wouldn't consider RAY a musical for the same reason). GARY L. PRANGE "Sic gorgiamus allos subjectos nunc."
GaryP11111	Re: Phantom of the Paradise	#27	[-]
Jan 19 07 4:10 AM Burgomaster Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	More fun from Phantompalooza 2... www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4b7MwYmTLc "A stage monitor meltdown creates chaos on the dais during Phantompalooza 2. What happened? Those of you familiar with Brian De Palma's 1974 cult film 'Phantom of the Paradise' know that Gerrit Graham's character "Beef" is spectacularly electrocuted at the end of a performance. Imagine our shock and surprise when life imitated art on stage in Winnipeg last April 29, as Gerrit grabbed the microphone [center, at the beginning of clip--Gary] and the theatre erupted in noisy, relentless feedback. Were we accidentally electrocuting Beef in real life? The noise continued, even after stagehands frantically yanked every microphone from its socket! Turns out a stage monitor picked the absolute worst time to short out... Witness Murphy's Law live at the Garrick Theatre, as Archie Hahn makes the most of an explosive situation!" GARY L. PRANGE "Sic gorgiamus allos subjectos nunc."
HalLane	Re: Phantom of the Paradise	#28	[-]
Jan 19 07 9:58 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	That clip is hysterical. Archie Hahn is quite a hambone. Here's his reprise: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFbJbsM1Qe0&mode=related&search= "Good night, Dr. Carruthers." "Goood - Bye, Roy................."
Schmilsson1969	Re: Phantom of the Paradise	#29	[-]
Jan 19 07 2:44 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* Ever noticed that "Upholstery" is a rewrite of Winslow's first song? Uh, huh. Paul Williams score is very intricate that way. "Somebody Super Like You" and "Old Souls" share a melody, too. I've been waiting in vain for a stage musical for decades. *Quote:* One of the problems with Phantom is the songs are completely forgettable, which obviously is death to a musical. Rocky Horror, on the other hand, has terrific songs; everyone of them is memorable. I dunno if that's true. I think Rocky Horror's songs are just more ingrained in the pop culture lexicon. While Rocky Horror's songs are good, I don't think they're as good as Paul Williams "Phantom of the Paradise" score, or Richard O'Brien's "Shock Treatment", for that matter. One of RHPS's biggest problems are the dull, string induced arrangements of the score. The Stage version was much more alive and Rock -n- Roll. Phantom's score is much more diverse and electric than RHPS's, IMO.
Bill Warren	Re: Phantom of the Paradise	#30	[-]
Jan 19 07 3:16 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It's a shame that when they transferred ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW from the stage to the screen they didn't make it more of a ROCKY HORROR MOVIE, using more imagery from films, making it less theatrical in presentation and more cinematic. It was shot at one of the studios that Hammer used frequently. I've rarely been as electrified, surprised and delighted by a movie as I was the first time I saw PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE. Archie Hahn has become a frequent Joe Dante actor. He's in INNERSPACE, THE 'BURBS, GREMLINS 2, MATINEE, RUNAWAY DAUGHTERS, SMALL SOLDIERS, LOONEY TUNES BACK IN ACTION and one of Joe's EERIE, INDIANA episodes. I had no idea that a "Phantompalooza" had ever been held, much less two of them.
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Koukol 5	Re: Phantom of the Paradise	#31	[-]
Jan 19 07 6:08 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	IMO the songs are alot better in Rocky. The only song i don't mind in Phantom is Upholstery. I'm not a fan of Paul Williams at all.
jimi d2	Re: Phantom of the Paradise	#32	[-]
Jan 19 07 7:46 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I love the Phantom of the Paradise - I really think it's the equal or better of Rocky Horror; Rocky's more "fun" perhaps, but Phantom resonates more powerfully for me... It's really a terrific bit of pop film-making!
GaryP11111	Re: Phantom of the Paradise	#33	[-]
Jan 20 07 2:10 AM Burgomaster Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* I love the Phantom of the Paradise - I really think it's the equal or better of Rocky Horror; Rocky's more "fun" perhaps, but Phantom resonates more powerfully for me... It's really a terrific bit of pop film-making! Regardless of what one thinks of the music in each, I think it's cut and dry that PHANTOM is overall a superior movie to ROCKY HORROR. Outside of participating in a live showing of ROCKY HORROR, it's hard slogging to sit through it at home. I usually just skip from musical number to musical number. GARY L. PRANGE "Sic gorgiamus allos subjectos nunc."
Joe Karlosi	Re: Phantom of the Paradise	#34	[-]
Jan 20 07 7:40 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* Regardless of what one thinks of the music in each, I think it's cut and dry that PHANTOM is overall a superior movie to ROCKY HORROR. I think it's open to opinion. Personally, I can do without either. ---------------------- "It's MORE ... than a hobby!"
SparkieGojira	Re: Phantom of the Paradise	#35	[-]
Jan 20 07 2:09 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* IMO the songs are alot better in Rocky. The only song i don't mind in Phantom is Upholstery. I'm not a fan of Paul Williams at all. How can you not love the Muppet Movie sound track?!! But I got to confess, I can't remember a single PHANTOM tune at the moment but ROCKY HORROR's entire sound track is ever engrained on my synapsis. Then again I've only seen PHANTOM 4 or 5 times more than a decade ago, but I've owned one version or another of the ROCKY HORROR sound track since I was 11 years old have probrably watched the movie a dozen or so times since I was teen. I have a suspicion that I wouid love the PHANTOM score as much if not more so than ROCKY HORROR if I could hear it right now. Paul Williams was a major fixture when I was growing up, and I bet I would even love the songs from BUGSEY MALONE! I didn't realise untill a few years ago Paul Williams is the culprit behind the awful THE LOVE BOAT theme, all though that too is probrably a song I can never erase from my brain! And lets not forget Paul Williams made a really excellent, sometimes sympathetic, Penguin on the BATMAN animated seriers of the 90's! I'd love to see those clips "Phoenix" performing live at Phatompalooza but I will have to wait till my wi-fi capable lap top is repaired. As Bill Warren maybe stated earlier, in the end I think PHANTOM trumps ROCKY in that it is a pretty earnest, straight foward, tragic story. Despite the songs and comedy, I really felt for Winslow and Phoenix. ROCKY has an ironic detachment. www.itcamefromplanetx.com
Mark Hodgson	Re: Rocky vs The Phantom	#36	[-]
Jan 21 07 8:11 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It's kind of unfair to force us to choose between the two films because you've all managed to point out more differences than similarities. I like them both, but certainly Phantom seems to be belatedly growing as a a cult, while Rocky's audience seems to have peaked. I know it's easy to pair off the two together though. I saw them both as a (reissue?) double-bill in UK cinemas in the 1970's. What about comparing Phantom of the Paradise to other versions of Phantom of the Opera? Or to other Brian De Palma films? He's not done any other 'musicals'.
Tonyspiders	Re: Phantom of the Paradise	#37	[-]
Jan 21 07 10:48 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thought I'd weigh in on the Paul Williams music debate, as it does have a huge bearing on whether one enjoys PHANTOM. As previously mentioned, Williams' preference for schmaltz occasionally got the best of him, which is what differentiates PHANTOM from the more "rock" oriented ROCKY HORROR (if you can actually consider the later rock). That isnt to say that he didnt write the occasional catchy tune; he certainly had his pulse on the MOR America of the seventies (witness the Carpenters' family-friendly muzak). But can anyone say "Evergreen" or "Rainbow Connection"?
Mark Hodgson	Paul Williams	#38	[-]
Jan 21 07 1:49 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	...or what about the catchy songs in Alan Parker's BUGSY MALONE.
rvoyttbots	Re: Paul Williams	#39	[-]
Jan 21 07 2:47 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I first saw this in one of those theaters with a postage stamp sized screen back in 1975. About a year or so later I saw a double feature of ROCK HORROR & PHANTOM in Laguna Beach. The theater is just yards from the beach. I really love this film and the music. My favorite is the end title song, THE HELL OF IT. I used to rewind the tape and play it over and over. *Quote:* and that guy crawling next to Finley That guy always cracks me up. And the creation scene & song of Beef is a highlight for me.
Bill Warren	Re: Paul Williams	#40	[-]
Jan 21 07 4:06 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Williams wrote a lot of good songs and a lot of forgettable ones. But so did Irving Berlin. (Groucho Marx made a point of remembering Berlin's flops, and singing them at parties they both attended.)
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