Phantom of The Paradise

A Cult Classic That Pairs Well With cannabis.

The 70’s were a crazy time, and in 1974, Brian De Palma wasn’t famous yet — but Paul Williams sure was, and the two of them teamed up to create The Phantom of Paradise. I don’t want to insult anyone’s intelligence about what a king Paul Williams is, but he wrote things like … A Star is Born and … ‘Tiptoe through the Tulips’, and probably any Carpenters song you really liked. He also worked with my personal favorites, the Muppets, and co-wrote “The Rainbow Connection.” Side note — he’s recently co-written and performed songs with Daft Punk…because Phantom of The Paradise inspired Daft Punk.

Paul Williams’ career was ON FIRE in the year this movie was made, but Brian DePalma was just getting started after a few years of making documentary films and was trying to make his break in Hollywood (Carrie was still a couple of years away).

Ends up, that is a great formula for movie magic.

The Phantom of the Paradise takes the story of Phantom of the Opera and shoves it into the story of Faust and spices it with a hint of Little Mermaid, and then paints it with a bit of … Dorian Gray. It’s a rock opera horror comedy that predates Rocky Horror Picture Show. Brian DePalma both wrote and directed, and Paul Williams added the music and swagger. The movie went on to be nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for the music.

It is transcendent.