Another Guilty Pleasure

Ok, people--don't even think about trying to reason with me on this one.......

One of my absolute favoritest films has come back into my world.

Back in 1974--a year before The Rocky Horror Picture Show premiered, Brian DePalma released Phantom of the Paradise--a film seemingly written for 13 year old romantics. Looking for restraint? Keep looking. Reality? Not gonna find it here. But if you want campy humor, over the top histrionics, and true pathos---bingo! Plus, you get to see Paul Williams play a villain.

The film is a rock pastiche of Phantom of the Opera, The Picture of Dorian Grey, and Faust, written and directed by DePalma before he went on his Icy blonde Hitchcock kick. The hero is a nebbish, the heroine a doe eyed brunette, and the villain is a tiny blonde man with large teeth. Toss in some tunes, riff on the Sha-na-na nostalgia craze ,Glam Rock, and Alice Cooper style horror rock, add split screens, and viola--instant favorite film!

The best thing is looking at the then state of the art electronics---you have more sophisticated equipment in front of you as you read this.