Phantom of the Paradise – Shout! Factory (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1974
Director: Brian De Palma
Writers: Brian De Palma, Louisa Rose
Cast: William Finley, Paul Williams, Jessica Harper, Gerrit Graham, George Memmoli, Archie Hahn, Jeffrey Comanor, Peter Elbling, Rod Serling (Introductory Narrator)

Release Date: August 5th, 2014
Approximate Running Time: 91 Minutes 36 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: PG
Sound: DTS-HD Stereo English, DTS-HD 5.1 English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A (Blu-ray), Region 1 NTSC (DVD)
Retail Price: $24.95

"Paul Williams wrote the acclaimed score for this musical horror classic, and stars as an evil record tycoon haunted and taunted by the disfigured composer Winslow Leach (William Finley, Sisters) he once wronged." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "High-Definition transfer of the film."

Phantom of the Paradise comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 43.1 GB

Feature: 27.3 GB

The source is in great shape; colors look vibrant, flesh tones look healthy, image clarity is solid, and black levels are strong. Also, compression is very good, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4/5 (DTS-HD Stereo English), 4.5/5 (DTS-HD 5.1 English)

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD stereo mix in English and a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English. Though both audio tracks sound clean, clear, and balanced, the 5.1 audio track sounds noticeably more robust. Included are removable English subtitles.

Extras:

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include an extensive stills gallery, a featurette detailing the changing of the Swan Song logo titled Swan Song – Outtake Footage (7 minutes 27 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a segment titled Alternate Takes that compares via split screen alternate angles and other coverage shots (26 minutes 21 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with special effects supervisor Tom Burman (4 minutes 9 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with director Brian De Palma (33 minutes 8 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with composer/actor Paul Williams (34 minutes 54 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an audio commentary with the cast; Jessica Harper, Gerrit Graham, Archie Hahn, Jeffrey Comanor, and Peter Elbling, and an audio commentary with production designer Jack Fisk.

Note: Around the 71 minute mark on the actors’ audio commentary, there is a moment where Jessica Harper’s comments are overlapped by Gerrit Graham’s comments.

Extras on the DVD include a stills gallery, radio spots (2 minutes 34 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), television spots (5 minutes 19 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), theatrical trailers (5 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a promo with William Finley and the Phantom of the Paradise doll (33 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a featurette titled Phantom of the Paradise Biography by Gerrit Graham (9 minutes 32 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a featurette titled Alvin’s Art and Technique: A Look at the Neon Poster (11 minutes 36 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with John Williams touring drummer Gary Malaber, he appeared in Phantom of the Paradise as the fictional band’s drummer (17 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with producer Edward R. Pressman (19 minutes 3 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with costume designer Rosanna Norton (9 minutes 34 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and actor / composer Paul Williams (72 minutes 22 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and a documentary titled Paradise Regained, featuring comments from Brian De Palma, William Finley, Jessica Harper, Paul Williams, Gerrit Graham, Archie Hahn, Paul Hirsch and Edward R. Pressman (50 minutes 13 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles).

Other extras include reversible cover art and a slipcover (limited to the first pressing).

Summary:

A music producer who made a pact with the devil swindles an eccentric composer who wrote a cantata about Faust.

No American filmmaker has been as influential as Brian De Palma, and yet he’s relatively unknown outside of cinephiles. Brian De Palma, throughout his career, has pushed the boundaries of censorship in the Hollywood system while most of his contemporaries have been content to play things safe and keep working. Most directors find a genre in which they are most comfortable, and they spend their careers there. Brian De Palma, like a chameleon, has worked in just about every genre, with his most successful films being in the thriller genre.

In 1973 he would begin work on Phantom of the Paradise, his one and only attempt at making a musical. The music for Phantom of the Paradise was composed by Paul Williams, whose most famous compositions at that time had been for the Carpenters. His work on Phantom of the Paradise is nothing short of brilliant, as his score runs the gamut from 1950s and 60s nostalgia to full-blown mini-epics like ‘Life at Last.’.

Phantom of the Paradise was one of the first films to explore 1950s and 60s nostalgia before it became in vogue with Happy Days and films like Grease. It is also a precursor to the more recognized Rocky Horror Picture Show, which would not be possible if Phantom of the Paradise hadn’t already laid the groundwork for these types of films a few years before.

Though the cast for Phantom of the Paradise is not filled with ‘A’ list actors, all of them are inspired choices. Paul Williams as Swan is the most compelling casting choice, as he plays a man who wields an unbelievable amount of power despite his lack of height. At first appearance, he might not look that imposing, that is, until you spend a few moments with him as Swan, and he devilishly sells the part with the utmost conviction. William Finely is a regular in virtually all of Brian De Palma’s films up to this point and his performance as Winslow Leach / The Phantom is his crowning achievement and his finest collaboration with De Palma. Jessica Harper would make her film debut in Phantom of the Paradise as Phoenix, as a singer who seeks fame and becomes the object of Winslow Leech’s desires along the way. Most cult movie fans will most likely recognize her from Dario Argento’s Suspiria. Despite not being as polished as the rest of the cast, her performance works perfectly within the confines of this film. Gerrit Graham steals every scene he is in as the new singing sensation ‘Beef’. The ‘Beef’ character laid the foundation for flamboyant characters like Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

From a production standpoint, Phantom of the Paradise is a film where everything perfectly falls into place. Even at this early stage, Brian De Palma's visual mastery is on full display as he explores a wide variety of techniques he would employ throughout his career. Brian De Palma’s films are known for their subversive humor; Phantom of the Paradise is overflowing with humor and witty satire about the record/entertainment industry. Paul Hirsch is a key collaborator of Brian De Palma (they worked on 10 films), and his exemplary editing for Phantom of the Paradise greatly aids the story that unfolds. Brian De Palma, known for his Alfred Hitchcock references, and Phantom of the Paradise has a tongue-in-cheek take on the famous shower scene from Psycho; only this time a toilet plunger is used as the main weapon. Ultimately, Phantom of the Paradise is one of the most entertaining musicals ever made, and it is a film that gets better with each new viewing.

Phantom of the Paradise gets an exceptional release from Shout! Factory that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of insightful extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer