Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Phantom of the Paradise Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 21, 2014

Brian De Palma's "Phantom of the Paradise" (1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailers for the film; production and archival photos; new video interview with actor Paul Williams conducted by acclaimed Mexican director Guillermo del Toro; archival interview with costume designer Rosanna Norton; radio spots; and more. The release also arrives with a collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by festival programmer Michael Blyth and an exploration of the film’s troubled marketing history by Ari Kahan, illustrated with original stills and promotional material. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Shut up!

Written and directed by Brian De Palma, Phantom of the Paradise is a terrific piece of psychedelia. It is colorful, wild, mesmerizing, frustrating, kitschy, hilarious, odd and beautiful. It is also a musical of sorts - one that bends forms and styles in such a wicked fashion that one must wonder what was going on in director De Palma's life when he shot the film.

Here's the plot: During a highly anticipated audition, Swan (Paul Williams, Stone Cold Dead), the owner of the successful Death Records, steals the score for the unfinished Faust cantata from a talented but incredibly naive composer, Winslow Leach (William Finley, Sisters), looking to make it big. Swan is so impressed by the music that he immediately decides to use it for the grand opening of his club, The Paradise. With the assistance of powerful friends, he frames Winslow and throws him in jail. But the composer manages to escape, and heads back to Death Records looking for revenge. There he accidentally falls and gets his face disfigured by a pressing machine.

Eventually, Winslow meets Swan but instead of revenge gets a contract, which he signs with his own blood -- Swan convinces him to finish the Faust cantata for Phoenix (Jessica Harper, Suspiria), a young and beautiful singer, with whom Winslow has fallen in love with. When he delivers the Faust cantata, Swan bricks him up alive in his studio, but Winslow manages to escape and all hell breaks loose.

De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise reminded me of American expatriate William Klein’s Mister Freedom. Both films allow for two profoundly different reads of their stories - one where the audience isn't required to pay close attention to the numerous references they contain, and another where reading between the lines is essential. Both films also seem fairly comfortable with the idea that kitsch allows for great storytelling so long as at the end the kitsch is somehow rationalized. In Klein's film the kitsch is used to effectively criticize America's imperialistic ambitions; in De Palma's film the kitsch is used to satirize the showbiz.

The flavor of the kitsch in Mister Freedom, however, differs considerably from the one present in Phantom of the Paradise. In Klein's film the exaggerations are blunt and frequently quite vulgar. As a result, the main protagonist is impossible to like; the political overtones in the film are also extremely easy to detect.

In Phantom of the Paradise the main protagonist is so weak that once he begins to suffer it becomes quite easy to feel for him; he is the ugly duckling that no one wants. Yet instead of embracing him De Palma proceeds to exploit his misery, thus ensuring that Phantom of the Paradise does not evolve into a cliched soap opera.

Visually, Phantom of the Paradise is overwhelming. What takes place on the screen has to be seen to be believed. During the film's final act it literally feels as if De Palma demanded everyone to go berserk in front of the camera, just like Fellini did in a few of his films. The only difference here is that Phantom of the Paradise lacks the grace and elegance of Fellini's films which, arguably, is precisely what makes it so special.

In 1975, Phantom of the Paradise was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring Original Song Score and/or Adaptation (Paul Williams and George Aliceson Tipton).

Phantom of the Paradise Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"Phantom of the Paradise was transferred from original pre-print material by Twentieth Century Fox in the USA. This was delivered as a restored file on a master to Arrow Films.

Technical supervisor: James White.
Authoring: David Mackenzie."

I have mixed feelings about this new release of Phantom of the Paradise. Its basic characteristics are unquestionably superior to those of French label Opening Distribution's release, which we reviewed in 2010. Indeed, grain is better resolved, dirt and specs have been carefully removed, and the encoding is superior. The color timing and contrast balance of this new release, however, are drastically different. In fact, the discrepancies between the two releases are so big that when comparing the two it actually feels like they enhance entirely different qualities -- the look of the French release supports the kitschy qualities of De Palma's film, while Arrow's release supports the film's lusher musical qualities. Generally speaking, on the Arrow release there is a much wider range of well saturated browns and yellows, which appear to have replaced a good range of nuanced reds/pinks that are prominent on the French release (compare screencapture #1 with screencapture #4 from our review of the French release). The contrast and brightness settings are also different. As a result, the film looks darker but also lusher (screencapture #6 with screencapture #2 from our review of the French release). However, not knowing whether the new color scheme has been in any way approved or endorsed by director De Palma, one will have to rely on one's instincts to choose the 'correct' version of the film. My feeling is that the color adjustments performed at Fox are too strong. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Phantom of the Paradise Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Enlgish LPCM 2.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 4.0. Also included on the disc is an Isolated Music & Effects LPCM 2.0 track. For the record, Arrow Video have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the LPCM 2.0 track and was enormously pleased with it. The lossless DTS-HD Master Audio track (4-track original stereo track) definitely introduces a new range of nuanced dynamics, but both tracks serve the film very well. The music is vibrant and well rounded while the dialog is exceptionally crisp, free of hiss, and easy to follow. For the record, there are no pops, cracks, or distortions to report in this review.

Phantom of the Paradise Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers - two original trailers for Phantom of the Paradise. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Gallery - a collection of production and archival photos courtesy of photographer Randy Black.

• Radio Spots - a collection of radio spots for Phantom of the Paradise. (3 min).

• Paradise Lost and Found - a collection of bloopers, extended scenes and alternate takes. In English, not subtitled. (14 min).

• Paradise Regained - a terrific look at Phantom of the Paradise, its production history, reception by the critics and audiences around the world, etc. The featurette contains numerous interview sessions with Brian De Palma, producer Ed Pressman, actors Paul Williams (Swan), William Finley (Winslow Leach), Gerrit Graham (Beef), etc. The same featurette is also included on French label Opening Distribution's release of Phantom of the Paradise. In English, not subtitled. (51 min).

• Guillermo del Toro Interviews Paul Williams - in this wonderful new video interview, acclaimed Mexican director Guillermo del Toro and Paul Williams (Swan) discuss the actor's fascination with music and cinema, the production history and style of Phantom of Paradise, the mystery of Swan, etc. r. Williams also talks about his alcohol addiction, making Ishtar, artist rights, and the importance of following your creative instincts. In English, not subtitled. (73 min).

• The Swan Song Fiasco - new video essay focusing on the different changes director Brian De Palma and editor Paul Hirsch were forced to make during the post-production process. In English, not subtitled. (12 min).

• Archive Interview with Rosanna Norton - costume designer Rosanna Norton recalls her work on the film. The same video piece also appears on Opening Distribution's Blu-ray release of Phantom of the Paradise. In English, not subtitled. (10 min).

• William Finley on the Phantom Doll - William Finley introduces the Phantom doll. This video piece also appears on Opening Distribution's Blu-ray release of Phantom of the Paradise. In English, not subtitled. (1 min).

• Isolated Music & Effects Track - a separate LPCM 2.0 track.

• Booklet - collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by festival programmer Michael Blyth and an exploration of the film's troubled marketing history by Ari Kahan, curator of SwanArchives.org, illustrated with original stills and promotional material.

• Coverwork - reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by The Red Dress.

Phantom of the Paradise Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is easy to see that Arrow Video have tried to deliver yet another definitive release of a cult film, but I think that the new color grading of Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise will inspire some very passionate debates. My feeling is that some of the color corrections are too strong, but I wonder if they were in any way approved or endorsed by director De Palma. This being said, the release comes with plenty of terrific supplemental features, including an excellent conversation between Mexican director Guillermo del Toro and actor Paul Williams, which make it quite easy to recommend.