Phantom of the Paradise: Difference between revisions

Swan not only gives Winslow a shiny new voice box, but the opportunity to have his music produced properly. Winslow agrees, but only if Phoenix can be the only one to sing his songs. Swan agrees and insists that Winslow sign a contract with his own blood. However, Swan doesn't care to keep his promises and instead hires glam-rocker Beef to perform with "The Undead" (previously The Beach Bums). Outraged, Winslow decides to take matters into his own hands...and discovers Swan's plans for Phoenix -- and his very nature -- are even worse than he thought.

 

 

Compare and contrast ''[[The Rocky Horror Picture Show]]'', another 1970s rock musical that tackles horror themes (albeit in a much spoofier manner).

=== This film contains examples of: ===

 

* [[Affably Evil]] - Swan.

* [[All Part of the Show]] - {{spoiler|The audiences at the Paradise apparently think everything is this, including Beef's death and the chaos at the wedding in the end.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Bury Your Gays]] - Beef gets impaled with a fake lightning bolt.}}

* [[Camp Gay]] - Beef. Just Beef.

** He apparently moonlights as an [[Planet of the Apes|ape scientist in the far future]].

* [[Clumsy Copyright Censorship]]: A rather unfortunate case. Swan's record label, [[A Worldwide Punomenon|Swan Song]], was featured in many scenes, including long shots and panning shots. At about the same time they were filming, [[Led Zeppelin]] manager Peter Grant started a ''real'' [[wikipedia:Swan Song Records|record label]] with the name, and beat Phantom by a couple months with their first album release. Grant threatened to block release of the film, so [[Brian De Palma|dePalma]] and his editor ''[[Clumsy Copyright Censorship|very poorly]]'' covered up the offending words with the new label name, Death Records. Even worse, several long take scenes with too much movement were reedited so as to not show the original name, wasting the long single take shots. That name was '''everywhere.''' [http://www.swanarchives.org/Production_Fiasco.asp Luckily, the original takes survive in the hands of a fan], though who knows if they'll ever be used in a future release.

* [[Disproportionate Retribution]] - Winslow kills (or attempts to kill) anyone who isn't Phoenix that sings his songs.

* [[Downer Ending]] - {{spoiler|Winslow dies after killing Swan, leaving Phoenix heartbroken and alone.}}

* [[Dramatic Unmask]] - Averted. {{spoiler|Winslow removes his mask as he approaches Phoenix, but she's the only one who cares. The crowd just thinks it's part of the show.}}

* [[Girl-On-Girl Is Hot]] - Swan likes his female auditionees to have sex with each other for his own enjoyment.

* [[Glam Rock]] - Beef. Blech.

* {{spoiler|[[The Hero Dies]] - Poor Winslow.}}

* [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism]] - Pretty damn cynical, but {{spoiler|at least with a bittersweet, tragic hero ending.}}

* [[Soul Jar]] - {{spoiler|Winslow's contract with Swan, and the tape of Swan making his contract with the Devil.}}

* [[Villainous Breakdown]] - {{spoiler|Swan, having realized he's mortal again and putrefying by the second, attempting to strangle Phoenix while raving about being promised her voice, as per the demonic contract he got her to sign, which has now been burned along with his own.}}