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| re: NJC: Phantom of the Paradise | |
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LordRahl 01:11 pm UTC 02/09/10 |
| In reply to: | NJC: Phantom of the Paradise - rockfenris2005 04:02 pm UTC 02/07/10 |
| Never heard of Phantom of the Paradise. > I was just watching this recently. What is everyone's > thoughts on this? I always thought it formed a sort of > subliminal trilogy with "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" > and "Shock Treatment". Here's an interesting write-up > about that I found in the old version of the Rocky Music > website: > > QUOTE > > Here is an explanation of this that was originally posted > on alt.cult-movies.rocky-horror by a now unknown person: > > Okay, this gets a little tricky. First of all, I'm > assuming that I don't have to list connections between > "Shock Treatment" and "RHPS". These are obvious, and are > well-documented elsewhere. We can already assume, then, > two-thirds of the trilogy. Now for the last third - > "Phantom of the Paradise". All three were released by 20th > Century Fox. All three were rock musicals in which the > songwriter had a principal role - and always as a villain > or untrustworthy type (Ritz as Riff / Cosmo, Paul Williams > as Swan). All three were unsuccessful initially but went > on to get a cult following. All three have a running theme > of voyeurism through video (cameras, monitors, etc.). Both > "RHPS" and "POTP" were rock updates of classic horror > stories (the Frankenstein story, "Phantom of the Opera"). > "POTP" and "Shock" were both satrical reflections on fame > / wealth / glory. Look at the similarities between "ST" & > "POTP" -- In both films, Jessica Harper plays a young > innocent type who SHOULD BE in love with a clumsy, > bespectacled goof (Winslow / Brad) but instead falls under > the spell of a powerful, mysterious svengali (Swan / > Farley). In both films, the powerful mysterious svengali > has the clumsy, bespectacled goof locked up and safely out > of the way (Winslow goes to Sing Sing, Brad goes to > Dentonvale). In both films, Jessica Harper's character is > drugged to keep her under the svengali's spell. In both > films, Jessica Harper wins over an audience by belting out > a song. (It just takes one song to make Jessica famous in > both films.) In both films, the clumsy goof breaks free > and manages to disrupt the svengali's big public event in > the film's climax (Brad bursts onto the "Faith Factory" > set, Winslow disrupts the "Faust" concerts at the > Paradise). In both films, Jessica's character finally > comes to her senses and rejoins the clumsy goof. (Although > in "POTP", it's too late; Winslow is dead.) As for > "POTP"/"RHPS" connections: there are stylized versions of > the "birth" of Frankenstein's monster in both films. And > once the blond, handsome, sex-obsessed Frankenstein > monsters (Beef or Rocky) come to life, what do they both > do? Sing, of course! (And notice how the women who stitch > Beef together resemble Magenta.) Also, both "RHPS" and > "POTP" have nostalgic, 1950s-sounding songs about dead > rockers named Eddie! Farley, Frank, and Swan can also be > seen as soulmates. All are powerful, all have underlings, > all have a hypnotic charm, all are vain, and two out of > three of them are killed at the end. One unmistakable > thing: we don't get a good look at either Swan or Farley > for a while in the film, and Frank's entrance is also late > in coming. And the first shot of Frank is of his shoes. > The first shot of Swan is of his gloves. And the first > shot of Farley is all dark and shadowy. And notice how > both Swan and Frank live in big creepy houses / castles > that look really cool during a rainstorm with lightning! > And dozens of critics have noticed similarities between > Gerrit Graham's portrayal of Beef and Tim Curry's > portrayal of Frank. "RHPS" and "POTP" also both make use > of corny, time-worn cinematic techniques (those "wipes" > between scenes, for example). In both "ST" and "POTP" the > line between "reality" and "entertainment" is severely > blurred, yet the audience couldn't care less! Oh, I could > go on and on... > > END QUOTE > > > > | |
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