Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

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Links & resources

• Visit the Swan Archives (opens in a new tab)
• Buy the Phantom of the Paradise Soundtrack (opens in a new tab)
• Buy Phantom of the Paradise on DVD (opens in a new tab)
• Read all the lyrics to the POTP soundtrack (opens in a new tab)
• Visit another Phantom of the Paradise fan site (opens in a new tab)
• Check out the Arrow Films release of Phantom of the Paradise (opens in a new tab)

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Comments (11)

1. The Creeper August 31, 2011

   Great episode, guys. Ari is both amazing and creepy in his vast knowledge of all things PHANTOM, and I mean that as a heartfelt compliment.
   
   And thanks for asking Ms. Harper about her wacky audition dance.
2. joanna September 2, 2011

   Hi!
   
   Thanks for the interview with Ari! Great memories of Phantom....
   
   I have to take exception to the view that DePalma's work being crud.... I have a few Faves of Brian's.... CARRIE was a CLASSIC. Sisters was another good one (William Finley. Margot Kidder) and...I don't care who says what...I LOVED 'WISE GUYS' with Danny DeVito and Joe Piscapo! Captain Lou Albano (Pro Wrestlin' manager) who had Danny and Joe in stitches!
   
   The ONLY thing I DISLIKE about Phantom was those gawd-awful Wolfman Jack promos! Ari's site has a GREAT clip from Ross Raventos, who did an EXCELLENT job at creating a DECENT promo!
   
   As far as Brian DePalma....Whatever other Brian movies come along, Phantom....will always have a place in my heart. As the saying goes, "You never forget your first love."
3. Wendy September 3, 2011

   LOL! Yes, I don't know how many times I watched the film and listened to the soundtrack before I caught the relationships between the songs (and I felt stupid too). And I'm surprised that you didn't mention Paul Williams' other great movie compositions -- he wrote the songs for The Muppet Movie.
4. Ari the Archivist September 5, 2011

   Shortly after this podcast aired, Mr. De Palma issued a statement through the De Palma a la Mod website to note that there's no basis in truth for the speculation that the 1971 National Lampoon photoplay, "Phantom of the Rock Opera," served as an inspiration for Phantom of the Paradise. That's certainly more than good enough for me, and I'm pleased and relieved to have the issue put to rest. -Ari
5. Mike White September 5, 2011

   FYI - the URL for that site is http://www.briandepalma.org
   
   Maybe Mr. DePalma will come on the show when Justin does his threatened Blow Up / Blow Out show. Mondo Justin's pro-Blow Up, I'm pro-Blow Out. - MW
6. Trevor Markwart September 6, 2011

   Now you're living up to your tagline "the ultimate movie podcast". This one, added to the CRIME WAVE podcast, and the "lost" Jerry Lewis film THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED serve as the three pillars you needed to live up to this hype. Congratulations!
7. Michael Greenwood September 8, 2011

   As a longtime and unabashed fan of the film, I really loved the podcast, learned a bunch and was blown away by Ari's knowledge and remarkably confident, smooth delivery. Superb!
8. Matthew Mills September 10, 2011

   This, thus far, has been my favorite episode (although I'm listening to the Anger show as I write this and might not want to make such a statement). That's the thing about PB, you guys keep stepping it up as the podcast moves forward, making it impossible to not see what you guys will do next.
   Phantom is one of my favorite films of all time, so any new info I learned about the film here was more than welcome. I felt Ari was a great guest and shared he's obscene knowledge of the film without being pretentious or losing it when Justin went on his De Palma rant. That's another thing about PB, you both can be on total different sides without fighting or belittling the other's opinion and that's very refreshing to hear. Anyway, the Jessica Harper interview was an awesome treat for me, despite it's length, and I enjoyed everyone's discussion of the film. All of you had interesting views and trivia concerning Phantom that kept me glued and served as an all around excellent episode.
   For the record, I obviously take Hitchcock over DePalma, but I can't deny the adoration I have for DePalma's earlier films. Particularly Blow Out, Sisters, Dressed to Kill, Body Double, Carrie, and, of course, Phantom Of The Paradise. I actually like his re-visioning of Hitchcock's work, what can I say? Keep it up, guys!
9. Mike White September 10, 2011

   Hey, thanks a ton, Matt. Great to hear from you. For more Jessica Harper -- and more divisive opinions -- check out our episode on Shock Treatment.
10. Madame Enfer June 14, 2012

    This is a fantastic one. A real treat to hear from the awesomely knowledgeable Ari and the amazing Jessica, and great hosts. Oh how I love this movie. - Ari (not the Archivist)
11. Anonymous May 3, 2016

    There was a certain degree of aggravation for me listening to this, specifically with regards to Mondo Justin's ludicrous claim that there's no 'originality' in De Palma's work (a charge he levels with the same degree of pedestrian conviction at one of De Palma's disciples, Tarantino). Yeah, De Palma fetishized Hitchcock. But Leone fetishized John Ford. Are we to dismiss them both wholesale for doing so? Anyway, what the hell am I doing? De Palma doesn't need me to jump to his defence. The work speaks for itself. And anyone who doesn't appreciate the sheer joy (and mastery) of the medium reflected in De Palma's work is beyond my reach. It's like trying to have a reasonable discussion about God with a Jehovah's Witness - just not possible. But all that unpleasantness aside, this was a great episode and a terrific interview with Ari from The Swan Archives, the ultimate Phantom fan site. And this is one of the great pleasures of the Projection Booth, the weirdly obsessive but passionate and articulate film fans they frequently conjure up for some of these episodes.