History Film / PhantomOfTheParadise

Compare and contrast ''TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'', another 1970s rock musical that tackles horror themes (albeit in a much spoofier manner) and was considered a failure when it first came out, but is now a cult classic. (Also, both films were by 20th Century Fox and the actress who played Phoenix played Janet in ShockTreatment, leading some fans to see all three films as a loose trilogy)

Compare and contrast ''TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'', another 1970s rock musical that tackles horror themes (albeit in a much spoofier manner) and was considered a failure when it first came out, but is now a cult classic.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The film was an utter flop... except in the Canadian city of Winnipeg and in Paris, France.

* TechnologyMarchesOn: If the movie was made today the studio full of ''[[TechnologyPorn massive]]'' synthesizers covered with dials, switches, buttons and cables would just have an iMac, keyboard and mixing board.

A combination of ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'', ''Literature/ThePictureOfDorianGray'', ''{{Faust}}'', ''Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'', and ''Film/TheCabinetOfDrCaligari'', ''Phantom of the Paradise'' is rather polarizing film, having been a complete flop when it was first released (though at least receiving an Oscar nomination for its soundtrack). It's now considered a cult favorite.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The film was an utter flop... except in the Canadian city of Winnipeg.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The film was an utter flop... except in the Canadian city of Calgary.

* CampGay: Beef. Just Beef.

** Phoenix's name highlights her character arc. This comes to the fore with [[spoiler: Beef being burnt to a crisp before she symbolically rises from the ashes of his failure.]]

** Swan is as regal and luxurious as the implicit cultural implications given by his name. As well as resembling an inversion of the ugly duckling tale [[spoiler: seeing as he becomes more and more monstrous, from a personality perspective, as the movie goes on.]]

* IncrediblyLamePun: Winslow is initially sent to (the real-life prison of) '''Sing-Sing'''.

* IncrediblyLamePun: Winslow is initially sent to (the real-life prison of) '''Sing-Sing'''. Doubles as FridgeBrilliance for this troper.

* HeyItsThatVoice: An uncredited RodSerling provides the opening narration.
** Also, Winslow's new singing voice, after he became the phantom, is actually Paul Williams'-- whose character, Swan, judges the aforementionned voice "perfect".

* PlayingAgainstType: Paul Williams as Swan. Williams' on-screen appearances are usually as much friendlier characters, but moreover, his best known songwriting efforts are tunes such as [[Film/AStarIsBorn "Evergreen"]] and [[Main/TheMuppetMovie "Rainbow Connection"]], which are '''worlds''' away from the grimmer, even cynical tunes here.
** For example, here's the chorus of "The Hell of It":
-->Good for nothin'
-->Bad in bed
-->Nobody liked you, you're better off dead
-->Goodbye (goodbye), we've all come to say goodbye (goodbye), goodbye (goodbye)
-->Born defeated
-->Died in vain
-->Super-destructive, you were hooked on pain
-->And though your music lingers on
-->All of us are glad you're gone
-->If I could live my life half as worthlessly as you,
-->I'm convinced that I'd wind up burning too.

->''"He sold his soul for rock n' roll!"''\\
-- Tagline

Life in prison isn't so kind to Winslow. His teeth are extracted for experimental purposes, and he winds up with a set of sharp metal replacements. One day, when he hears one of his ''Faust'' songs on the radio -- watered down into cutesy pop and performed by Swan's most popular band, The Juicy Fruits -- he goes insane and manages to escape prison, he even manages to terrorize Swan's offices and the thugs who beat him up, but ends up in a freak accident with a record press, severely deforming his face and damaging his vocal chords. Angry and desperate, Winslow heads to The Paradise and dons a cape and a mask, now becoming the titular Phantom. He attempts to kill The Juicy Fruits (now retooled into "The Beach Bums") with a bomb, but fails. When he confronts Swan alone shortly thereafter, he's put off-balance by Swan's now conciliatory manner.

* [[spoiler: AChatWithSatan - Satan talks to Swan when he attempts to kill himself in a bathtub.]]
* AffablyEvil - Swan.
* AllPartOfTheShow - [[spoiler: The audiences at the Paradise apparently think everything is this, including Beef's death and the chaos at the wedding in the end.]]

* AnimalMotifs - Used with a healthy sense of irony.

* [[spoiler: BuryYourGays - Beef gets impaled with a fake lightning bolt.]]
* CampGay - Beef. Just Beef.
* CastingGag - Paul Williams, who plays the diabolical, 5'2, top-hat-wearing, bird-obsessed Swan would later voice the diabolical, 5'2, top-hat-wearing, bird-obsessed Penguin on ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''.

* DealWithTheDevil - [[spoiler: Swan made a deal with the Devil so that he wouldn't age. He also has his bands and singers sign contracts to him, not allowing them to die until he does. The catch is that he must film himself each day of his life and watch the results daily(in which he looks and sounds wretched), or the deal breaks; Winslow finds this out and destroys the reels, leaving Swan vulnerable.]]
* DepravedDentist - All of the inmates at the prison Winslow Leach is sent to have their teeth removed and replaced with metal ones, because of an experimental health procedure funded by the BigBad.
* DisproportionateRetribution - Winslow kills (or attempts to kill) anyone who isn't Phoenix that sings his songs.
* DownerEnding - [[spoiler: Winslow dies after killing Swan, leaving Phoenix heartbroken and alone.]]
* DramaticUnmask - 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.]]

* GenreShift - a mid-song example. As Swan attempts to find someone to perform Winslow's music, he watches several different artists perform sections of the song, each taking up exactly where the last one left off, and none of them for more than a line or two. You'll never think of genre the same way again after watching it.
* GirlOnGirlIsHot - Swan likes his female auditionees to have sex with each other for his own enjoyment.
* GlamourFailure - Swan refuses to be photographed or recorded by anyone but his lackeys because [[spoiler:though he has eternal youth from his DealWithTheDevil, he shows up the way he truly looks and sounds on film]].
* GlamRock - Beef. Blech.
* [[spoiler: TheHeroDies - Poor Winslow.]]
* [[HeyItsThatVoice Hey, It's That Voice]] - An uncredited RodSerling provides the opening narration.

* LargeHam - Everyone. The whole film.
* NiceHat - Phoenix's fedora she wears as she sings "Special to Me" at her audition.
* OnlyOneName - Everyone except for Winslow Leach.

* PaperThinDisguise - Winslow's attempt to infiltrate the Swanage as a harem girl.
* ThePianoPlayer - Winslow at the beginning of the film before Swan "discovers" him.
* PlayingAgainstType - Paul Williams as Swan. Williams' on-screen appearances are usually as much friendlier characters, but moreover, his best known songwriting efforts are tunes such as [[Film/AStarIsBorn "Evergreen"]] and [[Main/TheMuppetMovie "Rainbow Connection"]], which are '''worlds''' away from the grimmer, even cynical tunes here.

* SequelEscalation - A kind of in-film example, with Swan's public shows. [[spoiler:The first in the film features a singer bloodlessly miming harakiri on stage. The second involves dummy audience members being hacked up by the singers and turned into a Frankenstein-like man. This show ends with said man being electrocuted on stage. The final show, the wedding, features a man being shot in the head, the Phantom's wounds re-opening, and Swan himself being graphically stabbed to death on live TV, with the theater audience themselves finally climbing up to take part in it all. This troper didn't think about this until repeat viewings, so it counted as FridgeBrilliance too.]]

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism - Pretty damn cynical, but [[spoiler:at least with a bittersweet, tragic hero ending.]]
* SoulJar - [[spoiler:Winslow's contract with Swan, and the tape of Swan making his contract with the Devil.]]

* StalkerWithACrush - Winslow pretty much has to become this after his deal with Swan.
* TechnologyMarchesOn: If the movie was made today the studio full of ''[[TechnologyPorn massive]]'' [[TechnologyPorn synthesizers covered with dials, switches, buttons and cables]] would just have an iMac, keyboard and mixing board.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity - Swan is this to a T.
* VillainousBreakdown - [[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.]]

* TechnologyMarchesOn: If the movie was made today the studio full of [[TechnologyPorn ''massive'']] [[TechnologyPorn synthesizers covered with dials, switches, buttons and cables]] would just have an iMac, keyboard and mixing board.

* TechnologyMarchesOn: If the movie was made today the studio full of [[TechnologyPorn ''massive'' synthesizers covered with dials, switches, buttons and cables]] would just have an iMac, keyboard and mixing board.

A musical CultClassic from 1974, directed by BrianDePalma.

* FatalMethodActing: An In-Universe example when [[spoiler: Meat is murdered by electrocution onstage]] and the crowd cheers it on, thinking it's part of the show.

A combination of ''{{Phantom of the Opera}}'', ''Literature/ThePictureOfDorianGray'', ''{{Faust}}'', ''Literature/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame}}'', and ''Film/TheCabinetOfDrCaligari'', ''Phantom of the Paradise'' is rather polarizing film, having been a complete flop when it was first released (though at least receiving an Oscar nomination for its soundtrack). It's now considered a cult favorite.

* ShoutOut: Philbin is named after Mary Philbin, the actress who played Christine in the silent version of ''ThePhantomOfTheOpera''.