Phantom of the Paradise

Phantom of the Paradise
Theatrical release poster by Richard Corben
Directed by	Brian De Palma
Written by	Brian De Palma
Produced by	Edward Pressman
Starring	Paul Williams William Finley George Memmoli Harold Oblong Archie Hahn Jeffrey Comanor Gerrit Graham Jessica Harper
Cinematography	Larry Pizer
Edited by	Paul Hirsch
Music by	Paul Williams
Production company	Harbor Productions
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release dates	October 31, 1974 (1974-10-31) [1] November 1, 1974 (1974-11-01)
Running time	91 minutes[2]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1.3 million

Phantom of the Paradise is a 1974 American rock musical comedy horror film written and directed by Brian De Palma and scored by and starring Paul Williams.

A naïve young singer-songwriter, Winslow Leach (William Finley) is tricked by legendary but unscrupulous music producer Swan (Williams) into sacrificing his life's work. In revenge, the songwriter dons a menacing new persona and proceeds to terrorize Swan's new concert hall, insisting his music be performed by his most adored singer, Phoenix (Jessica Harper).

The plot loosely adapts several classic works: the 16th century Faust legend, Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray and Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera.^[3]

The film was a box office failure and received mixed-to-negative reviews contemporaneously, while earning praise for its music and receiving Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. However, over the years, the film has received much more positive reviews and has become a cult film.