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This is one of those movies I vaguely remember watching clips of back when I was about 6 or 7 and later forgot all about it. That was until Lindsay Ellis included the film in her Loose Canon essay on Phantom of the Opera and I suddenly remembered it.

It was only this last year that I saw the whole movie, and yeah. It's weird. Like there was some experimental drugs going on with the writers weird. I can see why it would appeal to artists like Daft Punk and Guillermo del Toro.

Still the soundtrack is killer but that's to be expected with Paul Williams.

going to be interesting.

This is a weird film. I haven't watched it, but I first learnt about it from Decker Shado's review of it, which remained stuck in my head, as it was exactly 30 minutes long and was the longest review he ever did at that time.

I don't think I can call the film bad, it's just that it feels like an odd stage play turned into a film which in turn gets turned into a stage play.It feels surreal and often confusing.

This is one hell of a movie, it's hard to believe the guy who directed Mission Impossible, The Untouchables and Scarface did this. It's not my favorite of the oddball horror-comedies with musical aspects from this era (that would go to The Abominable Dr. Phibes), but it's still a great time.

Music's great, actors are great (especially Paul Williams who is fantastic in everything), and its strange yet consistent flocculating tone really keeps you on your feet.

This would not be the last time Phantom of the Opera and Faust were merged, as the 1989 Phantom movie with Robert Englund also did it, and fairly well in my opinion.

ChrisTheLovableJerk wrote: ↑Sat Jan 23, 2021 6:12 pm

This would not be the last time Phantom of the Opera and Faust were merged, as the 1989 Phantom movie with Robert Englund also did it, and fairly well in my opinion.

A little side note. In the Lon Chaney 'Phantom of the Opera' one of the plays at the opera house is 'Faust'.

I have only vaguely heard of this film before. I recognize the visual from... somewhere. (Probably Lindsay Ellis)

Chuck's look at the background of it has me really interested in it though. I think I'm going to hold off on watching the review, and hunt down the actual film to watch it basically unspoiled. It sounds neat, even if its something I won't actually like in the end.

In Chuck's Look Into video he briefly mentions the song "Old Souls" and that it's one of Paul Williams' favorites, I think it's the probably the best song in the soundtrack and Jessica Harper brings such a haunting melancholy. My one criticism is that it's pretty short, not even hitting three minutes.

Any interested can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpSROu-HKQg

I always confuse this film with a movie called the Apple; much campier but there's enough similar elements that the two get muddled in my head.

I can't remember when I first saw this movie I was definitely a child because the scene where Winslow gets his face smashed freaked me out for the longest time.

I am surprised Chuck didn't mention the Phantom of the Opera.