Phantom of the Paradise vs The Rocky Horror Picture Show

A preference of these two cult "Classics" ?

 

They're both well-made films, but Phantom of the Paradise is 10 times better to me -- as a film. I actually like the music in both, but would lean towards Phantom there, too.

My favorite line in Phantom is where Paul Williams is in the studio with Winslow Leach, and you hear Leach's damaged voice coming out of the speakers. Williams flips a few switches, then says "Dolbys!" and hits another switch, and instantly Leach's voice sounds exactly like Paul Williams the singer. Hilarious bit.

 

Didn't Rod Serling do some narration for Phamton of the Paradise? It would have been one of the last movies that he ever did.

 

I've never even heard of Phantom of the Paradise, but it sounds like I need to see it.

 

Wow does that ever take me back. I've seen Rocky Horror... many times since the mid-70s, but not Phantom... since it was in theatres. Just googled some images from it and I remember liking it but apparently soon forgot it. I'll have to see it again.

 

I like them both but in my heart, Rocky will always come first ("Brad comes second!").

 

Me either. I am not sure how I have never heard of it. It came out only a year or two before I would have been the right age (high school). It must have died quickly?

 

DePalma all the way!

 

Rocky. Phantom is very dull to me, and I honestly find some of the music to be just awful. (Yes, I mean, "Upholstery.")

The fact that a chunk of Phantom is UNCOMFORTABLY close to Rocky (gay, bowl-haired blonde Frankenstein born in a tank? really?) makes me wonder if someone saw the London show and said "I can do that!". Hell, I've seen screenings of Rocky that replaced Rocky's birth with that sequence from POTP!

 

I just watched Phantom (it's available to stream for free for Amazon Prime members) and have to echo your comments. I generally didn't find much to like about Phantom, and I was at least expecting to like the music more than I did because it was written by Paul Williams. Maybe if there were better singers in the film I would have liked some of the songs more? About the only thing I liked about Phantom was the general look -- lots of interesting shots/sets/colors. But, really, it's a pretty tedious film to watch in its entirety.

 

10 -10 tie ...interesting

 

Jessica Harper > Susan Sarandon

 

Rocky Horror is all over after 20 minutes and runs out of steam after that. Disappointing.

 

Phantom gets my vote.

 

lol!

That scene just made me think of Ashlee Simpson and a lot of the other current pop "simpletons" out there.

A hilarious bit that also became a rather accurate prediction ...

 

Phantom. I never could sit through Rocky Horror all the way. Plus Paul Williams is so over the top. Lots of fun to watch.

 

I voted Phantom too, I loved this movie when I was a kid and bought it on DVD a few years ago and was very suprised that I still enjoyed it. It was so campy back than and the music was great, it didn't date itself too much in my opinion.

Rocky Horror never did it for me, I was too young to go to the theatre to take part in all the fun and games, the movie without the interaction seems fairly weak. Maybe one day I'll try and hit the midnight screenings if it comes back.

 

Three songs in Phantom are classic to me
Faust(both versions)
Old Souls
and The Hell Of It.
These are still in my regular playlist.

 

Haven't seen "Paradise" in a LONG time, but, I think I would vote for it... since "Rocky Horror" only truly works when seen in front of a bunch of people yelling at the screen, making jokes, reciting dialogue, and having a good time!

 

Both films suck. HOWEVER, I really the songs in the RHPS. An excellent score. Phantom lacks that, so Rocky wins.


Oh yes. Susan Sarandon running around in her underwear earns Rocky another round of bonus points.

 

You must love Shock Treatment then.

 

I'll be honest, the only time I ever enjoyed "Phantom" was with a shadow cast and callbacks (mostly pointing out its obvious similarities to RHPS). Otherwise, I can't make it through the whole thing.

 

The funny thing about Phantom of the Paradise is that Paul Williams was originally hired to play the title character, the hero. The week before production, director Brian DePalma told him, "hey, why don't you and Bill Finley swap parts, and see how that works?" They rehearsed it that way, and much to everybody's surprise, Williams was better as the villain, Swan! So that was a last minute change.

They also originally called Williams' record company Swan Records, which was too similar to the real-life Swan Song Records label, so after the film was shot they had to use (bad) opticals to change the building signs and record labels seen in the film to Death Records, which is not quite the same thing.

 

Both low budget classics. A pity that Phantom is forgotten by many. I enjoy both. Phantom is better made but I like the music better in Rocky Horror although both feature terrific scores and a star turning performance by Tim Curry gives RHPS the win for me.

 

I'm surprised the vote is as close as it is. Always loved RHPS and seen the touring version many times throughout the years. Rocky (the film) seems to have aged better than Phantom. And all apologies to Mr Williams, but the songs were nowhere near the quality of the material in Rock.