Brian De Palma is most known for his Hitchcockian erotic thrillers, but he's not a one-trick filmmaker. In his long career reaching back to the New Hollywood era, De Palma has directed horror ("Carrie"), action-heavy crowd pleasers ("The Untouchables" and "Mission: Impossible"), and one movie that almost defies categorization: 1974's "Phantom of the Paradise."

It's a riff on "Phantom of the Opera," down to the title, as well as a horror picture, a black comedy, a satire of the music industry, and a rock opera. In "Phantom," songwriter Winslow Leach (William Finley) is suckered by sinister music producer Swan ( Paul Williams, who spoke about "Phantom" with /Film here ). After a string of tragedies leave Winslow destitute and disfigured, he adopts the new persona of the Phantom, clad in a

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