De Palma has mixed too many of his styles in Phantom of the Paradise, but this is still a movie to be seen and heard.

A crazy, savage film -- iconoclastic and truly liberating.

De Palma, who can't tell a plain story, does something that a couple of generations of student and underground filmmakers have been trying to do and nobody else has ever brought off. He creates a new Guignol, in a modern idiom.

In the 50 years since it came out, Phantom of the Paradise has found a passionate fan base due to its success at capturing the conventions of ‘70s popular culture.