DALLAS — "The Paradise — the ultimate rock palace."
That was the Majestic Theatre in Dallas 50 years ago during the filming of the horror musical cult classic, "Phantom of the Paradise." Although considered a box office bomb upon initial release, its influence and fandom have carried on all these decades later.
And on Saturday night, The Majestic got to play the part of the ultimate rock palace once again.
A screening of a restored version of the film was played in the theatre, with a big name in attendance. Paul Williams, a legendary award-winning composer and songwriter, who wrote all of the songs for the film and played the film's antagonist, spoke afterward about the making of the film.
It's not often someone gets to see a movie in the very location it was filmed. So to be able to see a scene in the movie that takes place on a balcony, and then to turn your head and look at that very same balcony — where fans dressed up as the eponymous phantom of the paradise are sitting — is a one-of-a-kind experience.
Shooting the concert scenes of the movie with Dallas residents as extras — some of whom were in attendance for this screening — was not the usual concert. Advertisements in local papers invited extras for a filming of "Phanton (sic) of the Paradise) at 9 a.m. on Thursday. But as Williams tells it, not many people really showed up.
"The fact is that it was cold, and there were not nearly enough people in the audience so there was a lot of moving around," Williams said about the filming of the movie, which took place around Christmas and New Year's.
The movie has afforded Williams countless opportunities since it was released, including the opportunity to work with the countless artists it's influenced — including filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro and musicians Daft Punk. Williams said Del Toro was actually supposed to be at the screening in Dallas, but had to cancel at the last moment for a screening of a rough cut of his new "Frankenstein" adaptation.
"Guillermo at 16 years old in Mexico was standing at the stage door with the 'Phantom of the Paradise' album and said 'Would you sign this Mr. Williams?" he said.
Now, Williams is working with Del Toro to bring a musical adaptation of "Pan's Labyrinth" to the stage.
The heart of the movie came from seeing the horrors of things like the Vietnam War on TV at dinnertime, Williams said.
"The line between news and entertainment was beginning to dissolve," Williams said.
Williams cited a scene where his character, Swan, is plotting the assassination of a singer during the final show in the film that was being televised. And when asked why, he said an assassination on coast-to-coast television is entertainment.
"I think one of the reasons that the picture has lasted like it has, is because these amazing myths are put together around something that was happening in our country that would continue to gnaw away at it," he said.
Williams called it stunning to see what the director Brian De Palma did, incorporating classic stories like "Faust," "Phantom of the Paradise" and "The Picture of Dorian Gray" to make the movie.
"To do what we do you don’t have to give up your fan card, and you don’t have to give up celebrating the fantasy," Williams said.
