“Phantom of the Paradise” (1974)
![PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE, 1974, TM & Copyright (c) 20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.indiewire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Fisk-Phantom-of-the-Paradise.jpg?w=300)
Fisk showed what he could do with limited resources on this modestly budgeted Brian DePalma musical, a film whose scale largely comes from the production designer’s gift for repurposing existing spaces. The movie is filled with visually dynamic environments, from the studio where tormented composer Winslow Leach composes his masterpiece (real-life recording studio The Record Plant) to the theater that gives the movie its title (New York’s City Center for the exteriors, Dallas’ Majestic Theater for the interiors). Fisk’s alterations transform each of them into a colorful, texture-filled rock and roll fantasia. One of the best designs is the “Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”-inspired set for the big show that comes an hour into the movie — it’s a perfect marriage of rock showmanship and the kind of horror iconography that DePalma loves, and it keeps evolving throughout the film’s final third. Fun fact: Fisk’s wife, Sissy Spacek, helped out as a set dresser; two years later, she reunited with DePalma to play the lead role in “Carrie,” a performance that snagged her an Oscar nomination.