Customer Reviews

Films of Kenneth Anger 1

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Kenneth Anger is an American underground film maker, as well as an occultist who is much more influential in the realms of cinema and the occult than is recognized today. The audacity of his vision is simply startling, especially by the standards of the '40s and '50s. The films in this collection are a perfect introduction to Anger's vision and style. The first five serious film endeavors of Anger, beginning in 1947 (an auspicious year for Thelemites) with Fireworks, when he was only 17 years old.

Fireworks (1947): inspired by Anger's dream, where he is beaten and raped by a gang of sailors. Anger himself said that "this flick is all I have to say about being 17, the United States Navy, American Christmas and the Fourth of July."

Puce Moment (1949): a five minute fragment of what was supposed to become a feature film called "Puce Women". The music and the motion of this fragment make it's five minutes unforgettable. Also, the sheer nihilism of how Hollywood beauty is portrayed is undeniable.

Rabbit's Moon (1950): an awesome psychodrama involving mimes and children, ritualistically yearning for the unattainable moon to 1950's pop songs. The music ingeniously compliments the imagery and action. a strange blend of French comedy, Oriental mythology, and masonic symbolism.

Eaux d'Artifice (1953): a very beautiful tour of a magickal labyrinth of waterfalls and fountains, as we follow the water witch to her final destiny - all to the tune of Vivaldi!

Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954): and it seems that they have saved the very best for last! This trippy descent into hedonistic rites is topped off with a healthy serving of Thelemic mysticism and magick. Here Anger introduces the mythology of Aleister Crowley for the first time. The Scarlet Woman is played by Cameron, the widowed wife of the famous rocket scientist and occultist Jack Parsons. Kenneth Anger has a bit part in this film as well, you can see him dressed in funereal black as the Goddess Hecate. The cabbalistic sign of Baphomet is seen as a backdrop for only a few seconds, but this would be the symbol La Vey was to employ as the symbol for the Church of Satan more than fifteen years later! This film plummets very quickly into delirium, as the orgies of pleasure and decadence reaches its crescendo, the Pleasure Dome that is being inaugurated is also an inescapable trap!

One of the best features to this collection is the audio commentary by Kenneth Anger for each film, giving us valuable insight into his artistic vision.

Kenneth Anger was one of the pioneering avant-garde filmmakers in the United States, a fearless innovator in both style and content. In the 1940s, when FIREWORKS was made, it was a shattering and cosmos-shaking experience. This compilation of Anger's early works (made between the years 1945 and 1958) is beautifully produced, carefully transferred, and shows these works (including RABBIT'S MOON, EAUX D'ARTIFICE, PUCE MOMENT, and INAUGURATION OF THE PLEASURE DOME) to maximum advantage. His finest works are a compendium of amazing images matched with wonderful music (Anger pioneered the use of the pop music soundtrack) to create some of the most rhythmically irresistible works in the cinema. All you have to do is watch EAUX D'ARTIFICE (travelling through a Baroque garden syncopated to Vivaldi) to be transported to a world of the most extraordinary unearthly delights.

This is a very exciting release. I just saw most of these remastered films at UCLA and they are stunning. Of special note is the original version of Rabbit's Moon, complete with footage most people have never seen before, and a soundtrack of 1950s pop songs. I couldn't be happier that this is finally coming out, and neither could you.

The work of Kenneth Anger, one of the founding fathers of American experimental cinema, were for a long time unavailable in decent video tapes. For years, only the Mystic Arts Video collection gave us the chance of experiencing Anger's magickal film visions in barely adequate copies, which gave us a scant idea of the viual and conceptual brilliance of these films, quite memorable when seen on screen.

Now Fantoma has released Volume I of the Kenneth Anger films, and one word sums up the product: EXCELLENCE. Fantoma took its time in painstaking restoration of the films, and the results are astounding: the films have never looked better.

"Fireworks" replaces the tacky opening credits from the Seventies release with a spoken-word prologue, and the original ending is restored, making the film a totally new experience even to those who think they have seen it.

The color films look gorgeous in their restored copies: "Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome" stands out in its luminous exploration of shimmering colors and inspired mise-en-scene, "Puce Moment" is lovelier than ever, and "Rabbit's Moon" shines in its original 16-minute version.

The accompanying book includes an apprteciation by Martin Scorsese, essays from Anais Nin and Samson de Brier, and rare writing by Anger, including sketches of the aborted "Puce Women" film for which "Puce Moment"was filmed.

All in all, an outstanding DVD. Let's hope Volume II won't take as long to be produced.

The Films Of Kenneth Anger (Vol. 1) released by Fantoma Films is what Kenneth Anger's fans have been waiting for. Superbly re-mastered with sharp vivid images and clear sound, what more can you ask for? The commentaries by Anger himself provide information that is very enjoyable and informative. The visual and color images are amazing. What a difference from the scratchy 16mm prints that we use to see years ago. This one's a keeper.

I purchased this collection of shorts when it was released on DVD this year and I am mesmerized.
The restoration is perfect. I have not listened to the commentaries, but this collection still gets 5 stars. Funny, do remember going to party's that remind me of "The Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome" in the 70's and the early 80's, they just lasted longer than 15 minutes. Just kidding.

Kenneth Anger's visuals are dazzling and way ahead of their time, but rather than listen to the awful musical accompaniment to the films I'd rather listen to Mr. Anger's tirelessly entertaining anecdotes by him in his commentary. They compliment the films perfectly.
I also want to thank the DVD studio for putting out such a terrific package with a gorgeous booklet that accompanies the disc. You have to see it to believe it. I can't wait for Volume Two.

This is a complete surprise to me, and an awesome one at that. I was led to Anger's presentation of a selection of his restored works at UCLA while I was backpacking in LA, during the last US summer. I had never really explored experientalist cinema before I viewed his films, and I was mesmorized! Can't wait to see them again, and in good quality

I'm no artsy film buff (I had never before heard of Kenneth Anger-just bought this on impluse), but I found these short films intriguing & just plain fun to watch. It's hard to belive they were made around 1950, mostly because of the music. The first one is a little too darkly sexual for my taste, but the others are mesmerizing. Anger uses just film & props to create stunning visual effects & uses what I believe is extant music-not written just for the films. These are films that I watch over & over. They just have a sort of visceral pull. They remind me a little of the Max Castle character from Flicker.

Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (Kenneth Anger, 1966)

So I finally sat down and watched Kenneth Anger's Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome, a 38-minute short that sits on Jonathan Rosenbaum's list of the best 1000 films ever made. And I had no earthly idea what I was seeing. So I watched it again. And pretty soon I found myself getting into the same vibe with Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome that I did with Begotten about ten years ago-- no matter how many times I watch it, I cannot exorcise it from my head. Unlike Begotten, which I consider one of the ten best movies ever made, I can't tell yet whether I actually like Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome, but it's certainly stamped itself as unforgettable.

There's no use in relaying any sort of plot; if there is one, I still haven't found it. It is, instead, a set piece; an overlord of some sort has a gathering planned. The guests arrive. We meet them, get to know each one a bit. And then, something happens. What? I've no idea. And given the number of times I've watched this-- and Anger's lack of distorting techniques such as those used by Merhige-- that's saying something. Oh, and did I mention that the whole thing has, as a soundtrack, a Leos Janacek mass?

Honestly, I'm not sure I can tell you anything of substance about this movie. It's brilliantly shot; I am of the suspicion that a number of acid-trip-style sequences from later films (Psychomania and Easy Rider certainly come to mind) were strongly influenced by this movie. That alone should be reason for film buffs to seek it out. For the casual movie fan, though? I do suspect that the average Joe would look at this, wonder what's going on for a couple of minutes, and reach for the remote. But it is worth looking into; you may find yourself obsessed. ***