Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
HELL OF A GOOD TIME, April 26, 2005
I picked this one up for SATANIS. I wasn't sure what to expect at first, but I'm happy to report that it's a blast! Anton LaVey certainly delivers. He's worth the price of the disc right there. And that's not all! There's also some nutty mormon guys, some nice late 1960's styled nudity that's later follwed by the spectacle of a saggy looking lady on the altar (this proved to me that Satanists truly accept folks as they really are. lol!), and interviews with LaVey's neighbors are a real hoot too! I'd love to see more of the Church of Satan. They certainly aren't stuffy or bland. SATANIS is the reason to pick this up and it's well worth a look by fans of fun forgotten cinematic gems.
This is great stuff!
|
|
|
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ooooh, Scary!!, October 12, 2003
Satanis is a wonderful documentary about Anton LeVey and his Church of Satan. Every neighbour interviewed has either one of two extreme reactions: either he is evil incarnate and doomed to go to Hell, or else they think the Church is one of the funniest things they have ever encountered. For example, one woman laughs about how Anton keeps trying to talk her large-chested friend into coming in for one of their ceremonies because he wants to see her naked. Priests interviewed suggest that what he is doing is a silly passtime. Stories are also told about, e.g., having to put up with the noise his pet lion would make at night. The ceremonies themselves are a laugh riot.Sinthia is nothing more than pop psychology nonsense. Some of the psychedelic imagery is fun, and there are some laugh out loud moments, but it can get dull at times. Suggested drinking game: one shot every time the lead female screams "Mommy!" or "Daddy!" (Actually, forget that. Nobody can drink that much and live). The extras are great too. "My Tale is Hot" is funny (especially when the Lou Costello type complains to the devil "Hey, you interrupted the Walt Dibney show!!"). "Sex Ritual..." pretends to be a serious documentary, but is actually nothing more than an exploitation short with spooky, weird sets. Its high level of prententiousness is hillarious. The guys on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy will be surprised to learn when they watch this last short that they are unknowingly engaging in Satanic rituals.
|
|
|
15 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
SWEET JEEZUZ...oooooh...OOOPS! I mean, HAIL SATAN! Woohoo!, October 14, 2003
The only reason I'd picked up this DVD by SOMETHING WEIRD VIDEO was to be able to see Anton Lavey's SATANIS--hell, it's the ONLY reason to pick this collection up. But anyway, call it staged, call it a documentary, call it a docudrama-- call it what you will, but no matter what you decide, this is still an insightful look at the man and his then rather newish Church Of Satan. I had never seen Lavey speak on his religion before and here, he does so and I didn't find myself dissappointed. It's likely that the haters will find many bones to pick with this rather dated looking production, but considering it came out in '70 , it still holds up pretty well. After all, the times have changed, but the philosophy pretty much remains the same no matter how you dress it up or down. The 70's mode comes off as rather campy nowadays, but hell...the same can be said for the 80's too!
In one segment, Lavey is sitting amongst early COS members and commenting upon sexuality. In one part he briefly discusses Homosexuality and comments on it being a *NON ISSUE*. Bravo. How funny that many supposed Satanists that I've run into conveniently forget this. I appreciated those words & others coming DIRECTLY from the man himself. This film is a combination "documentary" and stage show (and depending on who you ask it's all staged). Some of the rituals seem a little silly looking now, but likely was quite disturbing to some back in the day, but who knows? I definitely wasn't there. I have no complaints with how this whole production was orchestrated. It was an enjoyable view that didn't give me the feeling that the early COS was full of tweeked out fanatics blindly following Lavey. Many are quite able to sensibly tell you WHY Satanism was their chosen path. In fact, if you've read THE SATANIC BIBLE, you'll see this film is a perfect visual accompaniment to the book. It was good to see Lavey didn't come off as some crazy man ('course, I guess THAT depends on what path you're on, eh? But I was STILL waiting to see if he'd come off as a total Jim Jones, but luckily, that never materialized). Instead, he comes off as articulate and with a firm grasp of the concepts that he's speaking on, and also looks quite comfortable in front of the camera.
I am pleased to have this film within my collection here, but I do have two sizeable gripes about the DVD production itself. FIRST----On the SATANIS film: The transfer is not all that great. If you look at it with its age in mind, then it's acceptable, as in old TV show acceptable. And who knows how many 'archive' copies of this film still exist, so we might just take what we can get. I'm just sorry there wasn't better. It's DEFINITELY watchable, but if you're looking for a prestine transfer, this isn't it. SECOND---My biggest gripe about this package overall is that SATANIS was crunched in here with all of this other crappy "Satanic" stuff. It would have been nice to see SOMETHING WEIRD VIDEO pair the film up with a bit more seriousness instead of the garbage that they'd found to fill the rest of the disc. For those who want some kooky "Satanic" stuff, this of course makes great fodder and the pieces aren't totally awful on their own (well....uhm....). And I will admit that SINTHIA has some great (?!) lines that would be well suited for your answering machine's outgoing massage. SOMETHING WEIRD VIDEO is known for pulling together obscurities, which is cool. However, as a person on the Left Hand Path I would have preferred a DVD of Satanic documentaries that provides an overview of the religion & its many forms or even an all Lavey disc. But I guess depending on where you stand on Satanism, this could be the appropriate presentation of it after all. But despite all of this, if you are seriously into *any* variant of Satanism/LHP, you should at least make a pitstop and check this out once as part of your studies.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
by Peter H. Gilmore
by Anton Szandor Lavey
by Anton Szandor LaVey
by Anton Szandor LaVey
