A conjuration of the presiding Princes, Angels and Spirits of MARS, formed as a “high” view of the Myth of the American Motorcyclist. The Power Machine seen as tribal totem, from toy to terror. Thanatos in chrome and black leather and bursting jeans. Part I: Boys and Bolts (masculine fascination with the Thing that Goes). Part II: Image Maker (getting high on heroes: Dean’s Rebel and Brando’s Johnny; the True View of J.C.) Part III: Walpurgis Party (J.C. wallflower at the cycler’s Sabbath). Part IV: Rebel Rouser (the Gathering of the Dark Legions, with a message from Our Sponsor). –Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger is an independent filmmaker and author. He claims to have appeared as the child prince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935), but Warner Brothers production reports and casting sheets conclusively document that a little girl, child actress Sheila Brown, actually played the role. Anger did, however, begin making films at an early age. Most of his films are short experimental works, ranging from 3.5-30 minutes. His career has been recognized with life achievement awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics, the San Francisco International Film Festival, the Silverlake Film Festival, the Mar del Plata Film Festival, and the Maya Deren Award for Experimental Film/Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. Among other notable honors, he received the Poetic Film Prize at Festival du Film Maudit in Biarritz, France in 1949, which was presented by Jean Cocteau. Anger’s work has screened around the world, including at the Institut Francais de Vienne in Austria, the Galerie… read more
The exhibition Kenneth Anger: Icons is on view in Los Angeles through February 27.
„Scorpio Rising” is one of three most important Anger’s works, being crude and gritty like a coal in the same time. Still this amazing short comes across with a very peculiar social and occult agenda… read review
After viewing Scorpio Rising, I can definitely see how Scorsese was influenced by Anger’s film-making. I kept thinking of Mean Streets as I was watching this; in particular, the scenes of Scorpio hanging… read review
