KENNETH ANGER’S MAGICK LANTERN CYCLE VOL. 4.

 

Cinematic magician, legendary provocateur, gay rights pioneer, author of the infamous HOLLYWOOD BABYLON books, and creator of some of the most striking and beautiful works in the history of film, Kenneth Anger is a singular figure in post-war American culture - a major influence on everything from the films of Martin Scorsese, Rainer Werner Fassbinder and David Lynch to the pop art of Andy Warhol to MTV.

 

Pleasure and terror commingle in this excellent collection of his films, illustrating Anger's occult concepts with luscious colour experiments, avant-garde soundtracks, and radically inventive editing. Kenneth Anger's films exist in a timeless, stylized void that is both alluring and terrifying. 

 

Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969) 11 mins stars the infamous Bobby Beausoleil, and is a gorgeous psychedelic recap of a theatrical black magick ceremony performed on stage during Anger's Haight Ashbury days. It features a stunning noise piece played on a Moog by Mick Jagger.

 

Lucifer Rising (1970-1980) 28 mins is also an infamous film, as it was made as a tribute to Lucifer's rejuvenating forces. Bobby Beausoleil and the Freedom Orchestra provide the music, and the film features Anita Pallenberg, Leslie Huggins and Marianne Faithfull.  This is a birthday party of the Aquarian Age showing the actual ceremonies to make Lucifer rise – Lucifer not as devil but as the Light God!

 

Each film turns the concept of evil inside out, leaving one with a more complex notion of why Anger considered the camera a "magical weapon." Anger is renowned for filmic experimentation that portrays invented occult or druggy subcultures while formally rejecting conventions of blockbuster filmmaking. As a result, he has also become the unofficial godfather of the music video, for his groundbreaking use of soundtracks that meld classical music with '50s bubble gum pop and '60s folk for a hypnotic, psychedelic effect.

 

The video is from Jettisoundz Video (UK).

 

This is the official British release video, not a pirated copy.  It is as new – watched only once.

 

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