Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome

this film is a devastating visual, sensory experience. i have been haunted by its breathtaking imagery & multi-layered arcane symbolism since the first time i saw it. i've watched it over & over again in the years since first viewing it & it never loses its overload of impact on me. i am not an acid casualty, in case you are wondering. it assaults the senses from all angles in a cubist, multidimensional sense. each viewing will bring new insight & renewed, shimmering ecstasy. i promise this to anyone who is open & teachable & cinematic ally inclined to new experience. kenneth anger is a national & world treasure. can you tell i like this film? the flaws in it, if any, have eluded me for years. -bobby

I have only had the priviledge of seeing three Kenneth Anger films, all picked up as curiosities from the college library. But, this film is staggering in the sensory rampage it inflicts. Deep, primal archetypes are brought to life in a chillingly abstract vision.

Along with the dream-logic violence of his first film 'Fireworks', and the infamous leather 'n' engines homoerotica of 'Scorpio Rising', 'Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome' is one of Kenneth Anger's most powerful films, and the all-important centrepiece of his 'Magick Lantern Cycle' collection.

This film is a dizzying neon kaleidoscope of the rebellious imagination: drag queen-like, garish chameleons taunt us from behind ceremonial masks and drink a powder that transmogrifies them into drugged-up lusty creatures of bestial ecstasy; subliminal magick symbols appear and vanish, burning our eyes; black-and-white footage of a turn of the century film adaptation of Dante's Inferno glows as a sinister backdrop, its moonlight illuminating heathens being shovelled into pits of flame by demons -- all the while mocked by the laughing monsters of our own film in the foreground; faces emerge and disappear, dart and glide in and out of view, giving the intimate experience of being limbs-tangled-deep inside this orgy of occultism and colour.

This is one of Anger's longest short-films, and features Janáček's 'Glagolitic Mass' as both ironic and fitting soundtrack (other Anger films feature bubblegum rock 'n' roll and doo-wop of its era, adding a perverse sweetness to the subtlety malevolent imagery). With the added length, the film feels more exhausting and epic than some of Anger's shorter films, yet it lasts for under forty-five minutes.

'Inauguration' is queer cinema (before it existed), post-Cocteau Surrealism and Crowley-inspired, esoteric true-will in action, all at once. And, love or hate him for it, no other director is more responsible for MTV and music video culture in proceeding generations -- just without the Thelema, intelligence and intentional homoerotica (lots of unintentional homoerotica was retained).

A celebratory rebellion against the tedious repressions of religion and Christian 'morals', very brave, and really quite astonishing for the post-World War II 'new world' of 1950s cinema: 'Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome' is essential-viewing for fans of influential avant-garde, experimental cinema.

Ancient, monumental epics once dominated the silver screen. The silent classics of Griffith and DeMille were smash hits, breaking box office records, and revolutionized film as we know it. these are the types of films that Kenneth anger seems to be recalling with "Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome". He mixes the flavor of old silent Hollywood's most influential and magnificent epics with slightly disturbing and discomforting occultist imagery, making this short one Hell (no pun intended) of a weird ride.

It starts off cohesively enough as a wordless examination of some fantastical characters in an Inferno-like setting, made up of loose vignettes and beautiful, eye popping colors and effects; however, things take a turn for the insanely radical by the second half of the film. Soon, Anger seems to have completely lost his mind in the editing room and images are placed onto one another, demons smirk and sinful souls fall and cry in fright, creatures dance, beautiful women delightfully smile while monstrous beings pop from the opposite side of the frame. It's a dense, lyrical work of cinematic poetry that combines beauty with horror in a jaw dropping fashion, unlike almost any other movies being produced in the 1950's. Here's a weird, surrealistic experience that will please anyone that enjoys exploring the deepest depths of underground/avant garde filmmaking- it's a classic of the genre if there ever was one!

A Slavonic Mass by Leos Janácek plays as historical figures, biblical characters, and mythical creatures gather in the pleasure dome. Aphrodite, Lilith, Isis, Kali, Astarte, Nero, Pan, and the Great Beast and the Scarlet Woman are part of a visual feast of images superimposed, hallucinations, and the spirit of decadence of the "Yellow '90s." Kenneth Anger is a strange dude. No one else, before or since, has really made a name for themselves in blending mythology, the occult and elaborate costumes. How seriously you are to take his occultism is up to you, I suppose.

The version I watched had a rock score over the top. I am not sure it was there originally and I rather doubt it, but it helped the picture out tremendously. A retrospective on Anger really needs to be done, as it is surprising how few modern directors cite his work.