FIREWORKS EXPLODE
Avant garde trendsetter Kenneth Anger has fallen to a death hex aged 96. The occult-obsessed Anger was one of the first openly gay filmmakers, he was noted for a series of experimental, Gooseberry-baiting short films known collectively as the “Magick Lantern Cycle” that often invoked Satan and brushed with obscenity laws. His earliest surviving film, 1947’s Fireworks, lasted 14 minutes and depicted Anger as a young man seemingly gang-raped by burly sailors. 1963’s Scorpio Rising portrayed a biker gang orgy with interspersions of Jesus and Hitler images, while pop hits of the era (Elvis, Ray Charles, et al) played in the background. The usage of rock-and-roll in lieu of a film score was groundbreaking and presaged MTV, while the dissonance between the brutish imagery and the innocuous oldies soundscape influenced Martin Scorsese for Mean Streets and David Lynch for Blue Velvet (indeed, the namesake Bobby Vinton number was also in Scorpio Rising).
Anger completed the Magick Lantern Cycle with Lucifer Rising, which portrayed Lucifer as an agent of light and included Marianne Faithfull in its cast. It was initially scored by Jimmy Page, but the pair fell out when Anger threatened to cast a hex on the ol’ nonce, and he fell back on Manson Family member Bobby Beausoleil for the soundtrack. He resumed filmmaking this century with tributes to Mickey Mouse and Elliott Smith among his latter work, but reception was lukewarm and his legacy largely rested on his earlier output. Three teams hail Satan while cranking “I Will Follow Him”.
Kenneth Anger
3 February 1927 – 11 May 2023, aged 96
3 TEAMS (💀💀💀💀💀 5 POINTS)