Kenneth Anger
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Kenneth_anger_photograph.jpg
Kenneth Anger (born February 3, 1927 in Santa Monica, California) is an underground avant-garde film-maker and author.
As a child he played the child prince in the 1935 version of A Midsummer Night's Dream and attended the Maurice Kossloff Dancing School with Shirley Temple.
He gained fame and notoriety from the publication of Hollywood Babylon in 1958, a tell-all book of the scandals of Hollywood's rich and famous. He became fascinated with the supernatural and Aleister Crowley sometime in his late teens and many of his films reflect occult themes. He began making films around age 11, but his early films were mostly destroyed. His first film to see distribution was Fireworks in 1947. While most of his films are short subject (ranging from 3.5 minutes to 30 minutes) mood pieces, in 1955 he made a documentary film of the ruins of Crowley's Thelema abbey in Cefalu, Sicily.
During the late 60's he associated with The Rolling Stones, and Mick Jagger did the music for Anger's 1969 film Invocation of My Demon Brother. Several of his films are collected in the 4 volume Magick Lantern Cycle, these are marked * in the filmography.
Filmography
- Who Has Been Rocking My Dreamboat (1941)
- Tinsel Tree (1941-1942)
- Prisoner of Mars (1942)
- The Nest (1943)
- Escape Episode (1944)
- Drastic Demise (1945)
- Escape Episode (shorter sound version) (1946)
- Fireworks (1947)*
- Puce Moment (1949)*
- The Love That Whirls (1949)
- Maldoror (1951-1952, unfinished)
- Eaux d'Artifice (1953)*
- Le Jeune Homme et la Mort (1953)
- Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954, recut in 1966)*
- Thelema Abbey (1955)
- Historie d'O (1959-1961)
- Scorpio Rising (1963)*
- Kustom Kar Kommandoes (1965)*
- Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969)*
- Lucifer Rising (1970-1980)*
- Rabbit's Moon (1972)*
- Don't Smoke That Cigarette (2000)
- The Man We Want to Hang (2002)
External links
- Biography by Robert Haller (http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Lot/1162/HCAngerBio_html.html)
- Biography by Mystic Fire (http://www.mysticfire.com/ntsc/archives/bios/NIAnger.html)
- The Observer: Look Back at Anger (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,11913,1287683,00.html)
- Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database (http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/03/anger.html)
- Interview: Ratso.net (http://www.ratso.net/anger.html)
- Interview: Reel.com (http://www.reel.com/reel.asp?node=features/interviews/anger)
- Interview: San Francisco Bay Guardian (http://www.sfbg.com/AandE/35/05/kenneth.html)
- Interview: The Austin Chronicle (http://www.weeklywire.com/ww/11-17-97/austin_screens_feature2.html)
- Interview: T.O.P.Y. Chaos (http://www.chaosmatrix.org/library/chaos/topy/angerris.txt)
- Interview: ARTE (QuickTime) (http://www.greylodge.org/occultreview/glor_014/anger.htm)
- Magick Lantern Cycle: Images & Synopses (http://www.subcin.com/anger.html)
- Essay on Scorpio Rising (http://www.plugincinema.com/plugin/articles/scorpio.htm)
- Essay on Kustom Kar Kommandos (http://www.bentclouds.com/films/kustom.html)
- Essay on Invocation of My Demon Brother (1) (http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/05/34/invocation_demon_brother.html)
- Essay on Invocation of My Demon Brother (2) (http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_200409/ai_n12802915)
- Essay on Lucifer Rising (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/showthread.php?t=146736)
- Kenneth Anger anecdote: Films in Review (http://www.filmsinreview.com/Features/CampDavid/campdavid4_nov.htm)
- Review of Alice Hutchison's book on Anger (http://www.thefilmjournal.com/issue12/anger.html)
- Discussion Forum (http://www.catharton.net/cgi-local/directors/YaBB.cgi?board=kennethanger;action=messageindex;start=20)de:Kenneth Anger