Kenneth Anger - The Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome PATRON ONLY FILM REVIEW

This review is so good! I’m 24 and I totally feel like there was a time before me where maturity was ‘in’ as opposed to this over hyped, Facebook fueled, social optimism. There is this interesting anime called serial experiments Lain and I think it personified that laptop blue light electronic self created purgatory. Oops this comment was meant for the White by Bret Easton Ellis review***

I adore Anger, from this and Scorpio Rising to the lesser talked about Rabbit's Moon etc. There is a fantastic region free blu-ray release from the BFI that I suggest everyone who's interested in Anger check out. As much as you are correct about the grandeur of old Hollywood (or old cinema in general) I do think cinema is still very much alive and well, once you look outside of the US (although there are a handful of really interesting fringe american independen​t directors working right now, like Kevin Jerome Everson, Abel Ferrera - which I asumme​ you'd agree with? - Frederick Wiseman, Nazli Dinçel, Zia Anger (no relation, I believe) etc.) For more daring and provocative contemporary cinema I think you would really appreciate Bertrand Mandico's filmography, specifically a movies called Les garcons sauvages. Bertrand Bonello's Nocturama is also an all time masterpiece in my opinion. It was supposed to premiere in Cannes a few years ago, but was pulled amid terrorist threats (also recommend House of Tolerance). Then there is of course Claire Denis (who is finally getting the recognition she deserves), Joachim Trier, Catherine Breillat, Radu Jude, Carlos Reygadas as mentioned above, Hong Sang-soo, Olivier Assayas, Sion Sono, Mouly Surya, Chloe Zhao, Amat Escalante and many more. I watched over 600 films last year alone (currently at 219 for this year) and mostly avoid the bigger theatrical releases - with a few exceptions when going out with friends - so I have a lot of modern and old to recommend. Cinema might have been grander before, but I still think it's as daring, dangerous and wild if you look for it.

This film was insane! But in a good way. I haven’t watched a lot of experimental cinema and I’m not very familiar with the occult but I couldn’t stop watching. I’ll check out Scorpio Rising too!

I looooove this film so much!!! Kenneth Anger is one of the truly great visionaries of cinema and this is for me his best work, even surpassing Scorpio Rising and Lucifer Rising, although those are masterpieces too. I can only encourage you to delve more into Crowley and Thelema. I am not a Thelemite myself but find it highly interesting and Crowley's biography alone is so amazing. It's so full of interesting experiences, encounters and events that it seems to me like he led 4 or 5 lives in the time of just one. Also I do think he has a lot in common with Bataille although both don't seem to have been aware of each other. But the spirit is similar...

Hey Cliff there are some Lectures Stan Brakhage gave on Kenneth Anger that're really good especially since they was good friends with do you want me to send them?