That was an excellent one.

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

Crappy film

A Brilliant Conflict

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.

Unfortunately this description applies to a large percentage of Kenneth Anger's body of work and this movie from 10 years after World War II is no exception. It runs for almost 37 minutes and is one of the longest films from the director. The thing I enjoyed most about it was the music (1978 Eldorado version), but that could not really make up for the uninteresting story that was going on. It dragged a lot and I can only really recommend this to huge fans of the director or people with a great interest in theater and mythology. This is one of Anger's most known works (he also acts in here, but not one of the major characters) and he was not even 30 when he shot this. Today he is approaching 90 and still making films. I hope his more recent works are better than his very early films. About "Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome", not recommended.

Plot less short about some Greek gods (or something) getting together in a pleasure dome. There's no dialogue--only music which is supposed to match the images (I think). The color (in the restored print) is incredibly vivid and rich and some of the images are eye-catching but this is more boring and self-indulgent than anything else. The same images are shown again and again and AGAIN...it gets tedious rather quickly. With no plot or story to follow this gets to be a chore to watch. This might be of some interest to some since it has author Anais Nin as Astarte and artist Paul Mathison looking incredibly handsome as Pan. But, all in all, this is boring and pointless. It comes across as little more than director Kenneth Anger and his friends playing dress up. I give this a 4 for the imagery and color alone.

Swallowing jewelry? Drinking potions? A birdcage as head-dress? Kenneth Anger's IOTPD is the trippiest, most gorgeously haunting and sensual of film experiences I have ever seen; trust me, it will leave your mouth gaping in sheer awe. Hallucinogenic, weirdly stagnant and moving at the same time, a head-first dive into Crowley Land, an otherworldly playground of dreams deluged with sensuality and, as the title suggests, pleasure. You can watch it again and again and still never bore of it. Mesmerizing and beautifully filmed. Easily Anger's masterpiece (more so than SCORPIO RISING or LUCIFER RISING), and better than any other dives into "psychedelic psinema" (THE TRIP and the acid montage from EASY RIDER come to mind). There has never EVER been anything like this trippy tour de force of style in the history of the cinema.