Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

Kenneth Anger

Stars:

Samson De Brier, Marjorie Cameron, Joan Whitney

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Samson De Brier	...	Lord Shiva / Osiris / Nero / The Great Beast
Marjorie Cameron	...	The Scarlet Woman / Kali
Joan Whitney	...	Aphrodite
Katy Kadell	...	Isis
Renate Druks	...	Lilith (as Renata Loom)
Anaïs Nin	...	Astarte
Paul Mathison	...	Pan
Curtis Harrington	...	Cesare / Slave / Sleep-walker
Kenneth Anger	...	Hecate
Peter Loome	...	Ganymede

Storyline

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." Mythological images from Aleister Crowley, cabalistic symbols, artifice, and magic combine to render the pleasure dome both as prison and as celebration.

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Plot Keywords:

initiation | ritual | occult | cage | torture | 

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Genres:

Short

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 May 2009 (Portugal)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

38 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was very popular - especially in its 1966 revision - with the counterculture movement and was watched by many under the influence of LSD and magic mushrooms.

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Connections

Featured in Anger Me (2006)

User Reviews

A hallucinogenic adventure, a trippy dive into Crowley Land, an otherworldly playground of dreams and a dome-full of sensuality and pleasure. There has never been anything like it in the history of the cine

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.