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 (as 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:

satanism | cage | torture | ritual | initiation | 

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Genres:

Short | Fantasy | Horror

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Inspired by Joris-Karl Huysmans novel "À rebours" (1884).

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Connections

Featured in Anger Me (2006)

User Reviews

A celebratory rebellion against tedious repression.

Along with the dream-logic violence of his first film 'Fireworks', and the infamous leather 'n' engines homoerotica of 'Scorpio Rising', 'Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome' is one of Kenneth Anger's most powerful films, and the all-important centrepiece of his 'Magick Lantern Cycle' collection.

This film is a dizzying neon kaleidoscope of the rebellious imagination: drag queen-like, garish chameleons taunt us from behind ceremonial masks and drink a powder that transmogrifies them into drugged-up lusty creatures of bestial ecstasy; subliminal magick symbols appear and vanish, burning our eyes; black-and-white footage of a turn of the century film adaptation of Dante's Inferno glows as a sinister backdrop, its moonlight illuminating heathens being shovelled into pits of flame by demons -- all the while mocked by the laughing monsters of our own film in the foreground; faces emerge and disappear, dart and glide in and out of view, giving the intimate experience of being limbs-tangled-deep inside this orgy of occultism and colour.

This is one of Anger's longest short-films, and features Janáček's 'Glagolitic Mass' as both ironic and fitting soundtrack (other Anger films feature bubblegum rock 'n' roll and doo-wop of its era, adding a perverse sweetness to the subtlety malevolent imagery). With the added length, the film feels more exhausting and epic than some of Anger's shorter films, yet it lasts for under forty-five minutes.

'Inauguration' is queer cinema (before it existed), post-Cocteau Surrealism and Crowley-inspired, esoteric true-will in action, all at once. And, love or hate him for it, no other director is more responsible for MTV and music video culture in proceeding generations -- just without the Thelema, intelligence and intentional homoerotica (lots of unintentional homoerotica was retained).

A celebratory rebellion against the tedious repressions of religion and Christian 'morals', very brave, and really quite astonishing for the post-World War II 'new world' of 1950s cinema: 'Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome' is essential-viewing for fans of influential avant-garde, experimental cinema.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, California, USA

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

38 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1