Complete credited cast: | |||
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Samson De Brier | ... | Lord Shiva / Osiris / Nero / The Great Beast |
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Marjorie Cameron | ... | The Scarlet Woman / Kali |
Joan Whitney | ... | Aphrodite | |
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Katy Kadell | ... | Isis |
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Renate Druks | ... | Lilith (as Renata Loom) |
Anaïs Nin | ... | Astarte | |
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Paul Mathison | ... | Pan |
Curtis Harrington | ... | Cesare / Slave / Sleep-walker | |
Kenneth Anger | ... | Hecate | |
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Peter Loome | ... | Ganymede |
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. Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
Browsing the record for Kenneth Anger I was staggered to see that this masterpiece and Scorpio Rising were languishing in the 6.somethings ratings while the much less impressive Lucifer Rising was in the upper 7s... I can still recall the thrill I had in seeing this film at an 'underground' (literally!) screening in 1968. The colours seared from out of Anger's blackness and the characters have haunted my subconscious ever since. This is the most Crowley-like of Anger's films and all the better for it. There is true magic in his style and imagery.