MOVIE NIGHT IN ‘FOOL’ MOON LIGHT // “Magick Lantern Cycle” by Kenneth Anger

MOVIE NIGHT IN ‘FOOL’ MOON LIGHT // “Magick Lantern Cycle” by Kenneth Anger

This time we will celebrate the full moon with a great master of cinematic experimentation related to magic, Kenneth Anger with his masterpeace: “Magick Lantern Cycle”

“Magick Lantern Cycle” is an anthology of nine ritualistic films includin:

Fireworks (1947),

Puce Moment (1949),

Rabbit’s Moon (1950),

Eaux d’Artifice (1953),

Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954),

Scorpio Rising (1964),

Kustom Kar Kommandos (1965),

Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969),

Lucifer Rising (1981).

The Cycle is replete with surrealism, sexuality, and spectacle.

With an undeniable visual impact, it’s like a bad trip stretched over four decades. A hypnotic, upsetting dream, feverishly working through ideas of hatred, hope, and hedonism.

It’s futile to speak in conventional terms, about cinematography and story lines, acting and directing. Kenneth Anger’s films are meant to be experienced, not simply watched. Himself a practising occultist and an outspoken fan of Aleister Crowley, the films are more like bizarre shamanic rituals, or perhaps (often quite terrible) dream sequences, than stories that give themselves up for analysis and “understanding”.

The Magick Lantern Cycle is strongly recommended for those who enjoy surrealism in movies as well those who simply want to own a piece of film history.