Lucifer Rising
I took a little trip back into the 1970s today to watch occult/underground filmmaker Kenneth Anger's Lucifer Rising.
It is not about Satanism but more about invoking energies of nature, a highly symbolic short film with not a word of dialog on the soundtrack.
Or you could say that it is about the aesthetics of ceremonial magick.
You can watch a low-quality version online, but I rented it as part of a Kenneth Anger collection from Netflix.
Even the story of its music is a masterpiece of Psychedelic Age gossip, involving a composer imprisoned for murder as part of the Manson Family, after Anger's first choice, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, failed to deliver.
Another article on Anger's use of color symbolism is here.
It is not about Satanism but more about invoking energies of nature, a highly symbolic short film with not a word of dialog on the soundtrack.
Or you could say that it is about the aesthetics of ceremonial magick.
You can watch a low-quality version online, but I rented it as part of a Kenneth Anger collection from Netflix.
Even the story of its music is a masterpiece of Psychedelic Age gossip, involving a composer imprisoned for murder as part of the Manson Family, after Anger's first choice, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, failed to deliver.
Another article on Anger's use of color symbolism is here.
posted by Chas S. Clifton at 5:28 PM Permalink
6 Comments:
Sounds interesting. I'll have to check that out and thank you for adding the link online. :)
It's a great ting that one can now get both volumes of this DVD collection. I showed some of the films in my Occult in Cinema class, and used that article in my Color in Cinema class...I have watched our library versions but now I really want to own it for myself.
I absolutely love Lucifer Rising. The imagery is so beautiful. I love the woman that is playing Isis - or is that Hathor? Also the guy playing the magician is kinda dreamy. I've got to admit though the UFO's at the very end kinda bug me - I don't buy into the whole UFO/Egypt thing.
It's Isis, and she was Myrian Gibril.
I agree about the flying saucers.
Actaully Bobby was Anger's first pick for the score (he was Anger's rent boy for a period) and was filmed in earlier versions but the film was lost when Bobby stole it from Anger. Bobby was an independent friend to Charles Manson and not a "Family" member. He is still in prison doing a life sentence in Oregeon.
Anonymous is correct. Beausoleil had a falling out with Anger, who approached him later in prison after Page couldn't produce.
Also, the real reason for the Manson murders was at least in part to provide an alibi for Beausoleil by committing murders similar to his killing of Gary Hinman.
Many believe the Helter Skelter theory was a made up motive by prosecutor Bugliosi in an attempt to weave a convincing though bizarre story for the jury.
His contribution to the film makes it of all the greater historical interest. I would love to see it one of these days.
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