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INAUGURATION OF THE PLEASURE DOME
One of the most striking films made by Kenneth Anger, a giant in underground moviemaking. The narrative (such as it is) is largely incoherent, but INAUGURATION OF THE PLEASURE DOME excels as a dreamlike evocation of magic and madness on a mythological plane.
The Package
It seems downright inexplicable that an artist as unprolific as Kenneth
Anger could possibly make the impression he has. Yet his eight short films and
two books (HOLLYWOOD BABYLON and its sequel) have had an undeniable impact on
modern filmmaking, and popular culture in general. “Scorpio Rising” is the most
famous of Anger’s films (Martin Scorsese has always been frank about its
influence on his moviemaking), but he’s made quite a few other impressive works,
including his very first effort “Fireworks,” the beautiful “Faux D’Artifice,”
and the notorious Aleister Crowley-inspired “Lucifer Rising.”
Crowley was a prime influence on the 38-minute INAUGURATION OF THE PLEASURE
DOME (1954), although it actually takes its cues from several sources, including
Greek mythology, THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, Hieronymus Bosch, and a fabled
Hollywood party called the “Come as Your Madness” ball that featured such
luminaries as novelist Anais Nin, filmmaker
Curtis Harrington, counter-culture icon
Cameron, and Anger
himself.
The parties’ guests were asked back for the film, all
wearing the costumes they did at the ball. Filming was held at the home of the
famous Hollywood recluse Samson de Brier, who played several roles in
INAUGURATION (including that of the “Great Beast”) and whose closets and drawers
provided Anger with all sorts of neat props for use in the filming.
The Story
Lord Shiva, the magician, awakens fondling a bunch of jewels. He rises
from his bed, devours a bejeweled necklace, and opens an orange door into
another realm. There he meets several mythological figures, including the
goddess Isis; the red-headed Scarlet Woman; the Great God Pan; the Moon goddess
Astarte, whose head is encased in a bird cage; and the Great Beast, a.k.a.
Satan, who keeps a watchful eye over them all.
The pasty Cesare the Somnambulist is summoned. He
passes through a spectral doorway into the “caves of the unconscious,” where
Hecate, goddess of the infernal regions--who wears a lacey outfit that covers
her entire body to the point that only a single eye is visible--gives him the
“wine of ecstasy.” Cesare takes the wine back to Lord Shiva and his immortal
guests, and all get good and soused--but in the melee Lord Shiva poisons Pan’s
drink, causing him to fall prey to debilitating hallucinations. Not that the
rest of the crowd is doing much better, as the evil Goddess Kali shows up to
turn the proceedings into a nightmarish bacchanal, with violence and insanity
overtaking the gathering.
The Direction
Keep in mind that the above plot summary is only an interpretation based on
notes by Anger and Anais Nin, and my own limited grasp of the proceedings.
Anyone claiming to “understand” this film is almost certainly lying, as its
inspirations come from so many varied sources. You’ll have a difficult time
explaining why, for instance, the somnambulist from THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI
(played by Curtis Harrington) is canoodling with a bunch of Greek gods and
goddesses, or why Astarte (Anais Nin) appears with a birdcage over her head (the
real answers are that those were the guises Harrington and Nin appeared in at
the party that got the film rolling).
But then, the fact that Anger (as in all his films) shot and exhibited
INAUGURATION without dialogue, narration or intertitles suggests he wasn’t
interested in explanations. What does appear to have consumed him was the
visual design of the film. It features Anger’s boldest, most daring use of
color, making INAUGURATION, by extension, one of the most stunningly visualized
films ever.
Fast cutting is a constant. So too are superimpositions and clips from
other films (including the 1912 DANTE’S INFERNO and Anger’s own “Puce Moment”),
which are more often than not overlaid, resulting in a hypnotic clashing of
textures. The dark-hued music by Janacek is also superbly utilized; note the
way it grows increasingly noisy and unhinged, and so perfectly compliments the
visuals.
The film in the end may not make a whole lot of sense, but Anger succeeds
in imparting an arresting atmosphere of decadence and invocation where delirium
holds sway and “reality” is left far, far behind.
Vital Statistics
INAUGURATION OF THE PLEASURE
DOME
Fantoma
Director/Screenwriter/Cinematographer/Editor: Kenneth Anger
Cast: Samson De Brier, Cameron, Kathryn Kadell, Renata Loome, Anais Nin, Kenneth
Anger, Peter Loome, Paul Mathison, Curtis Harrington, Joan Whitney