Kenneth Anger

Kenneth Anger

1927-02-03

Biography

Kenneth Anger (born Kenneth Wilbur Anglemeyer; February 3, 1927 - May 11, 2023) was an American underground experimental filmmaker, actor and author. Working exclusively in short films, he produced almost forty works since 1937, nine of which in particular have been grouped together as the "Magick Lantern Cycle," and form the basis of Anger's reputation as one of the most influential independent filmmakers in cinema history. His films variously merge surrealism with homoeroticism and the occult, and have been described as containing "elements of erotica, documentary, psychodrama, and spectacle." Anger himself has been described as "one of America's first openly gay filmmakers, and certainly the first whose work addressed homosexuality in an undisguised, self-implicating manner," and his "role in rendering gay culture visible within American cinema, commercial or otherwise, is impossible to overestimate." Some of his particularly homoerotic works, such as Fireworks (1947) and Scorpio Rising (1964), were produced prior to the legalisation of homosexuality in the United States. He has also focused upon occult themes in many of his films, being fascinated by the notorious English occultist Aleister Crowley, and is a follower of Crowley's religion, Thelema. This influence is evident from films like Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954), Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969) and Lucifer Rising (1972). Anger has described filmmakers such as Auguste and Louis Lumière and Georges Méliès as influences, and has been cited as an important influence on later film directors like Martin Scorsese, David Lynch and John Waters.He has also been described as having "a profound impact on the work of many other filmmakers and artists, as well as on music video as an emergent art form using dream sequence, dance, fantasy, and narrative." During the 1960s and 70s he associated and worked with a number of different figures in popular culture and the occult, including Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey, sexologist Alfred Kinsey, artist Jean Cocteau, playwright Tennessee Williams and musicians Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Jimmy Page and Marianne Faithfull. He is also the author of the controversial best seller Hollywood Babylon (1959) and its sequel Hollywood Babylon II (1986), in which he claims to expose many of the rumours and secrets of Hollywood celebrities. Description above from the Wikipedia article Kenneth Anger, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.​

Also appears in

Lucifer Rising

Lucifer Rising

6.9

Invocation of My Demon Brother

Invocation of My Demon Brother

5.9

Fireworks

Fireworks

5.8

24 Hour Sunset

24 Hour Sunset

8.0

The Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome

The Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome

6.5

He Stands in a Desert Counting the Seconds of His Life

He Stands in a Desert Counting the Seconds of His Life

8.0

Birth of a Nation

Birth of a Nation

6.3

The 1000 Eyes of Dr Maddin

The 1000 Eyes of Dr Maddin

6.0

Darryl F. Zanuck: 20th Century Filmmaker

Darryl F. Zanuck: 20th Century Filmmaker

4.0

365 Day Project

365 Day Project

Not yet rated

42 One Dream Rush

42 One Dream Rush

Not yet rated

Langlois

Langlois

4.5

Rescued from the Closet

Rescued from the Closet

6.0

Notes on Marie Menken

Notes on Marie Menken

5.4

Jonas in the Desert

Jonas in the Desert

5.5

Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story

Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story

Not yet rated

The Dead

The Dead

4.7

FLicKeR

FLicKeR

6.8

Busby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof

Busby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof

Not yet rated

Cinemagician: Conversations with Kenneth Anger

Cinemagician: Conversations with Kenneth Anger

Not yet rated