Kenneth Anger

Born: 1927-02-03

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.​


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Invocation of My Demon Brother

as The Magick (uncredited)
Released: 1969-10-10

The shadowing forth of Our Lord Lucifer, as the Power of Darkness gather at a midnight mass. The...

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Lucifer Rising

as The Magus (uncredited)
Released: 1974-04-10

Egyptian gods summon the angel Lucifer, in order to usher in a new occult age.

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The Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome

as Hecate
Released: 1954-03-29

Lord Shiva wakes. A convocation of magicians in the guise of figures from mythology; a...

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24 Hour Sunset

as uncredited
Released: 2023-09-01

This film portrait of a new kind is a deep dive into the heart of the art scene of Los Angeles....

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Fireworks

as Dreamer (uncredited)
Released: 1947-12-31

A dissatisfied dreamer awakes, goes out in the night seeking a 'light' and is drawn through the...

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365 Day Project

as uncredited
Released: 2007-12-31

This exhibition focuses on Jonas Mekas’ 365 Day Project, a succession of films and videos in...

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He Stands in a Desert Counting the Seconds of His Life

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1986-02-22

A film collage tracing the story of the lives, loves, and deaths within the artistic community...

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Rescued from the Closet

as Self
Released: 2001-05-29

A collection of interviews recorded for the making of the 1995 documentary "The Celluloid...

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Langlois

as Self
Released: 1970-09-19

Documentary portrait of Henri Langlois, co-founder of the Cinémathèque Française.

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72 Hours In André Balazs’ Chateau Marmont With Kenneth Anger

as Self
Released: 2018-12-25

On LA’s iconic Sunset Boulevard and inside the glamorous rooms of Chateau Marmont, Floria...

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42 One Dream Rush

as Lucifer
Released: 2010-09-15

Collection of short films by various directors based on dreams, 42 seconds each. It was produced...

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Mansfield 66/67

as Self
Released: 2017-01-29

About the last two years of movie goddess Jayne Mansfield’s life and the speculation swirling...

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Arabesque for Kenneth Anger

as uncredited
Released: 1961-12-29

Filmed at the Alhambra in Spain in just one day, according to Marie Menken. Arabesque for...

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FLicKeR

as Self
Released: 2009-07-14

In 1960, Brion Gysin invented the Dream Machine, a hypnotic light device with the power to...

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Anger Me

as Himself
Released: 2006-10-23

Elio Gelmini interviews Avantgarde filmmaker Kenneth Anger. With archive footage of Angers...

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Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story

as Self (uncredited)
Released: 2002-02-05

The story of the short film from the beginning of the movies in the 1890s, when all movies were...

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The Dead

as uncredited
Released: 1960-12-31

"The Dead became my first work in which things that might very easily be taken as symbols were...

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Birth of a Nation

as Self
Released: 1997-08-06

Filmmaker Jonas Mekas films 160 underground film people over four decades.

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Magick Lantern Cycle

as Dreamer / Hecate / The Magick / The Magus
Released: 2019-03-08

Nine films grouped together that form the basis of Anger's reputation as one of the most...

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Jonas in the Desert

as Self
Released: 1994-01-01

Not a documentary in the strictest sense of the word. Rather, it is a journey through the world...

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Night of Pan

as Lucifer
Released: 2009-03-09

A magician encounters the void that separates the human mind from divine consciousness and in...

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Busby Berkeley: Going Through the Roof

as Self
Released: 2003-03-28

Documentary profile of legendary dance choreographer Busby Berkeley.

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The Films of Kenneth Anger: Volume One

as uncredited
Released: 2007-01-23

Covering the first half of Anger's career, from his landmark debut FIREWORKS in 1947 to his epic...

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Darryl F. Zanuck: 20th Century Filmmaker

as Self
Released: 1995-09-03

A biography of Darryl F. Zanuck, mogul and the power behind 20th Century Fox throughout the...

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Kenneth Anger’s Hollywood Babylon

as Himself
Released: 1991-04-05

Reenactments of passages from the controversial Kenneth Anger collection of tawdry gossip about...

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The Films of Kenneth Anger: Volume Two

as uncredited
Released: 2007-10-02

Covering the second half of Anger's career, from his legendary SCORPIO RISING to his...

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Anton LaVey: Into the Devil's Den

as Himself
Released: 2019-12-06

In 1989, I met Anton LaVey for the first time. At this time in his life, LaVey was seeing only a...

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The Beach Boys and The Satan

as Self
Released: 1997-10-17

A German documentary that explores the darker side of the Beach Boys, primarily focusing on...

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Hedy Lamarr: Secrets of a Hollywood Star

as uncredited
Released: 2006-01-21

"Secrets of a Hollywood Star" is another documentary made after "Calling Hedy Lamarr" in 2006....

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Cinemagician: Conversations with Kenneth Anger

as uncredited
Released: 2019-04-12

Iconic American filmmaker Kenneth Anger has inspired generations of creative storytellers since...

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Kenneth Anger: Film as Magical Ritual

as Himself
Released: 1970-04-29

Anger discusses his Aleister Crowley-inspired theories of art: How he views his camera like a...

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Arena

as Self
First aired: 1975-10-01

Arena is a British television documentary series, made and broadcast by the BBC. Voted by...

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