Kenneth Anger, where have you been all my life? No really. Your work makes me excited about film again after seeing shitty trailer after shitty trailer as of late. There’s something I admire about short film and Anger has been working exclusively in this medium for nearly seven decades (!!!). Scorpio Rising is one of my favorites: a wet dream of a short featuring beefcake Nazi-bikers inter-cut with comic strips, über masculine icons like Brando and James Dean, classic wind up toys, some skeletons and even b.m.o.c. Jesus makes a few cameos.
Anger creates a mood with each of his films. The visuals and collage like editing are complimented by a creative use of music. In Scorpio Rising’s near twenty nine minutes there isn’t any dialogue. Not that it needs it with a meadly of hits like My Boyfriend’s Back, Blue Velvet, Hit the Road Jack, Devil in Disguise, and Wipeout. It’s the prologue to the music video and reminded me a little of the films of artist Bruce Conner. Add to all of this that Anger was an openly gay director at a time when stars like Rock Hudson we’re being shoved into the closet is all the more inspiring. Whatta guy, and at eighty three the man is still making films! Check out his most recent work for Italian fashion house Missoni F/W collection here.
