framptonhollis An influence on everyone from Scorsese to Lynch to Waters to most-music-video-directors-and-editors, 'Scorpio Rising' is one of the most important and revolutionarily inventive and subversive avant garde films of all time. Its content is edgy and over the top, and the film is filled to the brim w/obvious flaws and muddled messages, but all in all, it is one of my personal favorite films of all time. It was one of the first experimental films I ever saw, and the totally ironic usage of lighthearted pop songs juxtaposed w/the occasionally brutal and oft-deliberately-offensive-and-blashphemous-slash-sacrilegious content had a huge impact on me and the way I, myself, saw and made movies. So I owe a huge debt to Kenneth Anger and this film, even if, after quite a few rewatchings now, there are a few admittedly somewhat eye rollingly edgy moments, but, in the film's defense, it is important to acknowledge the time in which it was made and who exactly had made it. The "edginess" of the film isn't exactly the same brand of edginess an indie film that would contain some of the images in here would usually contain, as it was genuinely risky stuff to release back in the '60's. This film isn't afraid to intercut footage taken from some cheap and kinda cliche Sunday-school-style religious movie about Jesus w/some punkish occultist Neo-Nazis getting ready to wreak havoc and cause violent and sexual troubles (either respectively or not, depending on the individual wreaking the havoc, I guess), this film isn't afraid to be intentionally over-the-top homoerotic and practically worship the hunky male form, this film isn't afraid to show nudity or weird pervy sex acts or any of that. It is fearless and perhaps a bit ridiculous, but an important staple of experimental cinema and just plain old cinema in general.

erskine-bridge Sometimes experimental films have to be endured rather than enjoyed - this isn't the case with Scorpio Rising, which is utterly compelling from start to finish. This film's imagery has clearly been carefully studied by the likes of John Waters and David Lynch and it's hard to believe just how modern it still looks. My take on this is that it's an exploration of the present day cult of toxic masculinity. Any truly great work of art allows you to suddenly see the familiar in a new way and thus adds to your own layers of understanding. Scorpio Rising looks at western culture through the eyes of a gay man, and through the juxtaposition of images and use of pop songs highlights its absurd fetishisation of masculine power and dominance. This can be seen by the masculine, phallic shapes of buildings and vehicles in western culture, which are invisible to us, as we are integrated into this culture, but clear to any outsider with a rudimentary understanding of Freudian psychology.As I understand it, and I'm no expert, there are twelve Astrological Ages in total; one for each constellation of the zodiac. Each Age lasts for approximately 2160 years. Anger was a student of the work of Aleister Crowley and, like many in the 60s, believed that the present age would soon end and we would usher in the Age of Aquarius, characterised by a dominant world view in which the individual is allowed his/her freedom to actualise as an independently liberated being yet still participate in group life in the spirit of altruism and humanitarianism. The age we are living in now, however, is dominated by Scorpio, which is concerned with issues like sex, power, control and death. As traditionally feminine values are derided in our culture we have built machines in our own masculine image. We have over-powered weapons which can destroy the globe 100 times over and we revel in our mastery over machines. We fetishise cars and weapons in our films and books and we celebrate creativity which is destructive rather than constructive. Our God is an angry father and our religions are male death cults; the cutting between the images of Jesus and the all-male disciples and the images of the all-male biker gang hammer this home. Masculinity has reached its zenith and this celebration of the ridiculous and over-inflated male ego suggests that it will all end as it began - in violence. I loved this film.

Boba_Fett1138 This is an art-house movie, that is being shot as a documentary but without really telling a story. I like it! Yes, as weird as the concept of this movie sounds and its execution may seem, this is really a great short to watch. The style of filming and editing as simply superb and seemed to be ahead of its time. I can definitely see how this film inspired some well known film-makers and why this is a relevant movie to show in movie classes for instance.It's a movie filled with great looking shots and some nice quick editing, which provides the movie with an unique looking style. It all got shot on the spot and without a script, which is the reason why this movie comes across as a documentary, while it isn't trying to tell a story really with its images. It's just simply a movie that you have to experience.A special nice touch is that the movie features no dialog or spoken lines at all. All the movie consists out of are popular and well known '60's musical tracks. And as far as music goes, the '60's of course wasn't the worst decade for it. It truly enhances the mood and style of the movie.Don't let the subject scare you off, this is a movie well worth watching.8/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

CoreyBoy86 Kenneth Anger's "Scorpio Rising", set to the tune of thirteen 1960's pop songs, ranks as one of the best films ever shot in the experimental genres, which to some people might translate as the best pile of dog poop ever made, but in terms of visual imagery, context, and use of music, it ranks up there as one of the most important films of the 60's. Kenneth Anger's trademarks (outsider as protagonist, homosexual iconography, pop culture looked at in a different light) are at their most poignant here with most memorable scenes set to 'Blue Velvet", "I Will Follow Him", and "Wipe Out". Also classic is the use of clips from Cecil B. DeMille's "King of Kings" of Jesus and his disciples walking superimposed between shots of gay bikers. A classic piece of Americana.