Year: 1964
Director: Kenneth Anger
Country: US
Language: English
"Underground" and "experimental" films usually have a reputation for being weird, obsessive and thought-provoking. If any film should be picked to represent "underground experimental" Cinema as a whole, it should be the maddening Scorpio Rising. The strange film inspired Martin Scorsese, Dennis Hopper, Michael Bay and Portishead. It is the only film that would dare use clips from Cecil B. DeMille's "King of Kings" superimpose them between shots of "gay" bikers.
The plots revolves around an army of "homosexual" bikers who make their engines roar and ride the way to pain/pleasure as sexual and sadistic symbols are intercut into the dazing chaos and rhythmic experiences
Black leather, hair and oil grease, naked torsos, motorbikes, homo-eroticism and stills of popular movies and comic books; these are the images that flash on the screen throughout Scorpio Rising. Every image that pops up immediately gets a reaction out of the audience. One cannot walk away from this film without having been changed by it. Playing a juke-box worth of songs in the background, one may have a new appreciate, or disgust, from these songs.
However, the importance of the film is not just because it is provocative and incredibly controversial. Scorpio Rising is also a depiction of sixties counter culture, the great resistance against authority and the clashing of morals within a society. Could this film have been made during the 50's "Leave it to Beaver" era? Hell no. It also questions North America's divisions between "gay" and "straight" sexuality, is there a definite line? Perhaps things aren't as easy to organize as we thought.
In conclusion, though Scorpio Rising may be a difficult film to watch, it's utterly fascinating and, most importantly, historically important. This is avant-gardism at its most shocking. The deliberate mingling of opposing images, sex and religion, are bound to be conversation starters. This is not a film for everyone, so watch it at your own discretion. This review is just to confirm that the film is more than just a dirty sex romp. Praise it! 4/5
One of my favorite films. Has there ever been a better, more striking marriage of music and images?.....
ReplyDeleteWell, probably, but this was still awesome.