Those of you lucky enough to attend the master class given by Kenneth Anger last October at Concordia will know the man has an active imagination. The veteran experimental filmmaker, now in his late 70s, regaled the assembled crowd with a barrage of bizarre tales, everything from witnessing a famous Oscar-winning filmmaker threaten to commit suicide to Anger’s own explanation as to why Tom Cruise couldn’t possibly be a dad. Strange but true, Anger declared, sounding like a vintage ’40s comic book come to life. We were all mesmerized, and also quite taken aback, by Anger’s undeniable charisma and the surreal aura that surrounded him.
Now, at long last, the uninitiated will have a chance to catch up on their Anger. Fantoma Films has created a superb set, The Films of Kenneth Anger Volume 1, now out on DVD. Included are Rabbit’s Moon (1950), Eaux d’artifice (1953) and Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954). But the film that remains the most jarring and intense is Fireworks (1947), Anger’s dreamy movie about an erotic dream that turns violent. Now widely regarded as the first gay-themed film ever made in America, the fact that the movie even exists is pretty shocking. The list of people who cite Anger as a major influence is impressive, to say the least: everyone from the Rolling Stones to AndyWarhol to Francis Ford Coppola. Included in the set is Martin Scorsese’s statement about Anger’s significance in the cinematic universe. Every serious film buff will want this for their collection. —MATTHEW HAYS
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