Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome
Encyclopedia
Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome is a short
38 minute film
by Kenneth Anger
, filmed in 1954. Anger created two other versions of this film in 1966 and the late 1970s. According to Anger, the film takes the name "pleasure dome" from Samuel Taylor Coleridge
's atmospheric poem Kubla Khan
. Anger was inspired to make the film after attending a Halloween party called "Come as your Madness."
The film – primarily the 2nd and 3rd revisions – was often shown in American universities and art galleries during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
The original edition soundtrack is a complete performance of Glagolitic Mass
by the Czech composer Leoš Janáček
(1854–1928). In 1966, a re-edited version known as 'The Sacred Mushroom Edition' was made available. In the late 1970s, a third revision was made, basically 'The Sacred Mushroom Edition' re-edited to fit the complete Electric Light Orchestra
album Eldorado
minus one standard blues progression song which Anger apparently felt did not fit the mood of the film.
The differences in the visuals of the 1954 original and the 2 revisions are minor.
The movie features the author Anaïs Nin
as 'Astarte', Marjorie Cameron
as 'The Scarlet Woman', and the filmmaker Curtis Harrington
, as well as Kenneth Anger
himself.
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
38 minute film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
by Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger is an American underground experimental filmmaker, occasional actor and author...
, filmed in 1954. Anger created two other versions of this film in 1966 and the late 1970s. According to Anger, the film takes the name "pleasure dome" from Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
's atmospheric poem Kubla Khan
Kubla Khan
Kubla Khan is a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, completed in 1797 and published in Christabel, Kubla Khan, and the Pains of Sleep in 1816...
. Anger was inspired to make the film after attending a Halloween party called "Come as your Madness."
The film – primarily the 2nd and 3rd revisions – was often shown in American universities and art galleries during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
The original edition soundtrack is a complete performance of Glagolitic Mass
Glagolitic Mass
The Glagolitic Mass is a composition for soloists , double chorus, organ and orchestra by Leoš Janáček. The work was completed on 15 October 1926...
by the Czech composer Leoš Janáček
Leoš Janácek
Leoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by...
(1854–1928). In 1966, a re-edited version known as 'The Sacred Mushroom Edition' was made available. In the late 1970s, a third revision was made, basically 'The Sacred Mushroom Edition' re-edited to fit the complete Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
album Eldorado
Eldorado (Electric Light Orchestra album)
Eldorado - A Symphony By The Electric Light Orchestra is the fourth studio album by the Electric Light Orchestra, released in 1974.-Concept:...
minus one standard blues progression song which Anger apparently felt did not fit the mood of the film.
The differences in the visuals of the 1954 original and the 2 revisions are minor.
The movie features the author Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin was a French-Cuban author, based at first in France and later in the United States, who published her journals, which span more than 60 years, beginning when she was 11 years old and ending shortly before her death, her erotic literature, and short stories...
as 'Astarte', Marjorie Cameron
Marjorie Cameron
Marjorie Cameron Parsons Kimmel was an artist, occultist, actress, and wife of rocket pioneer and occultist Jack Parsons. Cameron played a major role in the 1946 Babalon Working ritual.-Biography:...
as 'The Scarlet Woman', and the filmmaker Curtis Harrington
Curtis Harrington
Curtis Harrington was an American film and television director whose work included experimental films, horror films, and episodic television.-Biography:...
, as well as Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger is an American underground experimental filmmaker, occasional actor and author...
himself.