Scorpio Rising (film)
Encyclopedia
Scorpio Rising is a 1964 experimental film
by Kenneth Anger
, starring Bruce Byron (who Anger asserts was "half-crazy") as Scorpio. Themes central to the film include the occult
, biker subculture
, Catholicism
and Nazism
; the film also explores the worship of rebel icons of the era, namely James Dean
and Marlon Brando
(referred to by Anger as Byron's "heroes"). As with many of Anger's films, Scorpio Rising contains no dialogue - it instead features a prominent soundtrack consisting of 50s and 60s pop, including songs by Ricky Nelson
, The Angels, The Crystals
, Bobby Vinton
, Elvis Presley
& Ray Charles
.
When the film was screened at an art theatre in Los Angeles, police arrested the theatre manager for public obscenity and canceled the film's run. The case went to the California Supreme Court, where the case was settled in Anger's favor. Anger explained in an interview:
), though filmed fourteen years before Scorpio Rising, did not see release until 1972.
, Variety
and Newsweek
.
Experimental film
Experimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians...
by Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger is an American underground experimental filmmaker, occasional actor and author...
, starring Bruce Byron (who Anger asserts was "half-crazy") as Scorpio. Themes central to the film include the occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
, biker subculture
Outlaw motorcycle club
An outlaw motorcycle club is a type of motorcycle club that is part of a subculture with roots in the post-World War II USA, centered on cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals celebrating freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, and loyalty to the...
, Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
and Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
; the film also explores the worship of rebel icons of the era, namely James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
and Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
(referred to by Anger as Byron's "heroes"). As with many of Anger's films, Scorpio Rising contains no dialogue - it instead features a prominent soundtrack consisting of 50s and 60s pop, including songs by Ricky Nelson
Ricky Nelson
Eric Hilliard Nelson , better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor...
, The Angels, The Crystals
The Crystals
The Crystals are an American vocal group based in New York, considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era of the first half of the 1960s. Their 1961–1964 chart hits, including "Uptown", "He's a Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron " and "Then He Kissed Me", featured three successive female lead...
, Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton is an American pop music singer of Polish origin. In pop music circles, he became known as "The Polish Prince".-Early life:...
, Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
& Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
.
When the film was screened at an art theatre in Los Angeles, police arrested the theatre manager for public obscenity and canceled the film's run. The case went to the California Supreme Court, where the case was settled in Anger's favor. Anger explained in an interview:
"When Scorpio Rising was — we've forgotten, in a sense, that it was a groundbreaker, legally. Because there are only a few flashes of nudity, genitalia, whatever in the film, I mean, they're very, very short and, if you blink, you won't even see them. At any rate, when it was shown, at the Cinema — it was called the Cinema on Western Avenue in Hollywood — the premiere run, someone denounced it to the Hollywood vice squad and they raided the theater and took the print. And the case had to go to the California Supreme Court to be freed and then it became, like, a landmark case of redeeming social merit. That was the phrase that was used to justify that it wasn't pornography. And, indeed, there's nothing pornographic about it. Somebody had to break the ice and have that kind of case at that time to establish the freedom, because, before then, the police could seize anything they wanted to. What I was doing on the West Coast, Jack SmithJack Smith (film director)Jack Smith was an American filmmaker, actor, and pioneer of underground cinema...
was doing on the East Coast with Flaming CreaturesFlaming CreaturesFlaming Creatures is an American experimental film by filmmaker Jack Smith. Due to its surreal, graphic depiction of sexuality, the film was seized by the police at its premiere, and was officially determined to be obscene by a New York Criminal Court. The 43-minute featurette attracted media and...
. The two films happened at about the same time."
Soundtrack
Scorpio Rising is considered by some to be the first drama film to feature a rock & roll soundtrack. Another of Anger's films which utilizes a rock & roll soundtrack (Rabbit's MoonRabbit's Moon
Rabbit’s Moon is an avant-garde short film by American filmmaker Kenneth Anger. Filmed in 1950, Rabbit's Moon was not completed until 1972...
), though filmed fourteen years before Scorpio Rising, did not see release until 1972.
- Ricky NelsonRicky NelsonEric Hilliard Nelson , better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor...
- "Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread)Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread)"Fools Rush In" is a popular song. The lyrics were written by Johnny Mercer with music by Rube Bloom. The major hits at the time of introduction were Glenn Miller with Ray Eberle and Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra. It was also recorded by Billy Eckstine...
" - Little Peggy March - "Wind-Up Doll"
- The Angels - "My Boyfriend's BackMy Boyfriend's Back (song)"My Boyfriend's Back" was a hit song in 1963 for The Angels, an American girl group. It was written by the songwriting team of Feldman, Goldstein and Gottehrer . The recording was originally intended as a demo for The Shirelles, but ended up being released as recorded...
" - Bobby VintonBobby VintonBobby Vinton is an American pop music singer of Polish origin. In pop music circles, he became known as "The Polish Prince".-Early life:...
- "Blue VelvetBlue Velvet (song)"Blue Velvet" is a 1950 popular song, written by Bernie Wayne and Lee Morris. It has been recorded by several artists, most notably Tony Bennett and Bobby Vinton, and has inspired a film of the same name.-History of recordings:...
" - Elvis PresleyElvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
- "(You're the) Devil in Disguise(You're The) Devil in Disguise" Devil in Disguise" is a UK number one single by Elvis Presley which was written by the songwriting team Giant, Baum and Kaye and published by Elvis Presley Music in 1963. It peaked at number three in the US on the Billboard singles chart and number nine on the Billboard Rhythm and Blues singles...
" - Ray CharlesRay CharlesRay Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
- "Hit The Road JackHit the Road Jack"Hit the Road Jack" is a song written by rhythm and bluesman Percy Mayfield and first recorded in 1960 as an a capella demo sent to Art Rupe, available on the Memory Pain CD vol. 2, Specialty Records SPCD-7027-2. It became famous after it was recorded by singer-pianist Ray Charles. It hit number...
" - Martha Reeves and the Vandellas - "(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave(Love is Like a) Heat Wave" Heat Wave" is a 1963 hit single penned by the Holland–Dozier–Holland songwriting team and made popular by Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas. It was originally released in July 1963, on the Motown subsidiary label Gordy, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard Hot...
" - The CrystalsThe CrystalsThe Crystals are an American vocal group based in New York, considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era of the first half of the 1960s. Their 1961–1964 chart hits, including "Uptown", "He's a Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron " and "Then He Kissed Me", featured three successive female lead...
- "He's a RebelHe's a Rebel"He's a Rebel" is a pop song credited to the girl group The Crystals, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in November 1962. Written by Gene Pitney and produced by Phil Spector, it is considered one of the definitive examples of the Spector-produced girl group sound.In 2004, the song was...
" - Claudine ClarkClaudine ClarkClaudine Clark is an American R&B musician, best known as the singer and composer of the 1962 hit "Party Lights", which reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100....
- "Party Lights" - Kris Jensen - "Torture"
- Gene McDanielsGene McDanielsGene McDaniels was an American singer and songwriter, who had his greatest recording success in the early 1960s.-Biography:...
- "Point Of No Return" - Little Peggy March - "I Will Follow HimI Will Follow Him"I Will Follow Him" is a song recorded by Little Peggy March. The music was written by Franck Pourcel and Paul Mauriat . It was adapted by Arthur Altman...
" - Surfaris - "Wipe Out"
- The Shangri-LasThe Shangri-LasThe Shangri-Las were an American pop girl group of the 1960s. Between 1964 and 1966 they charted with often heartbreaking teen melodramas, and remain best known for "Leader of the Pack" and "Remember ".- Early career :...
- "Leader of the PackLeader of the Pack"Leader of the Pack" is a 1964 pop song recorded by girl group The Shangri-Las. It became number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on November 28, 1964.-Original Shangri-Las recording:...
"
Critical response
West Coast critics praised the film and when it was screened in New York City in 1966, Scorpio Rising garnered positive reviews in The New YorkerThe New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
and Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
.
In Popular Culture
- "Scorpio Rising" is the title of the 5th track on Adam AntAdam AntAdam Ant is an English musician who gained popularity as the lead singer of New Wave/post-punk group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring ten UK top ten hits between 1980 and 1983, including three No.1s...
's 3rd album, Vive Le RockVive Le RockVive Le Rock is the third solo album by Adam Ant, released in 1985.This album at first received only minor attention in the United States, peaking only at #131. In the United Kingdom, it peaked at #42...
. The lyrics revolve around "Scorpio", with his "leather jacket and big package".
- The third album by British electronica band Death in VegasDeath in VegasDeath in Vegas are a psychedelic rock and electronic rock band from the United Kingdom, comprising two permanent members: Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes...
takes its name from the film.