About Kenneth Anger and Scorpio Rising

Introduction

Scorpio Rising, an iconic experimental film, premiered at the Gramercy Arts Theater in New York City in May 1963. Visionary independant film-maker Kenneth Anger shot, edited, co-wrote (with Ernest D. Glucksman), and directed the short film. It features themes of the occult, biker subculture, Homosexuality, Christianity, and Nazism.

The American Nazi party protests the film at an art theater in Los Angeles. As a result, the police arrest the theater manager for public obscenity and cancels the film's run. Eventually the case goes to the California Supreme Court where it it decided in Anger's favor.

Anger took a documentary-style approach. He filmed real-life bikers rather than hire actors. Anger insisted that It's all reality. In other words, I didn't change what I found there. As for the locations, he adds I didn't make any of these sets. This is exactly the way I found them. And he adds This is not an arranged Kenneth Anger set. This is me finding these things in real life - in reality.. In one scene, The Wild One happens to be broadcast on television. Incredibly he states And it just happened to be while I was filming that The Wild One was on television. You know, I didn't plan it that way. But there it was.

Considering the reoccuring motief of the death's head --- which became very relevant by the end of the film --- it's a bit difficult to believe Anger didn't contribute some set dressing. I have the impression that Anger is an unreliable commentator in the same way Poe's mad men are unreliable narrators in "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Cask of Amontillado." But perhaps the skull was especially important to the fatalistic biker club he was documenting.

Significance of the Title

The "Scorpio" of the title represents the zodiac sign associated with intensity, passion, and transformation. As Kenneth Anger explains it Scorpio is the symbol ruling sex organs and machines. So, the sign of Scorpio rules motorcycles as well as genitalia.

Homoerotic or Camp?

Kenneth Anger, an openly gay filmmaker, incorporated homoerotic imagery and undertones into the film. His subjects dressed provactively, simulated sodomy and oral sex, and performed a bike club initiation ceremony in which they covered an initiate's groin with hot mustard. Surprisingly the participants were obstensively heterosexual as he explains in one commentary track recorded for the British Film Institute.

I didn't direct the people. I never told them what to do. They just did what they wanted to do. And so, they're just acting as they would. … Their girlfriends came to the party, but they didn't want them to be photographed. So, all of this camping --- like pretend sodomy and everything --- was in front of their girlfriends who were behind the camera watching. So, it's odd that they would so this in front of their girlfriends, but they didn't want the girlfriends in the party because these are Italian working-class boys and girls, and they have their codes of conduct even at a party. … And here are the boys misbehaving in front of their girlfriends and me. And you know I didn't tell them to do anything that they're doing. They just did it and I filmed it. … All this was just natural, spontaneous. I didn't know what was going to happen at the party. And so, it just happened.

Whether the girlfriends had appeared on camera or not, it would be easy to assume the cast of the film were gay leathermen. Anger created scenes of homomasculine eroticism with through the willing participation of self-identitified heterosexual bikers.

Leather Fetish

Anger acknowledges the fetishistic aspect of the Leather his bikers wore.

Leather is a bit of a fetish, of course. And it's attractive when it's unconscious like with these fellows. They never heard of the word fetish. … They know they like leather, they don't know why they like it, but they like it, and it goes with the biker image. … Those are the kinds I like. Not when it becomes a fashion accessory or taken over by designers.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack contains no dialog. Instead it consists almost entirely of American pop songs which serve as commentary to the action. For example, the song "Blue Velvet" plays while two handsome bikers dress themselves.

Credits

Scorpio Rising (1964 USA 28 mins 19 sec).
Prod Co: Puck Film Productions.
Prods: Ernest D. Glucksman, Arthur P. Schmidt
Dir: Kenneth Anger
Scr: Kenneth Anger, Ernest D. Glucksman
Phot: Kenneth Anger
Ed: Kenneth Anger
Art Dir: Jeremy Kay
Cast: Ernie Allo, Bruce Byron, Frank Carifi, Steve Crandell, Johnny Dodds, and Bill Dorfman

Bruce Byron: Bruce Byron plays the central character in the film. His astrological sign is scorpio. He is seen reading the Sunday funnies in his bedroom. He collected James Dean memorabilia.

Johnny Sapienza: Sapienza works on a lavendar colored show bike named the "Grim Reaper."

Soundtrack:

• Ricky Nelson – "Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread)"
• Little Peggy March – "Wind-Up Doll"
• The Angels – "My Boyfriend's Back"
• Bobby Vinton – "Blue Velvet"
• Elvis Presley – "(You're the) Devil in Disguise"
• Ray Charles – "Hit the Road Jack"
• Martha and the Vandellas – "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave"
• The Crystals – "He's a Rebel"
• Claudine Clark – "Party Lights"
• Kris Jensen – "Torture"
• Gene McDaniels – "Point of No Return"
• Little Peggy March – "I Will Follow Him"
• Surfaris – "Wipe Out"

Video

Periodically someone will upload Scorpio Rising to YouTube, but typically that service blocks the film's streaming to the United States after a short time. Apparently there are copyright issues with the songs on the soundtrack. So, I apologize in advance if the embedded video below cannot be streamed where you are located.

If someone outside the U.S. has access to the video with Kenneth Anger's commentary track, I would welcome it if they could download the transcipt and send it to me.

(I understand that some scofflaws might use VPNs to disguise their location on the internet to work around the restriction. Of course, I would never condone such hooliganism.)

Alternative Copies for Streaming

• Scorpio Rising on Facebook (Partially muted due to copyright claim.)
• Search Google for "Scorpio Rising Kenneth Anger" (Videos.)