Watch Kenneth Anger’s “Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome” (1954)

When I first saw “Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome” several years ago I immediately fell in love. I had seen some of Anger’s other works in the past, and happened to stumble upon this amidst my online wanderings, and was blown away by the sheer magnitude and forte this film offered, whilst also being, at heart, a relatively simple film.

It’s the emotion the visuals portray that elevate this film to the realm of the sublime. They take you places your mind has only wandered to in the deepest of sleeps, and brought it to the forefront. It is a portrayal of strange Gods, demons, and spirits in a magic netherworld that is bathed in multi-color technicolor hues that extract this midcentury mystic exotic mood that is purely Anger.

There is a divine decadence in their states of dress paired with the exceptionally sublime music paired to the imagery that create this mood, and it’s forever a place that lurks in and out of our consciousness and inspires the day-to-day. It’s also shocking how forward thinking his visuals are, and how much they have influenced our culture over the years, whether we knew it or not. To think that this film dates back to the 50s is a far cry from the poodle skirts and picket fences we are used to thinking back to in reference to this period.

In the spirit of society, we thought it best to share this with our friends, and let the joy and mystery influence your day-to-day, too. From the sights to to the sets to the sounds, there is everything here to help make your life a more interesting and beautiful place.