The Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954)

best movie i've ever seen.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The short films of Kenneth Anger are certainly NOT for the casual film goer! The best way to describe them is avant-garde--and often make little sense, as they are not meant to be shown to the masses. Some are incredibly artistic--like filmed work of art. Some are really cheaply made and definitely look it. Regardless, they are a challenge to watch and I very strongly recommend you see them with his commentary activated. So why would I see these shorts? Well, in a recent interview I noticed that John Waters credits Anger for much of his inspiration. And, since I have seen all the films of Waters that are available (a couple very early ones aren't), it seems natural I'd give Anger's films a try. This and four other reviews are best on the DVD "Films of Kenneth Anger: Volume 1".While I could say a lot about INAUGURATION OF THE PLEASURE DOME, I think Norwegianheritic's review was spot-on and there isn't a lot to add. I, too, could see the strong influence from Jean Cocteau and Luis Buñuel. As for the film, it was like a bunch of straight, gay and bisexual artistes who love Alistair Crowley, Satanism and Cabala having a dress-up party and playing out various skits that they thought were clever and great fun. As for normal everyday folks, this is just plain weird, convoluted and, after a slight shock, actually rather boring.

Clocking in at just two minute short of the arbitrary divide between short film and feature length film as designated by the IMDb, this movie is quite a feast of color and imagination constantly rolling to hallucinatory lengths. That, of course, is the point.I didn't count, but I'm pretty sure all seven of the deadly sins are represented within this film, but there's a particular focus on gluttony and lust. Everything in this film is engorged, or seems engorged. It at first starts out a little like Puce Moment (and in fact, later a shot from Puce Moment is reused as one of the multiple exposures), but as the character we see literally consumes a pearl necklace, he's lead into what is apparently the Pleasure Dome, which is pretty much Hell filled with passion.The pacing of this film is pretty amazing. As more and more stuff happens it just builds up, a glutton for more, causing the need for more and more, and so on. Usually fast editing and multiple exposures are used as a way of showing the deconstruction of a character, but this time the fever dream seems more of a conglomeration of More and More in an appetizing pursuit to... more.It sounds exhausting, but is in fact actually quite pleasurable to watch. The presence of such colorful and vividly imagined characters brings it into a wonderful sort of clarity, making the whole movie tempting. It's tempting to join them in their lust, it's tempting to delve into such a realm. Which is why, at 38 minutes, it still seems like it's less than 20.--PolarisDiB

A wild, erotic frolic into a world experienced by those who can let go of reality and embrace what so many fear. Take a trip into the realm of demonic pleasures and dine at a feast where your servant is death. The Goddess of love sits to your right and the demon on your left. Step into the white draped chambers of Hecate, The Dark Crone of the underworld. Watch as she dances and gyrates with a ghoulish pleasure at your arrival. >> I had the pleasure of living on the property this film was created on.Sampson, Anais'Nin, Mr. Anger are all Hollywood icons. The prop. is special and will always hold a dear place in my heart. Long live the bold and the freakish. It would be a sad world if they never were. Much love -Mamalove.

this film is a devastating visual, sensory experience. i have been haunted by its breathtaking imagery & multi-layered arcane symbolism since the first time i saw it. i've watched it over & over again in the years since first viewing it & it never loses its overload of impact on me. i am not an acid casualty, in case you are wondering. it assaults the senses from all angles in a cubist, multidimensional sense. each viewing will bring new insight & renewed, shimmering ecstasy. i promise this to anyone who is open & teachable & cinematic ally inclined to new experience. kenneth anger is a national & world treasure. can you tell i like this film? the flaws in it, if any, have eluded me for years. -bobby