Kenneth Anger's short film, which focuses on men and their motorcycles, has neither a plot nor dialogue. It highlights a non-stop impressive contemporary music score and skilled photography. The music is provided by contemporary artists like Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Bobby Vinton, the Angels, the Crystals, Little Peggy March, the Surfaris, and others.
It begins with men who ritually prepare their bikes and then dress in black leather and chains before they hit the open road. This slow-running first part shows visuals of Marlon Brando, James Dean, and an occasional skull. Is this a prognostication of a biker's destiny? These folks certainly are contemptuous of society's expectations.
The second part of "Scorpio Rising" turns dark and chaotic with its jump cuts and montages of Nazi images, cocaine-snorting, perverse rites, the occult, and sacrilege. It ends with a race on a dirt track where one biker loses control, crashes, and dies for real. There is a close-up of the dead biker's face at the end with an artistic skeleton head. These guys do live on the edge!
The avant-garde flick is Anger's mind at work. It was very strong stuff when it was released in October 1963.
It begins with men who ritually prepare their bikes and then dress in black leather and chains before they hit the open road. This slow-running first part shows visuals of Marlon Brando, James Dean, and an occasional skull. Is this a prognostication of a biker's destiny? These folks certainly are contemptuous of society's expectations.
The second part of "Scorpio Rising" turns dark and chaotic with its jump cuts and montages of Nazi images, cocaine-snorting, perverse rites, the occult, and sacrilege. It ends with a race on a dirt track where one biker loses control, crashes, and dies for real. There is a close-up of the dead biker's face at the end with an artistic skeleton head. These guys do live on the edge!
The avant-garde flick is Anger's mind at work. It was very strong stuff when it was released in October 1963.