Kenneth Anger: 1 [VHS]

Kenneth Anger's name kept popping up in various places, until I could no longer bear my curiosity. When I bought this compilation of three of his early films, I was surprised but not disappointed. Narrative is not important in these films, at least not in a traditional sense. Expression of mood and atmosphere take precedence, with startling visual montage sequences and odd lighting effects. Anger's resourceful use of limited means reveals a powerful creative imagination. If you like experimental cinema with all its hand-held, raw outsider power, these dark, opulent, decadent films are essential viewing.