Kenneth Anger, the avant-garde filmmaker whose surrealistic queer compositions Fireworks and Scorpio Rising made him a pioneer of underground cinema and a target for censorship, has died. He was 96.
Anger’s death was announced Wednesday by the Sprüeth Magers art gallery. “Kenneth was a trailblazer,” it said in a statement. “His cinematic genius and influence will live on and continue to transform all those who encounter his films, words and vision.”
No details of his death were immediately available.
In 1959, Anger authored the smutty exploitative book Hollywood Babylon — banned after its U.S release in 1965 — and followed it up with a sequel in 1984.
Anger’s work spanned the years 1941 to 2013 yet totaled just eight hours, a kaleidoscope of symbolism, homoeroticism and the occult found in his 36 dialogue-free short films (some complete, others fragmented) by THR‘s count.
His collage Scorpio Rising (1963), a pastiche of pop songs plastered over homoerotic biker imagery,...
Anger’s death was announced Wednesday by the Sprüeth Magers art gallery. “Kenneth was a trailblazer,” it said in a statement. “His cinematic genius and influence will live on and continue to transform all those who encounter his films, words and vision.”
No details of his death were immediately available.
In 1959, Anger authored the smutty exploitative book Hollywood Babylon — banned after its U.S release in 1965 — and followed it up with a sequel in 1984.
Anger’s work spanned the years 1941 to 2013 yet totaled just eight hours, a kaleidoscope of symbolism, homoeroticism and the occult found in his 36 dialogue-free short films (some complete, others fragmented) by THR‘s count.
His collage Scorpio Rising (1963), a pastiche of pop songs plastered over homoerotic biker imagery,...
- 5/24/2023
- by Rhett Bartlett
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It’s time for a new episode of the Best Horror Movie You Never Saw video series, and in this one we’re looking back at a movie that originally reached theatres just in time for Halloween in 1980. That movie is writer/director Vernon Zimmerman’s Fade to Black (watch it Here), and you can find out all about it by watching the video embedded above.
Fade to Black has the following synopsis:
Eric Binford is a lonely movie-buff who struggles to find his place in the world. The rejection by a Marilyn Monroe lookalike, who embodies his obsession, sends him on a killing spree during which he transforms himself into classic film characters.
The film stars Dennis Christopher, Norman Burton, Morgan Paull, Gwynne Gilford, Eve Brent, James Luisi, Linda Kerridge, Tim Thomerson, and Mickey Rourke.
Our Best Horror Movie You Never Saw series is dedicated to highlighting horror films that,...
Fade to Black has the following synopsis:
Eric Binford is a lonely movie-buff who struggles to find his place in the world. The rejection by a Marilyn Monroe lookalike, who embodies his obsession, sends him on a killing spree during which he transforms himself into classic film characters.
The film stars Dennis Christopher, Norman Burton, Morgan Paull, Gwynne Gilford, Eve Brent, James Luisi, Linda Kerridge, Tim Thomerson, and Mickey Rourke.
Our Best Horror Movie You Never Saw series is dedicated to highlighting horror films that,...
- 11/22/2022
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Dennis Christopher, the wholesome small town bicyclist of Breaking Away, goes Psycho in this 1980 thriller about a film fan who acts out his murderous fantasies in the guise of classic movie monsters. If director Vernon Zimmerman had cult status in mind for this quirky black comedy, he was helped considerably by the film’s heavy rotation on Cinemax and HBO.
The post Fade to Black appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post Fade to Black appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 5/10/2021
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Fade To Black, released 40 years ago today, is a deliciously demented, and surprisingly tragic, slice of meta-cinema. The tale of a much-maligned matinee maniac gone sour, Fade To Black rides a riveting, tour de force star turn from Dennis Christopher into certifiable legend status. This criminally under-seen thriller received a chilly reception upon its initial release (its Rotten Tomatoes rating of 45% among critics is a tremendous injustice) and did not make much of an impact with domestic audiences, but it has garnered something of a cult appreciation in recent years. To wit, Trailers From Hell Guru Adam Rifkin, a man who knows his movies, cited it as one of his favorite movies about movies in an early episode of our podcast The Movies That Made Me.
Tormented film fiend Eric Binford (Christopher), a stock boy for a movie marketing firm in the heart of Hollywood, lives to reference and rewatch classic cinema,...
Tormented film fiend Eric Binford (Christopher), a stock boy for a movie marketing firm in the heart of Hollywood, lives to reference and rewatch classic cinema,...
- 10/14/2020
- by Alex Kirschenbaum
- Trailers from Hell
In a letter dated June 1, 1962, the newly formed Film-Makers’ Cooperative offered their first list of films that were available to rent. Fourteen filmmakers were represented.
The need to form a cooperative distribution center for what were then called “independent filmmakers” was made in a series of meetings in the autumn of 1960. The meetings were organized by Jonas Mekas and Lew Allen; and included New York City-based filmmakers such as Robert Frank, Shirley Clarke, Adolfas Mekas, Ben Carruthers, Peter Bogdanovich and others. These informal meetings would eventually coalesce into the formation of the New American Cinema Group.
On September 30, 1960, Jonas Mekas presented The First Statement of the New American Cinema Group manifesto. One of the items in the manifesto stated that filmmaker Emile de Antonio was entrusted with the task of forming the distribution center, although there’s no record of de Antonio’s actual involvement beyond that.
The distribution center...
The need to form a cooperative distribution center for what were then called “independent filmmakers” was made in a series of meetings in the autumn of 1960. The meetings were organized by Jonas Mekas and Lew Allen; and included New York City-based filmmakers such as Robert Frank, Shirley Clarke, Adolfas Mekas, Ben Carruthers, Peter Bogdanovich and others. These informal meetings would eventually coalesce into the formation of the New American Cinema Group.
On September 30, 1960, Jonas Mekas presented The First Statement of the New American Cinema Group manifesto. One of the items in the manifesto stated that filmmaker Emile de Antonio was entrusted with the task of forming the distribution center, although there’s no record of de Antonio’s actual involvement beyond that.
The distribution center...
- 4/1/2018
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
1963 was a pivotal year in the history of avant-garde film in the United States. In Visionary Film, P. Adams Sitney calls it “the high point of the mythopoeic development within the American avant-garde.” He explains:
[Stan] Brakhage had finished and was exhibiting the first two sections of Dog Star Man by then; Jack Smith was still exhibiting the year-old Flaming Creatures; [Kenneth Anger‘s] Scorpio Rising appeared almost simultaneously with [Gregory Markopoulos‘s] Twice a Man. The shift from an interest in dreams and the erotic quest for the self to mythopoeia, and a wider interest in the collective unconscious occurred in the films of a number of major and independent artists.
(An inclusive list of American avant-garde films made/released in 1963 can be found here.)
On Christmas Day of 1963 began the weeklong third edition of Exprmntl, a competition of worldwide avant-garde films held in Knokke-le-Zoute, Belgium. The two previous Exprmntl competitions took place in 1949 and 1958. Exprmntl...
[Stan] Brakhage had finished and was exhibiting the first two sections of Dog Star Man by then; Jack Smith was still exhibiting the year-old Flaming Creatures; [Kenneth Anger‘s] Scorpio Rising appeared almost simultaneously with [Gregory Markopoulos‘s] Twice a Man. The shift from an interest in dreams and the erotic quest for the self to mythopoeia, and a wider interest in the collective unconscious occurred in the films of a number of major and independent artists.
(An inclusive list of American avant-garde films made/released in 1963 can be found here.)
On Christmas Day of 1963 began the weeklong third edition of Exprmntl, a competition of worldwide avant-garde films held in Knokke-le-Zoute, Belgium. The two previous Exprmntl competitions took place in 1949 and 1958. Exprmntl...
- 10/1/2017
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
By Ernie Magnotta
There’s nothing I like better than getting hold of a movie that I’ve been searching over three decades for and adding it to my collection. At my age, there aren’t many vintage films left that I don’t own in one format or another, so when I heard that the 1976 cult classic Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw was getting a Blu-ray release, I was quite enthused. This movie has somehow always managed to elude me. It never seemed to play on any of my cable stations in the early 80s, we never had a copy of it at the video store I worked at in the mid-80s and I was still never able to find a copy of it anywhere throughout the 90s. To be honest, by the time the 21st century hit, I completely forgotten about this movie, so I was pretty...
There’s nothing I like better than getting hold of a movie that I’ve been searching over three decades for and adding it to my collection. At my age, there aren’t many vintage films left that I don’t own in one format or another, so when I heard that the 1976 cult classic Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw was getting a Blu-ray release, I was quite enthused. This movie has somehow always managed to elude me. It never seemed to play on any of my cable stations in the early 80s, we never had a copy of it at the video store I worked at in the mid-80s and I was still never able to find a copy of it anywhere throughout the 90s. To be honest, by the time the 21st century hit, I completely forgotten about this movie, so I was pretty...
- 6/21/2017
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
[Hello, readers! With Valentine's Day just around the corner, we here at Daily Dead thought it would be fun to do things a little different this year. We're putting the spotlight on our favorite horror-loving characters from genre cinema, people who have represented our own fandom on screen and, in many cases, helped bring our passion for horror into the mainstream. Be sure to check back here on Daily Dead every day through Valentine's Day for our tributes to some of the greatest horror fans to ever grace the big screen.]
Eric Binford, the protagonist (antagonist?) of Fade to Black (1980), loves movies so much, he is wholly subsumed by them. When not working in a Los Angeles film distribution center delivering prints to various locations, his life revolves around watching films on a projector in his room, or on TV, or reluctantly sharing a film at the theater with a crowd. Eric, played by Breaking Away’s Dennis Christopher, has no need for human interaction—the shadowy figures in the flickering lights are his only allies.
For those unfamiliar with Fade, it tells the simple tale of a lonely young man with an already tenuous grip on reality whose overwhelming passion for film leads him down a vengeful path of retribution against those who’ve wronged him. Dressing up as his favorite characters from filmdom (Dracula, The Mummy, Hopalong Cassidy, Cody Jarrett), Eric lays to waste those who come between him and his celluloid dreams.
Eric Binford, the protagonist (antagonist?) of Fade to Black (1980), loves movies so much, he is wholly subsumed by them. When not working in a Los Angeles film distribution center delivering prints to various locations, his life revolves around watching films on a projector in his room, or on TV, or reluctantly sharing a film at the theater with a crowd. Eric, played by Breaking Away’s Dennis Christopher, has no need for human interaction—the shadowy figures in the flickering lights are his only allies.
For those unfamiliar with Fade, it tells the simple tale of a lonely young man with an already tenuous grip on reality whose overwhelming passion for film leads him down a vengeful path of retribution against those who’ve wronged him. Dressing up as his favorite characters from filmdom (Dracula, The Mummy, Hopalong Cassidy, Cody Jarrett), Eric lays to waste those who come between him and his celluloid dreams.
- 2/12/2017
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
I’ve always been obsessed with watching movies. From seeing 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea at the age of four at a Saturday matinee revival to today, the flickering shadow shows have filled my life. Consumed, I’m sure some would say. However, discerning fact from fiction has never been an issue, unlike Eric Binford, the hapless ‘hero’ of the eerie (and funny) Fade to Black (1980) – now here’s a kid with issues.
Written and directed by Vernon Zimmerman (The Unholy Rollers), Fade to Black was distributed by American Cinema Releasing on October 14th, 1980. The film bypassed audiences for the most part, but critics were generally pleased with the offbeat tone that it brought to the genre. If you love movies about movies, especially with a horror bent, Fade to Black is the film for you.
Eric Binford (Dennis Christopher – Breaking Away) lives with his haranguing aunt, and spends his days...
Written and directed by Vernon Zimmerman (The Unholy Rollers), Fade to Black was distributed by American Cinema Releasing on October 14th, 1980. The film bypassed audiences for the most part, but critics were generally pleased with the offbeat tone that it brought to the genre. If you love movies about movies, especially with a horror bent, Fade to Black is the film for you.
Eric Binford (Dennis Christopher – Breaking Away) lives with his haranguing aunt, and spends his days...
- 12/19/2015
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
Quentin Tarantino is resurrecting the film careers of long forgotten actors he grew up watching in the 80′s on film and tv but who nobody has seen much of lately. After the recent casting of 80′s star Gerard McRaney for a small role in his spaghetti/black slavery western Django Unchained, Variety reports that the walking film historian has signed up Dennis Christopher for a role in his new movie.
Christopher was part of the Chariots of Fire cast that helped the 1981 movie win a Best Picture Oscar and starred in movies such as California Dreaming and Vernon Zimmerman’s cult horror/comedy Fade to Black. More recently he has appeared on Deadwood, the HBO western that co-star McRaney also was part of. Conceivably of course Tarantino may have become aware of both actors via that show… but we all know that like Chris Nolan these were the actors that...
Christopher was part of the Chariots of Fire cast that helped the 1981 movie win a Best Picture Oscar and starred in movies such as California Dreaming and Vernon Zimmerman’s cult horror/comedy Fade to Black. More recently he has appeared on Deadwood, the HBO western that co-star McRaney also was part of. Conceivably of course Tarantino may have become aware of both actors via that show… but we all know that like Chris Nolan these were the actors that...
- 9/28/2011
- by Matt Holmes
- Obsessed with Film
The Movie Pool hunts down the first-ever DVD release of the 1976 cult classic Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw, starring "Wonder Woman" Lynda Carter!
The DVD is offered as part of MGM's "Limited Edition Collection" on DVD, which are available from select online retailers and are manufactured only when the DVD is ordered. The DVD features a simple menu with no menu for chapters or scenes. Manufacture-On-Demand (Mod) DVDs are made to play in DVD playback units only and may not play in DVD recorders or PC drives. This DVD did not play in our laptop DVD drive but did play in our Toshiba DVD recorder.
DVD Specs
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 enhanced for widescreen TVs
Running Time: 89 minutes
Rating: R
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles: None
Special Features: Trailer
The Set-up
A Billy the Kid wannabe (Marjoe Gortner) and his out-of-his-league girlfriend (Lynda Carter) go on a Bonnie and Clyde-style crime spree through New Mexico.
The DVD is offered as part of MGM's "Limited Edition Collection" on DVD, which are available from select online retailers and are manufactured only when the DVD is ordered. The DVD features a simple menu with no menu for chapters or scenes. Manufacture-On-Demand (Mod) DVDs are made to play in DVD playback units only and may not play in DVD recorders or PC drives. This DVD did not play in our laptop DVD drive but did play in our Toshiba DVD recorder.
DVD Specs
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 enhanced for widescreen TVs
Running Time: 89 minutes
Rating: R
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles: None
Special Features: Trailer
The Set-up
A Billy the Kid wannabe (Marjoe Gortner) and his out-of-his-league girlfriend (Lynda Carter) go on a Bonnie and Clyde-style crime spree through New Mexico.
- 6/9/2011
- Cinelinx
Roller Derby, a sport that peeked in popularity in the early 70’s, is based on formation roller skating around an oval track, with points scored as certain (mostly female) players lap members of the opposing team. Judging by last week’s poor box-office performance of Whip It, it appears that Roller Derby is not a fad currently in vogue, but Drew Barrymore’s new film gives me an excuse to revisit the greatest movie of all about the rough, tough world of this trashy sports phenomenon. That would be 1974’s Unholy Rollers, starring the late Claudia Jennings, a grimy, low-brow slice of 70’s exploitation that perfectly captures the grimy, low-brow sport that is roller derby. From its then-trendy premise, to its goofy use of humor, to its energetic but clumsy execution, Unholy Rollers is truly one hell of an entertaining R-rated 70’s time capsule but one that is Not available on DVD.
- 10/14/2009
- by Tom
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
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