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See "Lucifer Rising" with Jimmy Page's score April 17


Strider

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Drum roll, please...

At long last! A chance to see Kenneth Anger's "Lucifer Rising" with Jimmy Page's music on the big screen!

http://cinespia.org/event/kenneth-anger/

All previous times I have seen it shown, it has been with Bobby Beausoleil's score.

......Strider, very much looking forward this with your contribution, as fascinating as always...

Colorful...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0yIMUCSY1E

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I hope it's goes online, to see it free, to see how well the score matches up.

To pay money for Anger's benefit? No way! Didn't he say it was all rubbish

and unuseable? But now he uses it for $.

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When people started mentioning lawyers and suing here, I began to regret starting this thread. Sure enough, Jimmy's lawyers showed up tonight and issued a cease and desist order. Cinespia couldn't show the Lucifer Rising with Jimmy's score. A groan went up from the sold out house. Luckily, Kenneth Anger had a pristine print of the Bobby Beausoleil version handy, so the show went on. Beausoleil's music is pretty creepy and effective.

Wished I had known ahead of time about the cease-and-desist...I had passed on going to either the Tinariwen or Mogwai concerts to see this.

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Sorry it got screwed up for you, Strider!

Not just me...there were many, many people that had come expressly for the same reason I had: They wanted to hear Jimmy's Lucifer Rising score in the context it was meant...with the images that inspired the music.

Even with the palpable sense of disappointment, we all stuck around...not just because Bobby Beausoleil's version is good in its own write, but because added to the program in the wake of the change was the Sacred Mushroom edition of "Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome", which replaces the original Janacek score with ELO's "El Dorado" to spectacular effect. I had never seen that version either, so it was worth sticking around for that.

Besides, by the time we all found out about the lawyers, it was too late to try and make the concerts. I'll know better next time...I won't post anything on the Forum in advance.

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I'll know better next time...I won't post anything on the Forum in advance.

Maybe if Kenneth Anger hadn't been interviewed within the last year calling Jimmy Page "a miser" and referring again to how awful the experience was, I might be more sympathetic to what happened.

As far as I'm concerned, Kenneth Anger is an angry old man who's desperate for money or notoriety -- the fact that any of you would be willing to support him is the tragedy, not that he was shut down by Jimmy's lawyers.

Why? That's a little small minded don't ya think.

If you think Page is small-minded in the affair, you need to do some research.

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I am sorry for you, Strider and everyone making an effort to go, but I am not surprised that Jimmy's lawyers stopped it. I agree with Melcore, if Kenneth Anger hadn't kept bashing both Jimmy and Charlotte, Jimmy may have gone along with it. After all, he did have fun, it sounded, blasting this version with his own music in his Park Plaza hotel room many moons ago. ;)

He had not seen the images when he wrote the music.

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Jimmy stated recently that Anger's people had contacted him about reissuing the movie with his original soundtrack, Jimmy told him to fuck off, as he should.

To me, Jimmy's weird, morbid soundtrack is light years ahead of the New Age drivel Bobby B came up with.

And honestly, has anyone ever watched Lucifer Rising? It's on YouTube. It's like a student quality film.

Some enterprising person should rip it off YouTube and sync the Page soundtrack, relatively easy if you know how.

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Sounds like this little movie had a fitting ending. Good for Jimmy for not acquiescing to the situation, especially considering the history here. I could not be more pleased, apart for the people who attended, and were disappointed by this turn of events.

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There are a couple of new interviews relating to this event:

As for Jimmy Page, Anger has lost contact with him. "I haven't been in touch with him in about ten years," Anger admits, at which point Butler clarifies, "He did release his remastered version of the soundtrack a couple of years ago." It's a situation that's reminiscent of when director Alejandro Jodorowsky and financier Allen Klein reconciled their decades-long feud, resulting in the re-release of Jodorowsky's films "El Topo" and "The Holy Mountain." No bad blood anymore between Anger and Page? "Not that I know of," Anger chuckles. When the subject arises of the poor-quality bootlegs of the Page-soundtracked "Lucifer Rising" circulating in the last few years on YouTube, however, Anger spits in scorn, "I hated those."

The working process with Jimmy Page was a straightforward arrangement. "We got along. Either you get along or you don't. We got along fine; we had a shared interest in Aleister Crowley, and he has an incredible collection of books on Crowley. The thing that drew us both together was books," Anger says. "I have a few books about Crowley that I bought before the interest in him soared. In the early 1950s, you could pick up, in a used bookstore, inscribed copies for a reasonably price. In fact, I first met


at Sotheby's when he outbid me on a Crowley book that I wanted. Of course, he got it because he had enough money to have it."

Kenneth Anger interviewed by KCET

I got a call from a storage facility who told me that they had found an “aberated” print of Lucifer Rising. They asked if they should throw it away or if we wanted to keep it. This was a year ago. I was so busy that I didn’t think much of it and put it in storage.

Eventually Jimmy Page came onboard in 1973. For someone of the stature that Jimmy Page had reached in 1973 it was quite radical to do an avant garde soundtrack strictly as an artistic endeavor, although Mick Jagger did the Moog soundtrack for Kenneth’sInvocation of My Demon Brother in 1969. They worked together for several years with at least two different versions being produced, one in 1974 and one in 1975.

After a lot of research, I found it to be the 1975 version—the most developed of four versions known to exist. It ends with “To be continued” and was obviously a work in progress.

In one interview I found, Jimmy Page refers to when he screened Lucifer Rising in his room hotel room on the sixth floor and seemed delighted that his haunting score terrified guests up on the twelfth floor. He also mentions making a special trip to a screening at the Museum of Modern Art in New York to be sure the music was synced up correctly. The Anger/Page version was exhibited to the public at least a few times, and also privately, for potential investors.

Brian Butler interviewed by Dangerous Minds

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I'm not trying to start a pissing match. I have no love for Kenneth Anger and this wasn't about supporting him or taking his side of the story.

Frankly, I haven't kept up with the particulars of their beef since first reading about it in the 70s. Out of sight, out of mind. I have bumped into Kenneth Anger many times over the years, through work or at events, but never was interested in spending more time with him than I had to, and never asked him about Jimmy Page and Lucifer Rising.

It was only Jimmy's recent release of his Lucifer Rising score that rekindled my interest in the film and had me wondering if a thaw in the relationship was in the works.

Whatever you think of Kenneth Anger, he is one of the greats of Experimental Film, along with Stan Brakhage, Maya Deyern, Andy Warhol, Buñuel/Dali, and Cinespia is an important and valuable cultural organization for the arts community in Los Angeles. When Cinespia announced this program, I naturally assumed all the legal niceties were taken care of.

I am not mad at Jimmy. It's his music...it's his right to do with it as he wishes.

I'm more frustrated, that's all. Both men are up there in age...Kenneth looks more and more frail every time I see him. It's been 40 years since their disagreement. I just wish they could patch up their differences and make amends...for the art's sake.

For during the years 1973-1976, Jimmy Page was in a particularly creative period, composition-wise and in pushing the sonic envelope. Compare the violin bow and theremin segments from this period to earlier shows...it's no contest. Especially the theremin bits from 1975...the level of sonic architecture and sheer madness is thrilling.

Jimmy's Lucifer Rising soundtrack is a part of this period and therefore an important part of Jimmy Page the artist. As a fan of the man's work, I simply think it would help give complete justice to Jimmy's multifaceted artistic qualities to have the music along with the film the music was originally intended.

Just once before I die, haha.

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So true, Strider. The art will live past both of these men, it's a shame they can't come to terms with the intent of the project and see it through.

...Thanks Walter for your comment...Strider's contribution is thoughtful as always, much indebted to him for his time and effort, and in agreement with his viewpoint....

Art is timeless, not sacrificial to any mortal motivation in this universe...

having said this, here is another very interesting article on the Veteran Filmaker Kenneth Anger... to extend kindness has it rewards, this film would have been special for reasons more than one...

http://fromthebarrelhouse.com/2012/04/05/satanism-in-hollywood-kenneth-angers-golden-age-of-occult-1969/

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When people started mentioning lawyers and suing here, I began to regret starting this thread. Sure enough, Jimmy's lawyers showed up tonight and issued a cease and desist order. Cinespia couldn't show the Lucifer Rising with Jimmy's score. A groan went up from the sold out house. Luckily, Kenneth Anger had a pristine print of the Bobby Beausoleil version handy, so the show went on. Beausoleil's music is pretty creepy and effective.

Wished I had known ahead of time about the cease-and-desist...I had passed on going to either the Tinariwen or Mogwai concerts to see this.

Don't blame yourself, I'd say that there's a chance that it was discovered by other means. In any event, sorry to hear that it fell through for you and the other audience members.

It would be nice if JP would someday forgive what's his name but if not, I can understand and that being the case, I'd respect Jimmy's take on it and avoid enriching what's his name, even for the mere price of a ticket. After all from everything that I've read, it wasn't Jimmy that was and has continued to be a dingle berry in the sad situation. But I can also appreciate anyone wanting to hear/see Jimmy in a manner that would be a rare occasion.

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Maybe if Kenneth Anger hadn't been interviewed within the last year calling Jimmy Page "a miser" and referring again to how awful the experience was, I might be more sympathetic to what happened.

Page is a miser, aka a major "Led Wallet." Shouldn't be a surprise to anyone following the band as I have since 1973. He's as cheap as they come. I love Jimmy, but not like a blind child.

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