Scorpio Rising (1964)

Director:

Kenneth Anger

Writers:

(more)

Release Date:

4 February 1972 (Finland)

Genre:

Short

Plot:

An army of gay/nazi bikers make their engines roar and ride the way to pain/pleasure as sexual and sadistic...

Plot Keywords:

Swastika | Imagery | Biker | Underground Film | Pop Music

Cast

Bruce Byron	...	Scorpio
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ernie Allo	...	Joker
Frank Carifi	...	Leo
Steve Crandell	...	Blondie
Johnny Dodds	...	Kid
Bill Dorfman	...	Back
John Palone	...	Pinstripe
Barry Rubin	...	Fall Guy
Johnny Sapienza	...	Taurus
Nelson Leigh	...	Jesus Christ (uncredited)

Directed by
Kenneth Anger

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Kenneth Anger		uncredited

Cinematography by
Kenneth Anger		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Kenneth Anger		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Jeremy Kay

Production Companies

• Puck Film Productions

Distributors

• Canyon Cinema
• Fantoma
• Film Canada Presentations (1967) (Canada)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1970) (Finland) (TV) (MTV1)
• Mystic Fire Video (video)
• Shocking Videos (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Valio-Filmi (1972) (Finland) (theatrical)

Runtime:

USA:28 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Puck Film Productions

Trivia:

Most of the young men in the film were Italian-Americans from Brooklyn who worked during the day at the Fulton Fish Market in Manhattan, (the central location for New York City's fish wholesalers), doing heavy physical labor. Their priorities in spending their money were: motorcycles first, girlfriends second! The man with a very muscular body in the "Blue Velvet" sequence was, however, a visiting biker from Canada.

Movie Connections:

Features The Pilgrimage Play (1949)

Soundtrack:

Wipeout

challenging film

I saw this movie in a community college film study class filled with dopey surfers, jocks, and hicks. Our professor was from a more cultured area and decided we needed to experience experimental, underground film-work that helped shape the way we view films today. The lights went out. The projector went on. We were brutally raped by images that we'd never seen before, only heard about. Many of the students were offended by it and didn't return to the class. The few of us who stuck around afterward learned about Kenneth Anger, what he was trying to say and the way he used film as a tool of expression rather than a story telling medium. This movie I will never forget as it reached out and smacked the viewer in the face and still does even by today's standards.