Scorpio Rising (film)

Scorpio Rising is a 1963 experimental short film by Kenneth Anger, starring Bruce Byron whom Anger asserts was halfcrazy as Scorpio. Themes central to the film include the occult, biker subculture, homosexuality, Catholicism, and Nazism the film also explores the worship of rebel icons of the era, namely James Dean and Marlon Brando referred to by Anger as Byrons heroes. Like many of Angers films, the film does not contain any dialogue it instead features a prominent soundtrack consisting of 60s pop, including songs by Ricky Nelson, The Angels, The Crystals, Bobby Vinton, Elvis Presley, and Ray Charles.

When the film was screened at an art theater in Los Angeles, it was protested by the American Nazi Party on the basis that it insulted their flag. The police were ultimately called to the site and arrested the theater manager for public obscenity and canceled the films run. The case went to the California Supreme Court, where the case was settled in Angers favor. Anger explained in an interviewWhen Scorpio Rising was weve forgotten, in a sense, that it was a groundbreaker, legally. Because there are only a few flashes of nudity, genitalia, whatever in the film, I mean, theyre very, very short and, if you blink, you wont even see them. At any rate, when it was shown, at the Cinema it was called the Cinema on Western Avenue in Hollywood the premiere run, someone denounced it to the Hollywood vice squad and they raided the theater and took the print. And the case had to go to the California Supreme Court to be freed and then it became, like, a landmark case of redeeming social merit. That was the phrase that was used to justify that it wasnt pornography. And, indeed, theres nothing pornographic about it. Somebody had to break the ice and have that kind of case at that time to establish the freedom, because, before then, the police could seize anything they wanted to. What I was doing on the West Coast, Jack Smith was doing on the East Coast with Flaming Creatures. The two films happened at about the same time. ........

Source: Wikipedia